: Re: Do writers copy other writers? Good artists copy; great artists steal. This famous Picasso quote often reminds me that the best artworks are rather a mix of many other artworks instead

@Bethany377

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Structure, high level plot "mile markers," or archetypal elements are all fair game. I put this in the same space as "casting" your novel by picking people/actors to play roles in your works. At the end of the day, the low level implementation has to be different and the work itself must be transformative if it is to use existing elements.

So, yes, there are things that can and should be recycled into future work. And it's unavoidable. But at the low level you risk running afoul of copyright law if you start literally stealing the words of others. And frankly, you deserve the impoverishment of the soul that will surely come upon you, as exacted by the writing gods, to say nothing of the legal system's plans for your pocket change.

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