There are a few writers who think that their stories aren't plagiarism, despite the fact they are, as it seems what is or isn't allowed, but how to avoid plagiarism is still a tad confusing.
In one case a Star Wars fan copied one of the novels making a few edits, something I confirmed by pulling up the preview for said novel on Amazon, Recently, a writer admitted to using scenes from the Harry Potter series, but that their work didn't count as plagiarism because, first, they gave credit to Rowling. Second, they added additional scenes to the work. Third, their work counted as an AU.
However, what they've done is still plagiarism, at least from what they've told me, as I've yet to look at said a piece.
First, as I mentioned in 2. Plagiarism vs. Inspiration, 'it is still plagiarism even if you give credit.' One will still find themselves dinged for plagiarism depending on how much; for example, on the other site I post to I came across a plagiarist who used 100% of the original work, and only 30% of the piece was actually written by this person. Typically, when someone adds in whole scenes from the original work, the amount used ranges from 80% to 100%, and the amount which is actually the plagiarists own work ranges from 50% to 0%. This is never "not plagiarism".
Second, the fact a story is AU doesn't stop a writer from being dinged for plagiarism either. However, I doubt the story is actually an AU. As I point out in 7. AU – Not Actually Infinite and the subsequent essays, there is more to an AU then changing the original work. All changes must follow a logical process, but in the case of these stories what is really going on is an editing of the original work.
What though is too much? How does one avoid copying too much of the original material? To successfully explain, I am first going to put forth the following example.
Harry sat on the train, watching the trees go by, wondering how his summer would turn out, having found out about his father's grandparents the previous year. He received a letter from the Potters asking him to come and visit them, something Dumbledore seemed quite reluctant to allow. The eleven-year-old boy couldn't figure out what Dumbledore was up to but soon found out from his grandparents that there was a particular protection over Evan's household, which was why they didn't push to raise him. Special arrangements were made by Dumbledore so he could go.
The young man got off the train, glad to be away from the Dursley's, but a tad miffed at the gleeful look on Dudley's face as he left. Mr. Potter seemed stern, looking down at him from a thin nose. The man seemed to emanate the pureblood status that Draco did, making Harry swallow. Mrs. Potter was more friendly, giving him a soft smile, and opening her arms wide, giving an even better hug that Mrs. Weasley, who'd greeted him when he finished with school. Yes, it was possible for someone to be a better hugger than Ron's mother.
Suddenly, Mr. Potter smirked, before taking his arm gently, telling him they would be apparating. They arrived at a small cottage, and Harry pulled his suitcase in, while Mrs. Potter began to put out tea. The man indicated Harry should sit. "So, how was your first year at Hogwarts."
"Interesting, sir. It was rather different from the Muggle world." The boy swallowed, wondering if he would get a negative reaction from the man.
"It is, isn't it? I worried a bit you wouldn't believe, but turns out you're far more interested in our world. That said, do you have any Muggle hobbies. Your father and his friend... that Black boy... they had a nasty habit of reading these Muggle magazines. What was the magazine?"
"I don't know. They certainly weren't my Muggle cooking magazines, that's for sure. You aren't into those magazines with girls."
"No! I don't think even Dudley is into those kinds of magazines. He's my mother's sister's child."
"Does it go well for you there?"
"Sort of. Dudley's a bully, Aunt Petunia spoils him, but sometimes she's nice. Uncle Vernon doesn't like me, but neither does Aunt Marge."
"I wish this could be permanent, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..."
"Voldemort."
"Anyways, he has people who would like to kill you. For revenge you know." The conversation became silent after that, and Harry looked down at the food placed on him. After tea, they took Harry to his room. The walls were white, with a blue pinstripe. The bed was covered with a dusty blue, and the sun shown through the windows. They let Harry be, to get used to this room, and he found himself looking forward to summer.
