Plagiarism vs Inspiration

There are no unique stories, just unique retellings.

*** Author's note. In this article, I will be referencing Harry Potter. I want to be clear that I in no way, shape, or form support JK Rowling and her views on transgender individuals. I have and will continue to stand in support of the transgender community.***

---

Thanks for reading! Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our monthly post digest!

Click Me

---

“This book is basically The Hunger Games.”

“This is basically A Court of Thorns and Roses.”

“This scene is a worse version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

These are sentiments I’ve heard over and over again. Sometimes it feels like readers' favorite topic to point out when leaving a review. It's easy, right? These are books that have inspired us all to some degree and have shaped or will shape writers in the generations that follow.

However, in this modern culture of reviews and the desire to go viral, people have been dropping the "P" word more frequently.

And by that, I mean “Plagiarism.”

It's a hot topic, and the kind of accusation that can ruin an author's career. Yet it's an accusation that readers love to throw around.

Plagiarism and fantasy storytelling

Perhaps it's because I come from the world of academia, and people live and die by citations. If you have a point to make and someone did a better job, you'd better add quotation marks and list your source. Plagiarism is direct, verbatim copying. It's using exact wording and phrases without citing the original author. Even rewriting someone's idea, even if in your own words, and failing to credit the source, is considered plagiarism. This is the part that readers of fiction can understand: even if the wording changes, the intellectual work belongs to the original author.

The art of fiction is not so cut and dry, particularly in the fantasy genre. The reason being that many fantasy concepts can be drawn from mythology.

Let's take a look at Powerless by Lauren Roberts. Just because a maze was involved, people online said it was similar to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Unfortunately for these readers, JK Rowling did not invent the concept of trying to survive a maze. This is a story that can be traced back to Greek mythology with Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus enters a magical labyrinth filled with numerous dangerous and frightening things. The concept of a labyrinth or maze is a common metaphor in literature. It symbolizes a hero's journey in many ways. This shared influence from mythology reminds us as readers that all literature is connected in some way. Our favorite stories are part of a larger narrative spanning centuries.

But the similarities don’t stop at the maze. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry has to face a Sphinx and answer a riddle. Again, in Greek mythology, Oedipus faces the Sphinx and its riddle.

Look at Blast-Ended Skrewts. While the idea of Skrewts was Rowling's own invention, the concept of fighting a monster (Skrewt or dragon) echoes the Labors of Hercules.

Even Harry's search for the the Triwizard Cup throughout the maze can be seen as the hunt for the Holy Grail from Arthurian legend.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

There are only seven basic plots

There's an idea from Christopher Baker's book, The Seven Basic Plots, that there are only seven distinct plots and stories, and fiction can be categorized into these seven types.

• Rags to riches – Poor, mistreated, and oh so ordinary ends up rich (Cinderella / Aladdin)

• Overcoming the monster – Hero faces a great evil/monster (Harry Potter / Dracula)

• The quest – Hero and their companions set out to reach their destination and goal with hardships along the way (Lord of the Rings )

• Voyage and return – Hero travels to a strange world, fights and saves the day, then comes home changed (The Wizard of Oz / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

• Comedy – Not really “ha ha” funny, but more about confusion, misunderstanding, or chaos (Pride and Prejudice / Almost all romcoms)

• Tragedy – Hero makes a bunch of mistakes that lead to their downfall (Breaking Bad [TV show] / Macbeth / Hamlet)

• Rebirth – Hero is under some curse, corruption, or something generally bad. They are then transformed and redeemed (Beauty and the Beast / A Christmas Carol)

I'm sure you can think of more examples, as well as other books or series that might even combine two, if not more, of these plots.

Romantasy tropes we live and die by

I would now like to shift to the concept of tropes, particularly within the realm of romantasy.

• Enemies-to-lovers

• Friends-to-lovers

• Love triangle

• Fated mates

• Found family

• Morally grey

• Shadow daddy

• Forced proximity

• Hidden identity

• Secret power

• Slow burn

• "Touch her and die."

• "Who did this to you?"

• Stabby FMC

These are the tropes I can list off the top of my head – there are definitely more than just these. Sometimes it even feels like there are more tropes that emerge every year. It's how publishers now look for books. How bookstores market. How readers decide what to read next. It's a glorified shopping list, and the longer it is, the better. The ever-evolving nature of tropes keeps us engaged and intrigued, always on the lookout for the next exciting twist in our favorite stories.

The reason why all of this is important to know is because it's crucial for readers to examine themselves when accusing a book of plagiarism. Is it because it resembles one of the seven plots, or because it is filled with tropes and combinations of tropes that are familiar? Or is it truly plagiarized?

The Red Queen and Powerless debate

I think about books like Powerless and the reaction people had to it when it came out. People accused Lauren Roberts of directly plagiarizing from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Are there similarities? Sure, I won't say that I don't see that. I think back to a post I saw someone make online, saying that they would describe a book: a young woman from the slums who picks pockets for a living goes to the castle, where she finds herself in a competition and eventually joins a rebel group. A ball is thrown, and fighting ensues at the ball, followed by angst and pain.

It could be because I read Powerless first and went into Red Queen knowing the controversy that I kept an eye out for similarities and differences. There are far more differences than there are similarities. The competition/trial ends in Red Queen very early on, while in Powerless, it's one of the main driving points of the plot. A young woman who is a thief steals from the prince and goes to the palace; can't we say Aladdin inspired them both? Neither author invented that concept.

A love triangle between two brothers? Hello Vampire Diaries, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and an entire genre of books.

A woman who is special? I find this to be hilarious since the entire concept of Powerless is that the FMC is, in fact, powerless.

People have also compared Powerless to The Hunger Games. Well, at the start of Red Queen, there's a competition that people are forced to watch, which is there to keep them in their place. Isn't that like Roman gladiators? How about Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, where in a dystopian world, students are forced by their government to fight to the death? Or Lord of the Flies by William Golding, where children are stuck on an island and descend into violence?

Should I keep going?

There are no unique stories, just unique retellings. Authors take tidbits and inspiration from various stories to put together something new and not new at all.

One of the most significant differences between Powerless and Red Queen is the themes. For me, there were clear themes in Powerless that addressed the rich's unwillingness to take action, even when presented with the wealth disparity. Red Queen does not do that in the way Powerless does. There was a message that was loud and clear in Powerless that made it transcend YA romance and elevate it into a powerful work of literature for me.

That is not to say Red Queen is not impactful. However, Red Queen didn't focus on themes as heavily as Powerless; it instead relied on the FMC's story. Neither is wrong nor right. They are just different.

Readers are often careless when they accuse authors of plagiarism, failing to take the time to understand the inspiration behind their work. If I were Victoria, I wouldn't know how to feel if a book were heavily inspired by mine. Just like I don't know how Takami felt when The Hunger Games came out.

This is part of being an author. It's the nature of art. Art inspires art, and if we do not understand that, then we do not understand what it means to be an artist. And writers are artists. They understand storytelling and what resonates with the human experience.

But that's the thing with the human experience: it's relatable, it's universal, and it will be told over and over again. And it just so happens that sometimes, those retellings have familiar threads that connect them.

---

With an M.A. in Comparative Literature and a B.A. in Creative Writing, Jac Sahlin is a Californian with Chilean roots who once told her mom, "My version is better,” — and never stopped writing. Now she’s a Romantasy writer, podcaster, and unapologetic lover of smut.