Friday, May 9, 2008

Plagiarism commended

I remember reading the hype surrounding Opal Mehta …… and was simply astounded that such a brilliant act of literary theft was exposed only because she was too stupid to cover her tracks. I admit that it isn't really clever when its plagiarism – but hey – it's the devious mind at work that is so admirable. I've stolen a thing or two in the past (all of you who know the stories – shushJ). I consider myself an art thief – I only stole things from hotels – ashtrays, forks, spoons, glasses and a couple of paintings – nothing that would put either the moral police or the actual ones on my trail!

I find it rather stimulating to read before going to sleep every night. I was an avid reader until 2006 and could not sleep without reading for a bit. It's a wonderful habit to cultivate – it's educational, inspiring and invigorating. On someone's recommendation I started reading romance novels before sleeping. I used to consider them lame excuses for literature – more like trash. I have a different view now. They are rather interesting. Some of the scenes described are very illustrative and images easily get conjured in the mind. The lurid language is enough to make anyone blush.

The stories are rather drab – the outcome is certain. The plot hardly thickens, yet there's the element of romance…of longing, that keeps you turning the pages. The men are always ruggedly handsome, super rich and built like Greek Gods. So now I'm contemplating writing romance novels. I'm not saying it's easy or even that I'd be good. But I think I can conjure up some pretty steamy stuff that will keep you awake late into the night, or perhaps, into the wee hours of the morning. Women do tend to enjoy this kind of literature, and I will be proud to deliver some quality stuff to those who wish to indulge their senses in a pie of seductive scenes. I'm sure the men will find it hard to match up to the dream-guy standards that these novels set. On the contrary, well, men will say that women can't live up to their dream-girl standards either! Touché!

The point of this piece is that I don't think plagiarism is that bad. As long as it isn't a direct rip off, reproduction is quite acceptable. At least rephrase!!! It's the least you can do. Even you do adopt a similar story line, throw some individuality and creativity in to make it feel different from the place plagiarized.

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