# Plagiarism - Song of Ice and Fire



## Greedy Coddar Desmort (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi everyone , I'm new to forum ( Don't know if i have posted in correct forum . I tried to find question forums but the search didn't work . ) 

I started writing my world and it turned out a lot similiar to A Song of Ice and Fire . The thing is that I started working on it before I even knew about Song of Ice and Fire and the only fantasy works I knew were Lord of Rings , Wheel of Time and several others I could find in my library and they were great but didn't work out for me . I wanted something unordinary , something gray , something raw . As a kid I always drew some maps and was fascinated by medieval era and so I started creating my own.
The problem is my setting is similiar to the world of Ice and Fire , no big fantasy swords , maidens in  armor defeating evil forces with no brains and character , and other unrealistic things . But the thing  is I also imagined a world with great houses ( families as i call them )  with their sigils and their countless bannerman , except for the mottos  where I couldn't think of something that would please me because I  considered them impractical , considering most of the real medieval ones  are in latin are to be honest pointless , but GRR nailed them .  
Since he is the master of this sub-genre obviously I will  be considered a plagiator if I ever publish my books . Therefore I have  question for You . Could you tell me would you consider this a  plagiarism or you would consider it just another book in the similiar  genre ? 

Thanks everyone .


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## Terry D (Jan 15, 2014)

You will always be able to find something similar to your work. Similar isn't plagiarism.


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## Gavrushka (Jan 15, 2014)

As soon as you start writing, it is your imagination in the driving seat. - There isn't a whiff of plagiarism about that. - I feel it would be impossible to come up with a literary work that did not bear some resemblance to other pieces. - Don't sweat it, just write, and the work will be your own.

Oh, and welcome to the forums!


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## Outiboros (Jan 15, 2014)

No big fantasy swords? GRRM has this whole Unobtainium thing going on specifically for those.

Go right ahead. If you look closely enough, everything and everyone has a lookalike. This was your idea, not his, no matter how similar they are - but do try to distance yourself from GRRM a bit. Your readers might still be annoyed if your story is about Grey Walkers and the feud between the northerly House Lark and the rich House Barrister.


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## Potty (Jan 15, 2014)

Look at suzanne coins: "Battle royal? Never heard of it, honest!"


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## Sam (Jan 15, 2014)

You're confusing similar with plagiarism. Unless you've copied a passage verbatim from _A Song of Ice and Fire, _you aren't plagiarising. Doesn't matter if you use the same idea, it still isn't plagiarism. You can't copyright ideas. You can trademark names like 'Harry Potter' and such, but why would you want to use someone else's name?


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## Greedy Coddar Desmort (Jan 15, 2014)

You're right . What I should have said was " bare resemblance " . 
I  have written a lot , but I was afraid because of the mainstream  popularity of the series and the GoT TV show that it would automatically  be labeled as Game of Thrones clone . 

Thanks guys , it sure isn't and won't be clone . 

I have just one more question , is there a forum where you can post chapters for reviews or something like that ?


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## Outiboros (Jan 15, 2014)

Greedy Coddar Desmort said:


> You're right . What I should have said was " bare resemblance " .
> I  have written a lot , but I was afraid because of the mainstream  popularity of the series and the GoT TV show that it would automatically  be labeled as Game of Thrones clone .
> 
> Thanks guys , it sure isn't and won't be clone .
> ...


Prose Writer's Workshop or Fiction.


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## Gavrushka (Jan 15, 2014)

I think you need a minimum post count before you can start a thread in the workshop, so get posting!


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## PiP (Jan 15, 2014)

Greedy Coddar Desmort said:


> Y .
> 
> I have just one more question , is there a forum where you can post chapters for reviews or something like that ?



Hi Greedy Coddar,

Once you have made ten posts you are welcome to post your work to  the  Prose forums for critique. For some useful tips please check out Leyline's  post: Tips On Presenting Your Story For Online Critique . Any questions  please do not hesitate to ask 

PiP


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## Caragula (Jan 15, 2014)

It's a bit hard, if you're doing a more realistic take on fantasy, to avoid similarities with other material, like Martin's, that make use of 'real history' more overtly and fully than other work simply because you will share basically identical source material...history itself.

The distinct aspects of your fantasy world, what makes it that bit different, might lead to some fairly major differences between yours and Martin's work, indeed, from the moment you define a world map that looks nothing like his, differences must accrue.  I don't know if I'm allowed to link externally to my blog where I've got a two part post on world building (July and August last year), but it's in my sig and it shows how I started in a similar vein, keeping it 'real' with just one major tweak to my own world vs the real one, and the subsequent journey of worldbuilding spun that world out to something far far different than I'd expected at the outset.


