Comments on: Another one? Harvard Author Caught Copying http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:48:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: giz http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-109 giz Fri, 28 Apr 2006 23:20:07 +0000 http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-109 she's a copy cat ...zero talent zero common sense...:-) she’s a copy cat …zero talent zero common sense…:-)

]]> By: Donna http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-108 Donna Tue, 25 Apr 2006 19:04:10 +0000 http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-108 You make it sound like there's something to consider. *Should I copy someone else's writing... or not? On the one hand... copying someone else's text is so much easier than writing something original! On the other... gee, people get so moralistic!* I'm really having trouble grasping this mindset. You can take Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and change the title to "Cask of Sweet Sherry" and change Fortunato to Frank Chiang and make the first line read "The hundreds of injuries of Frank Chiang I had stood as best as I was able, but when he ventured to call me a jerk, I vowed revenge" you haven't made a nice riff, you've just made a lame copy. It's still a copy, even though the end result is actually different in part of the wording. Why call people "moralistic" when they object to artistic theft? If someone wants to be a writer, they will have to learn how to write. Their own stuff. Their own words. Their own ideas. Yeah, it's work. Nobody's forcing them to do it if it's not a challenge they want to take. You make it sound like there’s something to consider. *Should I copy someone else’s writing… or not? On the one hand… copying someone else’s text is so much easier than writing something original! On the other… gee, people get so moralistic!*

I’m really having trouble grasping this mindset. You can take Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” and change the title to “Cask of Sweet Sherry” and change Fortunato to Frank Chiang and make the first line read “The hundreds of injuries of Frank Chiang I had stood as best as I was able, but when he ventured to call me a jerk, I vowed revenge” you haven’t made a nice riff, you’ve just made a lame copy. It’s still a copy, even though the end result is actually different in part of the wording.

Why call people “moralistic” when they object to artistic theft? If someone wants to be a writer, they will have to learn how to write. Their own stuff. Their own words. Their own ideas. Yeah, it’s work. Nobody’s forcing them to do it if it’s not a challenge they want to take.

]]> By: Brandy Karl http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-107 Brandy Karl Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:20:07 +0000 http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-107 No doubt her writing career is over. I wouldn't call this artistic transcendence, either. I found it at least interesting that the end result was actually different in this instance. I thought it turned out to be a nice riff, at least for young adult fiction, which I think is a horrible genre. Young persons should read real fiction. But generally I also think that the moralistic reaction that is generally evident when these things come around is a bit overblown. In this particular case I kind of doubt it, but it's something to consider when we're thinking about copying text. No doubt her writing career is over. I wouldn’t call this artistic transcendence, either. I found it at least interesting that the end result was actually different in this instance. I thought it turned out to be a nice riff, at least for young adult fiction, which I think is a horrible genre. Young persons should read real fiction.

But generally I also think that the moralistic reaction that is generally evident when these things come around is a bit overblown. In this particular case I kind of doubt it, but it’s something to consider when we’re thinking about copying text.

]]> By: Donna http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-106 Donna Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:06:57 +0000 http://www.gotbrandy.com/archives/117#comment-106 The list of similar passages make it pretty clear that she copied them first, and then tried to alter them a little -- kind of like the way someone in high school tries to paraphrase when writing a research paper. I think her "diction" has a long way to go before she develops into a real writer. Unfortunately, she will now end up in a lawsuit, her publisher will cancel their contracts with her, and no agent or publisher will touch her in the future. I haven't read any of the books involved, but from reading the compared passages, it looks to me that Viswanathan also lifted her characters and basic plot from McCafferty. What exactly do you mean by "considering copying in a holistic way"? This doesn't look like someone taking a suggestion from another work and then doing something original -- it looks like someone who couldn't do something original. The addition of the sandalwood scent in one excerpt is nice, but it's not evidence of some artistic transendence. The list of similar passages make it pretty clear that she copied them first, and then tried to alter them a little — kind of like the way someone in high school tries to paraphrase when writing a research paper. I think her “diction” has a long way to go before she develops into a real writer. Unfortunately, she will now end up in a lawsuit, her publisher will cancel their contracts with her, and no agent or publisher will touch her in the future.

I haven’t read any of the books involved, but from reading the compared passages, it looks to me that Viswanathan also lifted her characters and basic plot from McCafferty.

What exactly do you mean by “considering copying in a holistic way”? This doesn’t look like someone taking a suggestion from another work and then doing something original — it looks like someone who couldn’t do something original. The addition of the sandalwood scent in one excerpt is nice, but it’s not evidence of some artistic transendence.

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