tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post8028726294114923809..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Flash Fiction– Great MindsLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15678526405657932612020-03-23T04:17:00.469-04:002020-03-23T04:17:00.469-04:00Leigh, I'll do it someday; it depends on comin...Leigh, I'll do it someday; it depends on coming up with another method of impossible vanishment from an impossible place (and I may have it!)Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63808437808678798842013-07-26T12:37:05.880-04:002013-07-26T12:37:05.880-04:00It seems everyone copies everyone else's ideas...It seems everyone copies everyone else's ideas in television and in movies. So many similarities pop up that I already figured out who did what in the first five minutes. Writers do the same thing plotting variations of the same theme and just changing the names. It is disconcerting as you have indicated but hard to prove plagiarism unless copying word for word. Just have to do it better I guess and hope for fans that want to read your stories and not someone else's.Regge Ridgwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496938203092973538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15141673827147773422013-07-26T12:36:21.460-04:002013-07-26T12:36:21.460-04:00It seems everyone copies everyone else's ideas...It seems everyone copies everyone else's ideas in television and in movies. So many similarities pop up that I already figured out who did what in the first five minutes. Writers do the same thing plotting variations of the same theme and just changing the names. It is disconcerting as you have indicated but hard to prove plagiarism unless copying word for word. Just have to do it better I guess and hope for fans that want to read your stories and not someone else's. Regge Ridgwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496938203092973538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89864204381862247102013-04-22T02:11:12.529-04:002013-04-22T02:11:12.529-04:00Hey Jeff! I was just talking about you this aftern...Hey Jeff! I was just talking about you this afternoon!<br /><br />Have you reconsidered going ahead with your story? If the characters are different, could it obviously be your own?Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-88772387771851157012013-04-22T01:01:27.161-04:002013-04-22T01:01:27.161-04:00Loved it Leigh! I think Ellery Queen had to ditch ...Loved it Leigh! I think Ellery Queen had to ditch a novel in progress because Agatha Christie hit on the plot first. And I tossed one of my own stories when Edward D. Hoch published one with the same idea!Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-36146910262214045042013-04-21T21:58:45.560-04:002013-04-21T21:58:45.560-04:00Herschel and Louis and anon, thank you. When the m...Herschel and Louis and anon, thank you. When the muse strikes, the results can be satisfying.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24449704393343041242013-04-21T15:16:23.984-04:002013-04-21T15:16:23.984-04:00I read your other two flash stories. Hey, I like t...I read your other two flash stories. Hey, I like this flash fiction stuff and must read more.<br /><br />There are no new plots only new ways of handling the old, eternal ones. <br />Louis A. Willishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16563842429688123421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62841386515933020682013-04-21T14:19:28.583-04:002013-04-21T14:19:28.583-04:00Yours is a good story combining humor with the (ti...Yours is a good story combining humor with the (tiny) plot. Nice punch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-58189800649676448842013-04-21T14:12:36.555-04:002013-04-21T14:12:36.555-04:00Leigh, I'm a big fan of flash fiction and env...Leigh, I'm a big fan of flash fiction and envy writers who can pack a punch in a few words. Brevity is the soul of wit. It is also a powerful tool when used properly. Love your story!Herschel Cozinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06097703750150309319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-69355672733493743122013-04-21T12:57:46.734-04:002013-04-21T12:57:46.734-04:00RT and John, you're correct– use it or lose it...RT and John, you're correct– use it or lose it. And I fully appreciate the support.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74313392941081393822013-04-21T12:46:48.119-04:002013-04-21T12:46:48.119-04:00Leigh, I love your short humor and play on words. ...Leigh, I love your short humor and play on words. Got my laugh for the day.