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Who wrote that?!

N/AN/A
edited September 2010 in - Writing Problems
Sometimes when I write a scene, or even just a sentence, that flows nicely from brain to page without too much trouble and I'm really pleased with it, I read it back later and think, did I write that or have I plagiarised it from a book I read? I've even gone so far as to search through the book I think it might have come from, so far without success, but the feeling I've pinched that bit continues to haunt me! Has anyone else had the same experience?

Comments

  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    When I started writing short stories, I checked to see if I'd used jokes from Tales of the City.
  • MonkeyNutsMonkeyNuts
    LOL, that's refreshing, Deirdre.

    I often re-read my work and laugh out loud at how bad it is! ;-)
  • Stan2Stan2
    oh dear, MN!
  • JennymfJennymf
    I know what you mean Deirdre, I wrote a story once and am sure I read the same words in a book. It was rejected and for once I was glad. I would have hated to be called a cheat, even if I was`nt one
  • N/AN/A
    Thanks Jenny, glad it's not just me going doolally!
  • Stan2Stan2
    You are not doolally - whatever that means............
  • JennyJenny
    Please sir - I know! (Puts hand up) Hang on, the buzzer's going off on the cooker ...

    Doolally Tap - something to do with British troops in India during the Raj having to hang about waiting for a ship to take them home and going nuts because it took so long ... I think the place might have been called Doolally. Don't remember where the Tap came from though.
  • Phots MollPhots Moll
    edited October 2010
    That's weird - we were talking about Doolally at work recently. It is (or was) a place in India.
  • thaddeusthaddeus
    Many years ago in another life, I was Graphic artist to our local paper and when asked to come up with some ideas which were to go forward to some regional competition within the trade.
    SO I went off and really came up with the goods, I was inspired the ideas kept coming, it was too easy and a whole raft of high quality presentation roughs were handed over to Mr. X the advertising editor -Who then put them forward.

    And they won.

    It was only much later that I saw 'my' ideas on huge railway hoarding -for another paper, that I began to question - Had those hoarding been there all along?????? Or had Mr X sold the work to the competition?
  • thaddeusthaddeus
    PS.

    Doolally come from a place in India Doah lalhy ( havent checked spelling) it was the location of a well know mental hospital for the poor souls who couldn't handle the heat or the random brutality handed out by the British.
  • Stan2Stan2
    We are being edumecated. Similar to our word Bedlem which comes from a mental hosptial known as Bethlehem.
  • JennyJenny
    edited October 2010
    Which is now the site of the Imperial War Museum. (Please sir - can I have a team point?)
  • doradora
    Is that true Stan about Bedlam?

    Didn't realise that about doolally either.
  • JennyJenny
    Re Thaddeus's explanation, the following interesting website has a little more detail (scroll down past the picture of Bombay):

    http://www.far-eastern-heroes.org.uk/alberts_war/html/doolally_tap.htm
  • Stan2Stan2
    Yes, dora - see Jenny's link.
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