Multiple WIPs based in fictional world - advice?

ktdude · Jul 12, 2018

Sorry for the really vague title, I think it's vague because I'm not quite sure myself what I need to know but just wanted to float this past you more experienced world-builders to see if anyone has done what I'm currently doing, or sees any issue with it.

My main WIP is a novel (probable trilogy) set on Earth and in a fictional world (which are linked by a dreamworld - not important for this question just providing extra info!). I am probably halfway through my first draft and realised that I'd written many of the Earth and dreamworld-based sections and very little of the other world, so I came up with a short story idea which has really helped me with my world building, and it's developing into something I am quite pleased with and may submit for publication (after much polishing). Then, I had a couple more short story ideas.

Any advice in this regard - if something got published (big 'if' of course), would it be self-plagiarism if I were to then include any of the detail from one of the short stories in the main novel series? Should I be avoiding or embracing this urge? Has anyone done similar?

Thanks in advance

Brightdreamer · Jul 12, 2018

I don't think you can plagiarize from yourself, unless you sell all rights forever to someone else - which would be a terrible contract to sign, and you shouldn't do it.

Many people write "extra" works tied into the same world. (Brandon Sanderson is the modern king of this, with his grand Cosmere; he even has graphic novels involved. Also, James S. A. Corey has shorts and novellas tied into the Expanse universe, which fill out the world and add background and foreshadow future developments. And many novels start out as shorts that the author expanded on.) Just make sure each part stands up well enough to be read on its own, and you're good to go, IMHO.

Jaymz Connelly · Jul 12, 2018

For whatever it's worth, I wrote a trilogy a couple of years ago that had a collection of shorts attached to it. I wrote the first book in the trilogy, and then all these snippets that were history/backstory came to me, so I wrote those before writing the second and third in the trilogy. I drew on the information in the shorts for the second and third books in my trilogy. I found writing the wee shorts helped me to clarify the characters, what motivates them, why they act the way they do... And having the info from the shorts helped make the second and third books of my trilogy better than they otherwise would have been.

So I say, go for it. Write the shorts. Even if they don't get published, it's the history of your world and it'll help you write the novels better.

As for the plagarizing angle, I honestly don't see how you could plagarize from yourself as the definition of plagarize is: take (the work or an idea of someone else) and pass it off as one's own. (bolding mine) You're not taking someone else's idea, it's your own.

Dave.C.Robinson · Jul 12, 2018

Don't worry about "self-plagiarism." The only time I've ever seen it come up has been when writing copy for a client who wanted each piece to be wholly original because they weren't paying for the same work twice.

ktdude · Jul 13, 2018

Great thanks for the responses everyone. I will continue - I'm under no illusion that I may not get anything published anyway so am probably worrying over nothing but just wanted to check no major alarm bells would sound over this kind of thing.

Jaymz Connelly said:
For whatever it's worth, I wrote a trilogy a couple of years ago that had a collection of shorts attached to it. I wrote the first book in the trilogy, and then all these snippets that were history/backstory came to me, so I wrote those before writing the second and third in the trilogy. I drew on the information in the shorts for the second and third books in my trilogy. I found writing the wee shorts helped me to clarify the characters, what motivates them, why they act the way they do... And having the info from the shorts helped make the second and third books of my trilogy better than they otherwise would have been.

So I say, go for it. Write the shorts. Even if they don't get published, it's the history of your world and it'll help you write the novels better.
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It's definitely helping me flesh out my world and I'm liking some of the characters so much they may also appear in sequels!

Multiple WIPs based in fictional world - advice?

ktdude

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist

Jaymz Connelly

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Dave.C.Robinson

... with the High Command

ktdude