Could Love Maybe Please Be A Lower Law?

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 19, 2013

So, I was reading a blog, and the blogger mentioned Love Is the Higher Law by David Levithan. And I was like, I know that book is on my TBR list, but I forget what it's about.

So I went over to Amazon and read the summary and reviews, and I realized that the premise is incredibly similar to a novel idea I had a few years ago (before this book was written but after the World Trade Center). And I know that it's not the idea, it's how you execute it, and LITHL is contempish/mainstream fiction, and mine is secondary world fantasy, and LHL is about terrorism, and mine is about war, etc.

But the iconic inciting incidents in the two stories are just so damn similar, and I really loved this story idea when I wrote it, and it wasn't actually based on Sept. 11th, really, but I feel like when people read the blurb, they'd just go "meh, LHL ripoff" and put it back.

(There is no blurb, or even a final draft, obviously, but if you know anything about blurbs, it's kind of obvious what would be on the back of the book.)

I guess mostly I'm just panicking, because how do you convince someone your book can stay out of the shadow of DL.

johnhallow · Jun 19, 2013

I know that feel bro. It's happened to me a number of times, and there have been days where I've almost convinced myself that there are mind readers out there who periodically check what I'm up to so they can get it done first, just to spite me

There have been two times where I've actually taken a break from something I'm writing only to find that poof, something identical has just come out.

The reason getting to the party late sucks so bad is that your ideas actually are original but (and this is even worse when the thing is popular) you have no way of proving it :/

Still, if you really like it then see if you can get it done anyway. From what you've said it seems like there's enough of a difference for people to see how fresh your story is when they read it. There are lots of stories that switch between characters to show a horrific incident's effect on them, and bad guys crashing something into a populated building doesn't necessarily scream World Trade Centre in fantasy. I also get the feeling that because of the speculative elements of your story you'll be catering to (mostly) a different crowd.

What specifically is it that has you worried? How closely does your inciting incident parallel 9/11?

ellio · Jun 19, 2013

I've been trying to find this post on the internet where it took a generic film tag line and applied to two starkly different films. An action thriller v. a disney movie or what have you. Aah man, if I could find it it would be perfect but I can't unfortunately. It sounds totally crap when I describe it.

Anyway the point I was going to make with it is that there are often blurbs that are similar and people do still by the book. When I pick out books by blurbs I actually tend to go for ones that sound similar to stories I already know. It would only an issue in if the story was really similar to LITHL, which it doesn't sound like it is.

Spiral Jacobs · Jun 19, 2013

Imagine how pissed off I was when Hemlock Grove got made into a Netflix series: teenage werewolf who lives in a trailer? Yeah, great. And there were a few other things that were weirdly similar (golem? incest subtext?), but overall, very little actually in common. I feel your pain. But think of it this way--how many stories have gotten published that are eerily similar to the novels that are popular? It might not be a horrible thing. It might mean you're tapping into some zeitgeist.

triceretops · Jun 19, 2013

I was accused or reminded that my YA near-future had all of its roots from the movie Burlesque. Only mine was a Burlesque in Space. Funny, but that book was written two years before the movie and I had to search out B to see the similarities. Pretty close, but no cigar.

There will always be more differences than similarities in two story lines. One sub-plot does not a ripoff make.

tri

>compass< · Jun 19, 2013

This is a nightmare of mine. Whenever I come across aspects of a story that are even vaguely like my beloved ms I panic just a little.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 19, 2013

>compass< said:
This is a nightmare of mine. Whenever I come across aspects of a story that are even vaguely like my beloved ms I panic just a little.

I'm probably just having one of these moments, but still...

mlharris · Jun 20, 2013

>compass< said:
This is a nightmare of mine. Whenever I come across aspects of a story that are even vaguely like my beloved ms I panic just a little.

