Have you ever read a story where you see more than one author playing out the same exact plot or idea and think wow they are completely different takes on the same thing? Or do you tend to think wow one is totally copying off of the other? Or think it's too similar even if it's not copying? If so, have you ever given up on one story and continued reading the other?
Usually when I see two different stories tackling the same general idea or subject matter, they end up being really different. I don't see what I would consider blatant copying very often, but the times that I have, it's usually a case of a less experienced writer copying a more experienced one, and in comparing the two stories, the original is usually better. Writers who aren't creative enough to at least put their own spin on someone else's idea usually aren't talented enough to write their copy well either.
Have you ever stayed away from a topic just because you see someone else tackle it? Or on the other end of the spectrum do you try to use other people's ideas and just make them your own?
I did have an idea for a suspense story that I'd been considering writing for awhile, until someone on AC (not any of you) started writing a story with a similar premise, so I put my idea on the backburner. The other writer never finished hers, and it ended up being a lot different from how mine would have gone, anyway, so it's an idea I'd still consider writing someday.
I also remember being a little concerned when Hannah started posting Something Beautiful because I had just started writing Curtain Call but hadn't posted any of it yet, so when I started reading SB and got the "cancer story" vibe, I was like, "Really, are you kidding me??" But SB and CC are a prime example of two stories that fall under the same basic premise (Backstreet Boy has cancer), but go in two totally different directions.
I never set out to blatantly steal someone else's idea, but I definitely get inspired by other people's ideas (not just in fanfic, but in books, shows, and movies too). There are a couple of old stories I've written that come too close to comfort to the original idea (and are not executed nearly as well), but for the most part, even if I am inspired by someone else's work, I take mine in a different direction by putting my own spin on it.
