The Fine Art of Literary Theft
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1 The Fine Art of Literary Theft How to use (and not abuse) the tropes and traditions of romance for fun and profit. La Nascita di Venere, Botticelli
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A set of slides from the Emerald City Writers' Conference. Whether it's a twist on the familiar Cinderella story or a new take on vampires and werewolves, romance is a genre that thrives on reinvention. But how does a writer strike the right balance between a fresh new idea and a story with classic appeal? With fan fiction and its links to romance under the microscope, where do we draw the line between inspiration, playful allusion and a flat-out rip-off? Come learn how to fracture your fairy tales, revamp your vamps and reshape your shifters to best showcase your unique voice and catch the attention of agents, editors, and readers.
Transcript of The Fine Art of Literary Theft
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The Fine Art of Literary Theft
How to use (and not abuse) the tropes and traditions of romance for fun and
profit.
La Nascita di Venere, Botticelli
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Our tongue is a thieving tongue.
“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”
-- James Nicoll
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Thievery has a long artistic pedigree.(Though we usually refer to this as
an allusion, homage, reimagining, or a parallel
novel.)
Ovid
‣ Stole from Homer and other Greek and Latin poets, who stole from him in turn.
Shakespeare
‣ Stole from Homer, Ovid, and plenty of Italian storytellers.
James Joyce
‣ Stole from Homer, Shakespeare, and contemporary Irish songs, among many other sources.
(When in doubt, steal from Homer. He’ll never see it coming.)
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Romance has great booty (pun intended).The romance genre is full of established settings, tropes, and narrative arcs – all ripe for plunder.
Setting Narrative Arc
‣Regency London
‣Small Southern town
‣BDSM club
‣Space!
Trope
‣Wounded hero
‣Opposites attract
‣Marriage of convenience
‣Mistaken identity/amnesia
‣Beauty and the beast
‣Friends to lovers
‣Working together to solve crime
‣Secret baby
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Not All Theft is Created Equal
La Naissance de Venus, Selous
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Plagiarism is wrong: do not do it.Plagiarism is wrong: do not do it.
Plagiarism is wrong: do not do it.
Plagiarism is wrong: do not do it.
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FanfictionFifty shades of grey areas
EngagedFans
Copycats/Plagiarists
?!?!?
Talented
Writers
In It ForThe
Money
‣ Fanfic authors are both consumers and creators, an uneasy mix.
‣ Many authors worry that fan creations will eclipse their own works in popularity/profitability.
‣ At the same time, fandom has a sophisticated language for distinguishing between canon works, fan works, and ‘fanon,’ or fan-established traditions.
‣ So authors of fanfiction are always secondary in status to ‘real’ authors, irrespective of talent or popularity.
Anxieties
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Cultural AppropriationBecause for the most part romance is really,
really white.
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So You Want To Diversify Your Fiction:A very very very basic primer that you should consider as a starting point rather than an thorough method.
Do: Do Not:
‣Research, and not just for the hard facts.
‣Check thoroughly to make sure you’re not making basic mistakes.
‣Remember that your character should be a person.
‣Do not use the word ‘exotic.’ Ever.
‣Do not use someone else’s culture or identity as a metaphor.
‣Do not defend your depiction of a borrowed cultural identity as authentic. It’s not.
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Recommend books by other authors!
Jeannie Lin‣ Writes dark, lyrical
fantasy set in intricate, unique worlds.
‣ Writes emotionally compelling contemporary romance with Asian-American heroes and heroines.
Alternatively:
Search out and talk about good books from marginalized voices.
N. K. Jemisin
Vicki Essex‣ Writes sweetly spicy
historical romance set in Tang-dynasty China.
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TransmutationTurning old, dull elements into new
valuable ones.
Birth of Venus, Fritz Zuber-Buhler
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Know your materials.Many tropes and story elements come with useful
built-in themes.
Cinderella Vampires
Disguised identity, class boundaries, dysfunctional families, sexual competition, magic, search
for a missing person
Blood, nighttime, no reflection, predation, contagion, sexual
charisma, transformation, fear, power, death
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Reverse the polarity!Change something fundamental about a trope to make it refreshing.
Vampires
Cinderella
Secret Baby
Vampires do not show up in mirrors.
Traditional Transformed
Vampires use mirrors as a means of magical
travel.
Cinderella goes to the ball … why, exactly?
(Original Cinderella: so passive!)
Cinderella goes to the ball in disguise because she is
blackmailing the prince.
Baby the result of long-ago sex between
hero/heroine.
Baby a clone of heroine that scientist hero made from her
DNA.
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Complementary ElementsExplore the common ground of combined tropes.
MidnightDysfunctional families
DisguiseTransformation
Magic
Cinderella
Vampires
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Contrasting ElementsThe differences between tropes are often a rich source of conflict.
Vampires Werewolves
post-death undeadgenerally bloodlesssuperior/snobbishglamorousfastidious
pre-death undeadanimalisticbrutalroughcombative
Examples: Twilight, Warriors of Poseidon, Parasol Protectorate
CONFLICT!
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Polish your material.Use your tropes to inform your characters, and vice versa.PrimerConnect/contrast your tropes, or make your twist. For example: Cinderella is a vampire.
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Balance thetelling details
with thebig picture.
Background
Develop the internal logic of
your premise. Cinderella the
vampire goes to the ball to stop her
vampire stepsisters from
turning the prince.
ForegroundFlesh out your characters and setting. Cinderella didn’t choose to be turned and has sworn to prevent it from happening to anyone else.
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Da Vinci, Dali, or Mary Cassatt?Mixing tropes can be delicate and subtle as well as bold and showy. Choose elements that suit your narrative voice.
Original Trope Subtle Twist
‣Friend’s older brother (or older brother’s friend)
‣Heroine returns to her small-town hometown to run B&B/bakery/etc.
‣Friend’s younger brother (or younger brother’s friend)
‣Heroine returns to her city hometown to start community garden/food co-op/locavore movement
‣Boss falls in love with his business rival’s secretary
‣Boss falls in love with his secretary
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In SummationQuick ‘n’ dirty recap of all the stuff I just
said.
The Birth of Venus, Henri-Pierre Picou
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Transmutation Cheat SheetSuccessfully stealing in four easy steps.
Prep Your Canvas Know Your Materials
Sketch Out Your Figures Composition
‣Choose your elements (tropes, setting, etc.)
‣Preliminary research (history, biography, cultural)
‣Identify problem areas
‣Develop interesting tensions (competing agendas, antagonists)
‣Secondary research (there’s always something)
‣Write
‣Write
‣Write some more
‣Identify themes in your tropes to combine or contrast
‣Identify a color palette (dark and angsty, light and sweet, lush and dramatic)
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Credits:Magpie image courtesy of the Graphics Fairy (www.graphicsfairy.com)Various Venus Anadyomenes, Cinderella, the bat, and the image of Lord White Elephant via Wikimedia Commons
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