Don't Take Creativity for Granted

"Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more: believing in yourself."

I believe that everyone has a creative spark, but some people just don't know how to harness it. Many people out there are so driven by their need to write that go about it the wrong way, stealing from other author's that have poured their heart and soul into their stories, and are devastated when they realise someone has taken their work in order to receive a quick boost in popularity.

Plagiarism is a massive part of anyone's writing, and I've seen a number of fanfiction author's going as far as to copyright their original work, and even date and time the chapters as they post them.

This is something that I have adopted, having been on the receiving end of theft many times.

My fanfiction stories are my babies, I work well into the night making them as good as they are, and the ideas don't come cheap. A good author knows when to work for a good idea, they know how to nurture it from a seedling and hatch it into a fully-grown story.

Creative and professional writing, whether it be fanfiction or original works, takes precious time, and an author can't afford to be looking over their shoulder every two seconds, fearing that someone will come along and steal what they have worked so hard to achieve.

Coming back to my quote at the start of this blog. Joanne Katherine Rowling hit the nail on the head when she had her main character, Harry Potter say: "Working hard is important, but there is something that matters even more: believing in yourself."

If you can manage to do that, then you will go far, but... if you need to resort to stealing in order to receive fame, that isn't your's to benefit from, then writing is clearly not the profession for you.

Writing is more than just a hobby, it is a way of life for many authors.

Do the right thing. If you are adamant that you want to write, but fear you will be ridiculed, remember that we all start off badly. No one has a perfect story from the get-go, all you see posted on sites like Fanfiction.net and Archive of our own, is the finished product. Projects that have been worked on for months in advance, ideas that have been nurtured and cared for until they have bloomed into something that the author deems acceptable.

And, when in doubt, just ask.

We writers stick together. We help each other out when needed, and we have each other's backs. I learned that a few weeks ago.

Don't steal from us. Think about it... how would you feel, if your story was stolen? You'd feel hurt, right? That's how we feel when you steal from us.

To quote a text I found on Tumblr:

"Art takes hours to produce and seconds to consume, so don't act surprised when artist get upset when their post only get likes and no reblogs. Similarly, a piece of writing that takes a few minutes to read could have weeks of work behind it. Don't take creativity for granted when you're getting it for free."

Writing a chapter could take days, weeks even months, and then someone comes along and, in five seconds flat, have stolen it and posted it as their own. It's upsetting and downgrading to the original author that has spent their time perfecting it.

Don't do it. Stealing gets you nowhere, and it doesn't make you any better a writer. Working for your achievements makes everything worthwhile.

Happy writing.

:)

Kara