<br />As for other writers with similar ideas, my premise for the 10th story in my Twin Brothers Bail Bond series had lingered in potential story notes for over a decade. Then a couple of years ago, a blogger at the AHMM site mentioned this (same) idea he had and wondered why no one had used it yet. At that point, it was write it or lose it. I finished the story and submitted ASAP. MORAL: Write it quick or someone else will.R.T. Lawtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15523486296396710227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75706253372607246242013-04-21T10:15:31.998-04:002013-04-21T10:15:31.998-04:00Leigh, that's happened to all of us. I think ...Leigh, that's happened to all of us. I think it was Mark Twain who wrote that Adam was the only person who, when he said something, could be sure that no one had said it before him.<br /><br />By the way, this is probably the only time my name has appeared, or will ever appear, in a piece with "Great Minds" in its title.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-19671992808807324112013-04-21T08:51:22.825-04:002013-04-21T08:51:22.825-04:00Oh no, Fran! I can't think of anything that co...Oh no, Fran! I can't think of anything that could go right with that scenario. A few years ago, I received a query if I'd consider writing a biography of a small town's football hero. I thought about it for 30 seconds or so and had to tell them I couldn't do the story justice. Beyond the artistic difficulty, the economics didn't seem reasonable: Calculating how many copies might be sold, I figured my take would be about 30¢ an hour.<br /><br />Elizabeth, you've got that right. The characters are what make stories unique. But the same punchline is disturbing!Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89953090960702948202013-04-21T07:58:12.864-04:002013-04-21T07:58:12.864-04:00If you put "Seven Original Plots" in our...If you put "Seven Original Plots" in our search box, you'll find my post on the subject that appeared on SleuthSayers in October 2012. There are no new plots--but I'd like to think no one else is likely to come up with my voice or my characters.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-72896128367087370382013-04-21T07:49:26.450-04:002013-04-21T07:49:26.450-04:00Leigh, a writer told me years ago that I'd nev...Leigh, a writer told me years ago that I'd never find anything really new to write about. The trick, according to him, is to tell it in a different and better way. <br /><br />When my first book was published, many friends shared with me that they had written a book, too. One showed up at my door with no advance warning. She said, "I've written a book, and I want you to help me get it published." Now I know better, but back then, I was willing to take a look at it. When I told her that I had no secret codes to getting anything published but that I'd read the first couple of chapters, she said, "Oh, no, I've written it in my head. I want you to put it on paper for me."<br />Fran Rizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08655783035179620991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-79847305473557415292013-04-21T07:35:19.250-04:002013-04-21T07:35:19.250-04:00Rob, by 'painful', I assume you mean super...Rob, by 'painful', I assume you mean superb, wonderful, and tremendous. Come to think of it, you've set more than one story in diners, haven't you?<br /><br />Toe, you and I follow in the footsteps of those who've gone before us. Hmm… how can you apply your degree in anthropology to enhancing your success in writing?Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-17931727877881608902013-04-21T01:49:45.935-04:002013-04-21T01:49:45.935-04:00Well, that FF was painful. Thank you.
Back at CB...Well, that FF was painful. Thank you.<br /><br />Back at CB I wrote about reading a Lee Child novel and thinking, is it possible he stole the opening from one of my stories? Then I discovered his was written years before mine, and I had never read it when I wrote mine. Both involve a guy sitting in a diner when cops burst in to arrest him for a murder he didnt commit. both guys are eating eggs....Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-81127315016102795752013-04-21T00:44:30.600-04:002013-04-21T00:44:30.600-04:00Hey Leigh: You are directly on target. New writers...Hey Leigh: You are directly on target. New writers like me need to understand that nothing in terms of plot is new. Everything happens at a particular time based on collective convergence of consciousness. This is something I have never forgotten while earning my degree in Anthropology. For some reason it can never be explained. A new idea appears over here, the same idea occurs over there. It seems to happen regardless. A while back, I mentioned a plot idea to Dixon Hill when we were discussing how far back children's memories go. Guess what? A novel was just recently released that was based on an en utero baby seeking revenge on her mother's killer. Yours truly, Toe.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407149021673167001noreply@blogger.com