Me too. When I see elements of my story in other people's work it makes me cringe. I wasn't looking at anyone else's paper, I swear!

shadowwalker · Jun 20, 2013

This is why I tend not to read books with similar subjects when I'm writing. Some of it is because I don't want to be influenced, but mainly to skip the paranoia period. After it's done, I know - and that's all that matters.

eparadysz · Jun 20, 2013

I'm so glad I don't have to worry about this. I'm working on a story about an empty hotel that's haunted. And that has NEVER been done before.

KateSmash · Jun 20, 2013

Usually I read the book/watch the show/play the game in question. And find out that they're not really all that similar beyond the basic premise.

I about had a panic attack when I finished my first (trunked) novel and then was told of a new comic series that was just like it. So I looked up. Teens trapped in a boarding school where they're at the center of horrible human experiments? Check. Oh no, the fiery, cute but tough pretty girl protagonist? The love interest is a tall red headed dude? OMG, is the tartan colors of the school uniform the same as I had in my head?

So I read the first few issues. Turns out, different kinds of weird things going on. Red headed LI? Two totally different guys. The difference kept piling up u til I felt better about myself and could move on to edits knowing a few specific things to avoid.

So, really, read the book.

Aggy B. · Jun 20, 2013

ellio said:
I've been trying to find this post on the internet where it took a generic film tag line and applied to two starkly different films. An action thriller v. a disney movie or what have you. Aah man, if I could find it it would be perfect but I can't unfortunately. It sounds totally crap when I describe it.

There's a synopsis comparison of Pocahontas and Avatar and Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Tolstoyce · Jun 20, 2013

Can this just become the thread where us writers can come to go HELP HELP SOMEONE ELSE HAS MY STORY AH OH GOD I CAN NEVER PUBLISH IT NOW? Because I feel like we all have those moments. And gorging on chocolate every time this type of paranoia strikes probably isn't good for me (or any of us).

Liosse, I'd definitely check out the book. It will probably ease your nerves. The more differences you find, the more relaxed you'll probably be.

Becca C. · Jun 20, 2013

I've honestly never had this problem. I've heard of books with a few similarities, but it doesn't make me worried or scared or sad. It makes me excited and I always want to read the book in question to see how the author handled it.

As much as I'm a (huuuuge) fan of DL, I don't think he's popular enough to pose a problem to you. I mean, sure, we in the YA world know him and he's a big player in the NYC children's publishing scene (being an editor himself and just an all-around great person), but in the greater, wider world of casual readers? He's unknown. And Love is the Higher Law is definitely one of his more obscure books -- although it doesn't deserve to be. I think you're safe.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 20, 2013

Becca C. said:
I've honestly never had this problem. I've heard of books with a few similarities, but it doesn't make me worried or scared or sad. It makes me excited and I always want to read the book in question to see how the author handled it.

See, I don't follow the whole avoid influence school. Normally I jump all over books with a similar premise while I'm writing.

As much as I'm a (huuuuge) fan of DL, I don't think he's popular enough to pose a problem to you. I mean, sure, we in the YA world know him and he's a big player in the NYC children's publishing scene (being an editor himself and just an all-around great person), but in the greater, wider world of casual readers? He's unknown. And Love is the Higher Law is definitely one of his more obscure books -- although it doesn't deserve to be. I think you're safe.

I do wonder to what extent I would have been aware of DL and this book if I didn't spend so much time here on the AW YA boards. But wouldn't agents and editors in the field be as or more aware of him? The story of mine is on the line between YA and NA. It's definitely not adult fiction.

I know intellectually that there are going to be a lot of differences. My panic is purely irrational.

MsCorva · Jun 20, 2013

Ooh, I'm having the same fears! I'm especially paranoid because the original story that my novel is based on was up on fictionpress for five years, which is plenty of time for other people to be "influenced" by it. Every time I see a new release in my genre (Rock band fiction), I cringe. Oh, please don't have a 17 year old girl meet a 29 year old Rock star and do the "will we or won't we" dance...In fact, I found a recent release in the same genre that had lots of little similarities to my fictionpress work. I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt 'cause hey, mine was just one story out of bajillions out there. But it's made me put the pedal to the metal and get my novel done and out!