So, here is how things are going to work. I'm going to start off by showing what not to do, and then showing what to do. For the "plagiarized" versions of what I wrote, what I wrote will still be italics. What's new will be in bold. Notes will be in regular text. Anything put into brackets involves
Plagiarism Example 1:
For this particular example, the writer did a word for word replace but edited the work to make Harry female.
Harriet sat on the train, watching the trees go by, wondering how her summer would turn out, having found out about her father's grandparents the previous year. She received a letter from the Potters asking him to come and visit them, something Dumbledore seemed quite reluctant to allow. The eleven-year-old girl couldn't figure out what Dumbledore was up to but soon found out from her grandparents that there was a particular protection over Evan's household, which was why they didn't push to raise her. Special arrangements were made by Dumbledore so she could go.
In this particular case, the amount of my work taken is 100%, and the amount of work that is the plagiarist's own is 0%. All the writer did do was edit the pronouns used. This is plagiarism because editing does not count as work in regards to writing one's own story.
Plagiarism Example 2:
For this particular example, the writer paraphrased what was written action for action.
The trees went by while Harry sat on the train. He hoped his summer would turn out well due to the fact his grandparents contacted him the previous year. Dumbledore wasn't pleased when Harry received a letter from the Potters to come and visit them. Dumbledore was up to something. Harry's grandparents didn't raise her because of the protective spell over the Evan's bloodline. Dumbledore relented once special arrangements were put into place.
I've had people in the past tell me that this isn't plagiarism, including one person who claimed that their college professors didn't count this as plagiarism. However, college professors do consider this plagiarism if this isn't properly cited. This also only works for essays, or non-fiction works, not works of fiction! The only time you see citations in fictional works is in Historical Fiction when the writer is citing a particular historical fact, and then the citation gives details, and a bibliography is put at the back!
Again, in this particular case, the amount of my work taken is 100%, and the amount of the work that is the plagiarist's own is 0%! Yes, the plagiarist reworded what I wrote, but they still did not write anything of their own. None of what's posted here is their own idea. Also, even if the writer didn't look at the work as they paraphrased, it is still plagiarism.
Plagiarism Example 3:
For this particular example, the writer actually makes additions to what I wrote and switches to first person narrative. We again have a female version of Harry.
I sat on the train, my emerald-green eyes watching the trees go by, wondering how my summer would turn out. I just found out that my father's grandparents were alive, having made contact with them the previous year.
I received a letter from the potters asking me to come and visit them. Hedwig brought me the letter in front of Dumbledore, and I saw the anger in his eyes. "You can't go, Harriet."
"Sir, these are my grandparents." I didn't know then that Dumbledore was trying to manipulate things so he could get his hands on the Potter fortune, thus making the Potter family destitute. Finally, special arrangements were made so I could go. Despite Dumbledore's manipulations, my grandparents still had friends who helped get legal custody of me.
I got off the train, glad to be away from the Dursley's and Dumbledore. I found myself a tad miffed when Vernon cornered me, wanting to push upon myself one last ounce of abuse, raping me, and impregnating me with his child.
I was so glad to see my grandparents, even though grandfather seemed stern, looking down at me from that thin nose. He reminded me of Draco Malfoy, a handsome Pureblood. My grandmother [gave] me a warm smile, and [opened] her arms wide, giving [a] better hug [than] that of Mrs. Weasly. She, unlike Mrs. Weasley, was also more open to the fact I was with child and promised to help me take care of the child. Blame fell upon Dumbledore, and we were seeking to file a lawsuit against him in the Wizarding courts.
Suddenly, grandfather began to cry, before taking my arm gently, telling me that we would soon be apparating and that everything would be fine. Grandmother began to make tea, while grandfather showed me to my room. My room was a lovely dove color, and the walls had large roses. The bed had a canopy and was covered with a violet cover. The sun shown through the window, hitting the vanity and the small crystal ornaments scattered across the surface, along with a makeup kit. A wardrobe was to the side, with the most fashionable skirts, and blouses, or at least more fashionable than anything I got at the Dursley's. Soon, however, I was called to tea, and to discuss things.
