Everything Wrong With HARRY POTTER Fanfictions

DON'T NO 12: Plagiarism

Yes, today we are going to talk about the biggest issues on the Internet. Plagiarism. A lot of authors complain about it stating that their content is not safe at online writing sites and can easily get copied/plagiarized etc.

Obviously, it is not in our hands to set the problem right at a large scale, but we can do our best to contribute in wiping it out.

How?

By not plagiarizing any material/content.

Of course, if all of us start working individually and taking a step in not supporting plagiarism then, as it is quoted, a few drops will come together to make a giant ocean.

Now... Enough of the pep talk and let's get straightforward here.

Plagiarizing exists since oh so long ago. And the excuses people give for plagiarism are lame af. No really, I'm not kidding.

Firstly, let's get this one thing straight: PLAGIARISM is not INSPIRATION.

Stop equating them both because these two are total opposites.

Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

While Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

Plagiarism, in my opinion, is a sin. So if you plagiarize any creative work that is not your own, then I might swoop down on you like a preacher reprimanding a sinner and getting him/her to confess to their deadly sins. And get exorcised as well, as an afterthought (perhaps).

Because honestly, you are stealing someone else's creativity by just taking up that work as if you have picked up a doughnut from the shop's counter and walked off without payment.

YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DOUGHNUT OR ELSE LIVE WITHOUT THE DOUGHNUT.

Just like a baker spends his/her time on making the dough, baking the doughnut (or donut, it's really annoying how the American dictionary is different from the British), icing it afterwards and deserves payment for his/her labor, similarly an author spends his/her time crafting a story, developing characters and thinking out a perfect plot line.

THESE AUTHORS DESERVE PAYMENT. WHICH IS RECOGNITION BY THE WAY, IF YOU'RE WONDERING.

(God... This really is a sensitive topic for me).

So for the sake of Merlin / Sirius Black / Damon Salvatore / Percy Jackson etc etc, don't do this. Do not Plagiarize.

Alright, now let me tell you what is Inspiration.

Suppose you find an awesome story on Lucius Malfoy which turns your feelings towards the character and you're like: Hell, yeah, I should write a story on him too! And then you think up a plot, invest Lucius and your own OCs, write everything yourself, and come up with an equally awesome story.

This, my dear fellows, is Inspiration.

And in the case of plagiarism...

You come across an awesome story on Lucius Malfoy which turns your feelings towards the character and you're like: Hell, yeah, I should write a story on him too! And then you just change the names of the OCs, do a little adjustments and EFFING COPY THE WHOLE OF THE STUFF DOWN THERE UNDER YOUR OWN NAME. Every fight, every scene, every date, every confession is literally copy pasted.

And then the most annoying part is when said plagiarist is faced with the possibility of being sued (or if the original authors claim their work to be plagiarized), then said plagiarist simply responses with a: Your story was so good and inspirational, I was just inspired to write something like that!

Now listen here, little creativity thief, you did not just get an inspiration, you simply copied the whole of the content as if it was a low quality print of an A class movie!

So keeping things simple, just don't ever plagiarize.

In that way you are hurting not only the author but also damaging the chances of him/her receiving praise for his/her own work.

And that is quite a sin. Any objection?

***

So before I get any more emotional on ranting on this topic, let's put an end to this and vow never to plagiarize anything.

Be inspired by other's writings but do not copy them.

Stay tuned for the next chapter!