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## Grape Juice Vampire (Jan 15, 2014)

Heck, if you went by this, one could think I was plagiarizing you or you I, what you describe sounds very much like mine. Same thing with GOT, it is similar and was so long before I'd read the books. (Being accused of ripping it off is, in part, why I read the series in the first place) I have the house thing in mine (though no family words, I don't feel it fits in the culture of my book), it's not in absolutes, i.e. fully good or evil, even the sword thing. And I have that in because I find it silly, and it amuses me to make one of my mains look a little silly. She's far too serious sometimes. I'm a medieval nut, love the period, and love writing a book in that type of setting.  What makes the difference here, is the individual, just look at your post then mine. Our ideas are similar, but our individual voices came out, even in a blurb. That is the thing that makes a story in my opinion, the writer.


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## Leyline (Jan 15, 2014)

Martin took the houses, symbols, mottos and bannermen concepts from actual history: The War Of The Roses, in particular. Don't worry about it.


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## David Gordon Burke (Jan 16, 2014)

Greedy Coddar Desmort said:


> I was afraid because of the mainstream popularity of the series and the GoT TV show that it would automatically be labeled as Game of Thrones clone .



Oops.  Nowhere in any reply post did anyone say that you 'wouldn't' be labeled as a GOT clone.   They stated that having the same ideas or a similar setting isn't necessarily plagarism.  It's not.  
One is a legal term and can be quantified.  The other is public perception and cannot.  
The way I see it, you can either a. change everything about your story - make it a story set in the desert or b. put up with the comparison or c.  start a new project and save this one for twenty years until GOT is forgotten.  If you were to choose to put up with the comparison, make sure that the setting is the only thing the stories have in common.  

This is obviously a risk writers take when they try to compete / write in the lucrative genres.  I at one time had planned a Vampire novel.  It might have been good too.  A Dracula origin story.  Maybe next life.  

Good luck.

David Gordon Burke


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## Kevin (Jan 16, 2014)

> save this one for twenty years until GOT is forgotten


 love this...
or...go back twenty and borrow someone else's. The kids'll never know the diff. Hello Hollywood...


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## Kyle R (Jan 16, 2014)

Greedy Coddar Desmort said:


> Hi everyone , I'm new to forum ( Don't know if i have posted in correct forum . I tried to find question forums but the search didn't work . )
> 
> I started writing my world and it turned out a lot similiar to A Song of Ice and Fire . The thing is that I started working on it before I even knew about Song of Ice and Fire and the only fantasy works I knew were Lord of Rings , Wheel of Time and several others I could find in my library and they were great but didn't work out for me . I wanted something unordinary , something gray , something raw . As a kid I always drew some maps and was fascinated by medieval era and so I started creating my own.
> The problem is my setting is similiar to the world of Ice and Fire , no big fantasy swords , maidens in  armor defeating evil forces with no brains and character , and other unrealistic things . But the thing  is I also imagined a world with great houses ( families as i call them )  with their sigils and their countless bannerman , except for the mottos  where I couldn't think of something that would please me because I  considered them impractical , considering most of the real medieval ones  are in latin are to be honest pointless , but GRR nailed them .
> ...



George Martin doesn't hold the rights to all fiction set in Medieval Era, just as Stephen King doesn't hold to the rights to all fiction set in New England.

A setting is a setting. It's the characters and their struggles that make your story unique. I can write up a Medieval Era story right now and it'd have nothing to do with George Martin, other than us both writing about characters who live in the same time period.

Don't let yourself feel limited by the works of another author. Focus on your own stories and you'll be fine. :encouragement:


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## Gargh (Jan 16, 2014)

Think of it as an opportunity: finish as quick as you can and send it out to agents/publishers whilst everyone's still hot on GRRM and giving anything even vaguely similar more than a second glance


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## Greedy Coddar Desmort (Jan 18, 2014)

Thank you for expressing your opinions . They sure mean a lot to me and gave me a sort of boost and a reminder to keep on with my work . Currently I'm writing a major naval battle , almost Battle of Lepant scale with two POV's on different sides . 

Yet again my question need be answered 

Can I post for example a picture of my world map for commentary in new thread ?


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## PiP (Jan 18, 2014)

Greedy Coddar Desmort said:


> Can I post for example a picture of my world map for commentary in new thread ?



Hi Greedy Coddar,

Once you've made ten posts you are welcome to share your picture in the Visual Arts forum or in the Members Only Workshop 

PiP


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