Renée A. Price · Jun 21, 2013

I try to stay away from similar stories, because I really don't want to be influenced.

But then, I guess it would be worse to finish your MS and find out it is very similar to what someone else has written and published, uh?

Maybe if you know it while still writing it gives you the chance to follow a different path on your story. Maybe?

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 21, 2013

Personally, I think the whole influence thing is over-rated. Obviously there's some possibility, especially if you're a panster, but the chances of being life-threateningly influenced by reading another similar book while writing seem rather small.

Emmet Cameron · Jun 21, 2013

I'd hold off on the freaking out until you've read the whole book, for two reasons:
a) it probably isn't so similar that there isn't room for both of your books in the world, especially given all of the very clear differences you can already list, and
b) it could turn out to be a great asset if you're querying with your book, to use LITHL as a comp title, IF you can explain how your book explores similar themes and covers some aspect of them that LITHL doesn't.

One book can't do all the things. That's why we have all these books and it's awesome. Being part of a conversation that includes many other books is awesome. Not being completely original, in this sense, is awesome.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jun 22, 2013

Emmet Cameron said:
I'd hold off on the freaking out until you've read the whole book, for two reasons:
a) it probably isn't so similar that there isn't room for both of your books in the world, especially given all of the very clear differences you can already list, and
b) it could turn out to be a great asset if you're querying with your book, to use LITHL as a comp title, IF you can explain how your book explores similar themes and covers some aspect of them that LITHL doesn't.

One book can't do all the things. That's why we have all these books and it's awesome. Being part of a conversation that includes many other books is awesome. Not being completely original, in this sense, is awesome.

Well, I'd love to be completely original just because it's so damn hard, but you make a really great point about the conversation thing.

Kristenlee83 · Jun 22, 2013

When I gave my first MS to my first beta-reader, she told me it was like Twilight. In the midst of my mystified reaction, I managed to choke out a "Why?" (There is a love vs safety battle in my book, but there are no vampires, warewolves, or anything supernatural)...She looked at me very seriously and said "there's a love triangle, your MC has brown hair and they're teenagers."

Bottom line, sometimes people are looking for similiarities that don't exist too...if you feel it's too similiar, make some changes, but don't scrap the whole thing. Heck, if it's way to similiar, you can always make a spoof of a bestseller...

Renée A. Price · Jun 22, 2013

Kristenlee83 said:
When I gave my first MS to my first beta-reader, she told me it was like Twilight. In the midst of my mystified reaction, I managed to choke out a "Why?" (There is a love vs safety battle in my book, but there are no vampires, warewolves, or anything supernatural)...She looked at me very seriously and said "there's a love triangle, your MC has brown hair and they're teenagers."

WHAT?! Really? :Shrug:

webchairwarrior · Jun 25, 2013

Ugh, I know exactly how this feels! One of my characters has amnesia (which was used in a recent romantic flick, where the wife can't remember her husband) and I thought--there goes my novel! And when I try to explain what my book is about to people, their eyes seem to glare over when they hear 'amnesia'. But it's not part of the main plot, really. So I kept going with it, and it turned out nothing like that movie.

I think if you have original characters, and great writing, your book will stand out. Don't worry too much about it right now. You may find that by the time you're done, it won't even resemble Levithan's book.

Could Love Maybe Please Be A Lower Law?

Liosse de Velishaf

johnhallow

Hello? Eat my tarts?

ellio

a hardback life on an ebook budget

Spiral Jacobs

Words. Words. Words.

triceretops

>compass<

A little off kilter

Liosse de Velishaf

mlharris

shadowwalker

empty-nester!

eparadysz

KateSmash

this was a triumph

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

Tolstoyce

The glint of light on broken glass

Becca C.

Liosse de Velishaf

MsCorva

Renée A. Price

Liosse de Velishaf

Emmet Cameron

Liosse de Velishaf

Kristenlee83

Renée A. Price

webchairwarrior