PLAGERISM
Wild Word Friday!
Once I was interviewed for inclusion in a how-to book about writing. A few days later, I reread the interview and came across a sentence that I was afraid I had read elsewhere. I went through all my books on writing (and that’s quite a stash) but couldn’t find it. Finally I contacted the author of the how-to book and explained my fears about that one sentence. I couldn’t prove that it wasn’t original, but we both decided it wasn’t worth the chance. We were right, but the cut was painful. That segment added so much to what I was trying to get across to his readers.
The point is that an author cannot risk PLAGERISM. PLAGERISM can destroy a career and a reputation. In my world, PLAGERISM equals fear.
In delving into the history of the word PLAGERISM, I found that fear has been PLAGERISM’s companion for hundreds of years.
According to The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories, in the 1600s in England a plagiary or plagerist was a kidnapper. PLAGERISM was what a kidnapper did.
Plagiotropic is a related word. It means oblique, slanting, crooked, and stems from the Greek word plagios. The root word of all these is probably the Latin, plaga, which is a net or a snare for animals.
Isn’t it amazing how much wisdom is contained within the ancestry of our words?
The advent of the Internet and social networks like Twitter and Facebook have relaxed the parameters concerning the ownership of words. We forward Tweets and have no fear of PLAGERISM. Students capture university lectures via webcams on their laptops and post them on their blogs so non-attending students can take advantage of the knowledge presented.
New tools for sharing knowledge have resulted in copyright models like Creative Commons, a non-profit group with a mission to help groups and individuals “develop, share [The bold type is mine.] and use created works in legal and protected ways.” (p. 197, THE NEW DIGITAL SHORELINE by Roger McHaney)
What’s your take? Are the new standards good or should we be worried? Does expertise require monetary reward to remain vital and strong in the market place?
Blessings!
Sue
I just finished reading Brother Wind written in 1994. I have read the others and really really liked them Don’t know how I missed reading these way back. According to your last book you said you were starting another trilogy and will continue the saga of the First Men. I will now look up to see if in fact you have been writing all these years and I have missed out till now. Thank you for the books I have read. I really really liked them Cornelia
I’m glad you enjoyed the novel’s Cornelia! My second Alaska Trilogy includes Song of the River, Cry of the Wind and Call Down the Stars. They are available from used book dealers (Some advertise on Amazon and Ebay.) and also on this website store. Check your local library. They may have them or be able to get them through a lending library resource. Blessings! Sue
Love this post. I can really appreciate your views on plagiarism because I am a high school English teacher. Thanks for sharing!
I would love to add my thoughts on the subject, but I have to withhold them since they may incriminate me. On one hand, I am an English teacher. Therefore, I protect other writers’ ideas and prevent kidnapping from occurring. On the other hand, I am a teacher and steal other people’s hand-outs since that is acceptable in the education world.
Your commentary has led me to tighten my stance on plagiarism. I have to always remember to give credit to those who share their work–even when it can be found so easily on the Internet. Thank you!
Thank you, Betsy. When I have the privilege of speaking to teachers, I always tell them to feel free to copy my handouts, share them and pass them on. I just don’t want to see them published under someone else’s name! (I had that happen once, but not with a teacher.)
My son, my daughter-in-law, my father, my grandmothers and my husband are or were all teachers. I can’t express my gratitude enough for what teachers do. From my heart to yours, Betsy, thank you so much.