Does this sound too much like Dickens' A Christmas Carol?

The Second Moon

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I've had a really cool idea for a story and wrote a quick blurb about the story, but when I showed it to someone they said it sounded too much like A Christmas Carol

Keep in mind I won't publish this story (if I ever write it...) But I would like to share it with a family member.

Anyway here's the blurb:

Kelton is the Symbolizer of Imagination, meaning he, like a fourth of the population, represents a color, animal, object, or abstract idea. This also means Kelton can create illusions, like how he created Asher, his best friend, when he was only a toddler. Asher was always been different from Kelton’s other illusions. He’s tangible, has a free will, and he was the only other person who saw Kelton’s father get killed by a shark nine years ago. So, when Kelton finds out Asher is flickering, a sign he’s about to disappear, Kelton must find a way to save his best friend, unlike how he couldn’t save his father. With help from the Symbolizers of the Past, Present and Future, Kelton learns more about his best friend and how to overcome emotional difficulties.

So does it sound too much like A Christmas Carol? The only similarity the person I showed it to could find was about the Symbolizers of the Past, Present, and Future, but is that enough to make it seem like yet another A Christmas Carol-based story? I don't want it to be.
 
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BT Lamprey

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I'm not sure I follow: Are you concerned about showing them the blurb, or the story?

The blurb does seem like an overt reference to A Christmas Carol. That could be fixed by simply rephrasing one sentence.

The story, presumably, wouldn't have the three symbolizers haunting Kelton one at a time, so it wouldn't be as similar.
 

The Second Moon

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I'm not sure I follow: Are you concerned about showing them the blurb, or the story?

The blurb does seem like an overt reference to A Christmas Carol. That could be fixed by simply rephrasing one sentence.

The story, presumably, wouldn't have the three symbolizers haunting Kelton one at a time, so it wouldn't be as similar.

Well, I guess I'm worried about the showing them the story which I haven't written, but really want to.

No, the three Symbolizers don't appear to Kelton one at a time. And they are actually triplets who happen to be his little 13-year-old sister's friends, so that's why they help him. And their powers only work if they are all together, holding hands, and heartbeats in perfect unison. (which is a lot harder than it seems.)

By the way, how can I change that sentence to make it not seem like A Christmas Carol-based story?
 

LesFewer

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People always say stuff looks unoriginal. Think of all the thousands of books and movies based on the "hero's journey", they all have the same plot but nobody says they're derivative. I think this is because characters are the most important part of the story and if you do a character right, you don't have to worry about much else, plot included. Plus even though the plot is similar the author modifies the plot so you'd never know it's the "hero's journey".

To me what it sounds like you might be doing is mixing two or more things which is what a lot of authors do. Mix zombies and Pride and Prejudice and you have a whole new genre.
 

frimble3

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I'd just describe them as 'three other Symbolizers' and leave it as that. Lots of things come in threes: Mother, Maid and Crone spring to mind (which I'd go for if they weren't triplets. And kids).
Other than that, 'A Christmas Carol' is about a miser's redemption and return to humanity, which doesn't sound like your story, so I think you're good, otherwise. (Oh, and don't set it at Christmastime.)

And, your character is a Symbolizer himself, which gives him a little more agency than Scrooge, who is just hauled around his past, with no say in anything.
 
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BT Lamprey

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Just use "fellow symbolizers" instead of "Symbolizers of the Past, Present and Future" and absolutely no one will think of A Christmas Carol.
 

stephenf

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I think most stories are like another. If you enjoy reading it, it's not a problem
 
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