Do you worry about stealing someones writing?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

No need if you take the proper precautions. 

Like the tortoise, I’m still plodding along. And for the

A-Z Challenge  letter P  I’ve chosen 

P = Plagiarism

In the words of every kindergarten teacher, “It’s not nice to take what doesn’t belong to you.”

Plagiarism_is_Bad

We’ve heard those words from the time we’ve toddled around on unsteady legs and yet many writers are tempted.

Why?

Because it’s hard to write something old, to make it fresh and new again. Every story line has been written, every plot told and every secret revealed, somewhere by someone. If it were easy, everyone would write a best-selling novel.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as:

A noun:

  1. An act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not re-editing the original author:

Synonyms: appropriation, infringement, piracy, counterfeiting; theft, borrowing, cribbing, passing off.

  1. A piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation.

Whether writing fiction or a research paper, it’s important to avoid copying someone else’s work and fail to give due credit.

Learn to paraphrase and rewrite in your own words. If you must quote, use proper quotes and cite the author and/or publication. Remember, no one likes to be misquoted, and no one likes a thief.

What do you think? In this day of self-publishing is plagiarism becoming more of a problem?
Or less, due to all the tools available to writers?
Do you have a favorite program? My favorite go-to program to avoid this scourge is Grammarly.com. 

I’ve listed a few more links for tools to help at the bottom, keep reading.

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

6 Ways to Avoid Plagiarism in Research Papers at Write Check

http://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/

http://www.plagiarism.org/

http://plagiarisma.net/

12 thoughts on “Do you worry about stealing someones writing?”

  1. You are so right about there is nothing new under the sun! As a professor, I have seen my share of pirated research papers. Some students are dumb enough to leave the hyperlink color in their paper or cut and paste large content that is a completely different style of writing. I say it’s okay to use others work, just cite it. Great post for the theme!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I think it’s a very good point, about inadvertently plagiarising. I tend not to read anything similar to what I’m writing when I’m in the swing of a first draft, otherwise I tend to hear other people’s voices rather than my own. And much the same thing happens in my real life too. I used to travel a lot for work, and I’d suddenly catch myself using Scottish expressions or rising inflection etc, if that’s where I was working that week.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Occasionally I worry I might have stolen someones writing, only through the absorption of ideas and stories over many years. The brain can throw up some things that are maybe a mishmash of something we read or heard, subconscious plagiarism?!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Just remember, nothing is new under the sun. However, plagiarism is different. Use one a software to check your writing to make use you are using your own words. Good luck and thanks for the input. We all learn together.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.