The Good and The Bad about The Ugly

I spent most of this past week wrestling with a scene. I knew who my characters
were and where they were going (the action). Reaching that final hook took some
effort, though. That’s because, and here’s the truth of it, writing is hard
work. But it is oh so satisfying when it does come together.

That is why the plagiarism scandal that hit the blogosphere last weekend is yet
another reminder that, in the face of the above truth, stealing someone else’s
words is, apparently, sometimes just too tempting a way to avoid said hard
work.

I’m not here to rehash old news—you can read about it at Dear Author and
Smartbitches. Or debate the merits, or lack of, of the plagiarist’s apology to
Liz Fielding.

There is no debate. Plagiarism is ugly.

The bad news is the publishing industries’ explosion onto the internet makes it all
that much easier to find material and steal it.

But, as the recent scandal reveals, there’s as flip side. It is now also that much
easier to uncover the nasty deed. Google search, anyone?

Meanwhile, tomorrow the three of us—my imagination, my computer, and I—will be back in the office working on the next scene.