: Re: How do we distinguish plagiarism from homage in literature? In film-making, some people consider a copy of an action scene scene-by-scene to be a homage. Is it any different in literature; how

And other people consider it a cheap remake (Psycho, I am looking at you!)

If you take a particular scene, for example the scene in R&J where Romeo is with the apparently dead Juliette and you change almost everything he says and does, that is not plagiarism. You are inspired by a great scene and taking it in a different direction. Unless done with love and exquisite care, it could be sacrilege, but it would not be illegal.

West Side Story is a fine retelling of R&J.

What we read will naturally colour what we write. It will influence our diction, the direction our plots take and the tone of our work. I have read much over the years and sometimes find myself yearning to create just such a perfectly shining phrase that it lingers in the memory.

If one were to try and write like the Bard did and on the subjects he treated it would likely fall flat and seem unnatural. We write as we write and the pressure to dumb things down so that anyone can read our works is rather pernicious.

Write what you want to write, your own characters doing what seems natural to them. It has been told before - all stories have - we just take what came before and make it our own, make it come to life.

I would love to write something like War & Peace, but that is not what is in me - I think. I have written high fantasy and now am working on my thriller. Its inspiration was rather odd - a thought crossed my mind and I grabbed it.

Write something original and something that is uniquely yours.

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: Re: How do we distinguish plagiarism from homage in literature? In film-making, some people consider a copy of an action scene scene-by-scene to be a homage. Is it any different in literature; how

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: How to describe my character using they/them so the reader doesn't know their gender until their pronouns show up later? I'm experimenting with writing nonbinary or generally gender-ambiguous characters

: How do I make a "contract" with my reader? (EDITED TO MAKE IT LESS BROAD AND MORE CLEAR). I recently asked a question about if I really need to include scientific proof for my mostly-non-scientific

: What to submit when asked for "sample chapters"? For a submission (to a grant program, competition, agent, or publisher) that asks for sample chapters, which chapters do you choose? For example,

: You have three issues to solve: There are two different worlds. The sequential nature of each world's chapters (that there are not gaps where the other world's chapters are). The two timelines

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