: 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

Stealing is bad. Quite aside from it being illegal, what satisfaction would you draw from presenting someone else's work? It's not yours, the praise it gets is not to you.

Being inspired by another author, on the other hand, is good. A work of art should inspire. And there's nothing wrong with deliberately going and seeking out the particular inspiration you need. If I'm writing war and I can't quite get the feeling of it, I might reread a bit of All Quiet on the Western Front. If I'm writing a love scene, I would go to a book that has one of those, written well. It's not about analytically looking at how somebody else did this. It's about finding that feeling I'm looking for, and then using my own words to make it happen for my characters. The other books help me find that mindset I'm looking for, and I read enough to know where to look for a particular inspiration.

Not just individual scenes either. If I set a story in a particular time and place, I'd read some of what was written then and there, to get the feeling of the particular turn of phrase that matches the setting, the way people thought. For instance, if I were writing something Victorian, I'd look for phrases like "by and by". It's almost a subconscious thing - I read enough of this (whatever I choose this to be), it's easier for me to have my characters talk that way, create the plot that way, etc. So, to continue with the Victorian example, I'd deliberately read Jane Austen, looking to get some particular feeling, I'd be inspired by her style, but I wouldn't steal her words. I'd find my own.

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: 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

More posts by @Dunderdale623

: How to write without the need for filtering and wordiness? I know questions should be general, but I think the problems I suffer from are very general. Filtering and extreme wordiness. I previously

: Using a pronoun outside of quotations to refer to a person mentioned in quotations who hasn't been introduced yet Would the line: "Peter!" cried his father. make grammatical sense? It seems

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: Where can I find people to collaborate with to edit/sell my work? I'm not sure this is possible. I am looking for someone who can edit and sell. I have a series of books I can't get them

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