And I thought I was a genius...

It happened again.

Someone copied my work.

Twenty years ago.


That's right. Some of my favorite phrases in an unpublished manuscript of mine were plagiarized twenty years ago.

Ack, I'm kidding!

Here's what happened. I was reading an older romance when I stumbled across phrasing almost identical to the phrasing in my manuscript. It was weird.

And humbling.

Here I thought I came up with this deep and lovely prose, and another author already used it. One of my so-called original phrases include the term "her eyes silver pools of sorrow". BEEP. That's been used. Grrrrr.....

Has this happened to you or am I just crazy (and unoriginal, lol)?

Comments

Terri Tiffany said…
LOL! Yep! More than once!
November 2, 2008 at 7:24 AM
Susan J. Reinhardt said…
Hmm, let's see. Awhile back,I had a great idea for a devotional. Before I could write it, I picked up a non-fiction book that used the same premise. Needless to say, I shelved that project.

Blessings,
Susan :)
November 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
Haha, I'm not Alone!
Thanks for stopping by, guys :-)

btw, Terri, I can't seem to get to your blog by clicking on your name. It says it hasn't been made public. Just thought I'd let you know, if you didn't already. :-)
November 2, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Jessica Nelson said…
Okay, Terri. Never mind! It just worked.
November 2, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Anonymous said…
wow! That's a really beautiful line! It's really irksome that you can't use it as is, but maybe it's still salvagable. Change it up here and there and you can still make it yours.

And no, this hasn't happened to me yet--AS FAR AS I KNOW. You know how that goes ... I haven't read every book out there, yet. Snicker.
November 2, 2008 at 2:40 PM
Sarah said…
I once had this idea for a Civil War novel about a cotton plantation on the verge of ruin and a young, selfish girl who fights to "never go hungry again." Too bad some lady named Margaret Mitchell had the idea first...

Lol, but seriously I WISH I could've had that genius idea. Ms. Mitchell is gone, but her novel will live on for many, many years.
November 2, 2008 at 8:48 PM
Susan J. Reinhardt said…
Hi Jessica -

Off topic: I've given you the, "I Love Your Blog," award in today's post.

Blessings,
Susan :)
November 3, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
Hi Sarah, you're hilarious. :-)

Hey Anita, so you think my line is beautiful? That's sweet. Too bad someone else already thought it up, LOL.

I doubt anyone has the same wording as you. You have a unique style, I think.
November 3, 2008 at 10:23 AM
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