My line?

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Regan Leigh

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Have you ever written a line that you love, but are terrified you might have read somewhere else? I have one of those lines in my WIP and I hate to cut it, but what if I read something similar in another work? (I have no idea where I might have heard it. I just have that fear.)
 

Stunted

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I've worried. Try googling it. I don't remember the details, but I remember that doing so put my worries to rest.
 

aadams73

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Yes, I have a line like this right now. I really hope I haven't picked it up in my book travels, because it's perfect.
 

gypsyscarlett

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I've also worried about that. I've written lines that I've really liked and then thought, "Oh my God. Is that really mine? Or was it lurking in my subconcious from one of the thousand novels I've read?

But I've since relaxed somewhat. I think Exir is correct that a single line can't be copyrighted. If you imagine the gazillion novels that have been published throughout time, odds suggest that there must be numerous duplicate sentences and even similar paragraphs out there.

I might be totally wrong, but I think the authors who have been found guilty of plagarism had novels that had numerous instances of very close paragraphs from the same source. Too many to seem like mere coincidence.
 

colealpaugh

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Hmmm....yeah, I know what you're sayin'...I just close my eyes and type as a fast as I can every night and just hope another writer's words don't fly out of me by accident. To go back and realize this might have happened would be quite a conundrum, unless my MC explicitly said "We never laugh at live dragons." Eh, then it's easy.
 

Regan Leigh

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Thanks for making me feel better! I googled it and nothing even close came up as a hit, so that's a relief!

Sorry Charlee! :D
 

~*Kate*~

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I had a character say, "They're not big on social graces" and kept thinking it sounded familiar.... apparently because I was channeling Garth Brooks at the time.
 

Regan Leigh

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:D Even better is that I haven't replaced it yet b/c I can't think past it. :lol:

Maybe...
They're not big on civil charm?
They're not big on a collective etiquette?
They're not big on social STUDIES? :roll:

Um, yeah. I got nothin'.
 
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