Again, this is plagiarism. While it is true that about 5 to 30% of what's here is the plagiarists work, but this also doesn't negate the plagiarism claim. Even if one were to cut the amount taken down to 50% the writer would still have taken to0 much of my work.
A few people may be thinking, but the writer added in a manipulative Dumbledore changed Harry to female, a lawsuit, and a wardrobe. This, however, is not enough.
Plagiarism Example 4:
Again, for this particular example, the writer actually makes additions to what I wrote. In this particular example, the writer added a twin for Harry.
Harry and Victoria sat on the train; Harry [watched] the trees go by, wondering how his summer would turn out, while Victoria sat reading the book she received as a gift from Draco Malfoy, unbeknown to her brother. She constantly competed with Hermione grade wise, and sometimes managed to surpass Victoria.
The twins found out about their grandparents on their father's side the previous of year. They received a letter from the Potters asking the two to come and visit them, letting them know that the Evan's protection wasn't needed anymore, due to the fact they had come into their powers. Victoria, in fact, was majorly important, as she was the first girl to be born in a hundred years, meaning she had "the power". They would fill in the twins more though when they met up with them. They could only tell them that Dumbledore had a good reason for having them live with the Dursley's until then.
Victoria still remembered packing up on the night of their sixteenth birthdays, and how Dudley came up to glare at her. He was still miffed at the fact she took over his room, and he got stuck sharing a room with Harry because they were both boys. "If you're not careful, I'll tell Harry about your secret boyfriend. That Draco person."
"You'll do no such thing, plus you're getting your room back Dudley. I'm far more concerned about Ron becoming jealous of Draco if he were to find out, and attempting to kill him. Poor Hermione knows full well where Ron's loyalties, or I should say, lust, lies."
Mr. Potter seemed stern, looking down at him from a thin nose. The man seemed to emanate the pureblood status that Draco did, making Victoria yearn for him and Harry swallow. Mrs. Potter was more friendly, giving him a soft smile, and opening her arms wide, giving an even better hug that Mrs. Weasley, who'd greeted him when he finished with school. Mrs. Weasley stopped giving Victoria hugs when she found out the girl had no interest in her Ron.
Again, this is still plagiarism. The writer still uses 100% of my work to framework what they write.
Plagiarism Example #5
This example is going to be a bit different.
[Any of the previous examples, except finishing out the plagiarism of the scene.]
... (Or any other kind of scene break)
That night Victoria snuck out of the cottage, having sent out her snowy owl Athena earlier that day. She stood there trembling, a shiver running down her spine, hoping Harry hadn't noticed her leave the room their grandparents provided her. Thankfully, it seemed to be on the opposite side of the cottage from everyone else.
A jacket draped over her shoulder, and she turned, locking her lips with Draco. [Whatever's needed to finish the scene.]
Again, this is still plagiarism. It doesn't matter that the writer added their own scenes to the material, as each scene is measured on its own merits.
How though does one refer to a scene that occurs within the canon material without plagiarizing?
This is actually quite simple. Are you able to summarize the material in one sentence?
Harry found out about his grandparents and visited them during the summer.
Of course, this isn't much information to go on and is very vague, so sometimes one will need a paragraph or two. For example,
Harry's grandparents wrote him a letter during his first year, asking him to spend time with them during the summer. Dumbledore worried about Harry's protection but relented when special safety measures were put into place. The eleven-year-old found his grandparents to be nice, and they had a nice conversation before he went off to his room.
Of course, since this is my fanfic, you also have to give credit to not just Rowling, but also me. People rarely if ever though base their fanfics off another fanfic writers work, and usually they ask permission first.
How about an introspective piece?
An introspective piece is a bit different, as the point is about looking at the scene from a different point of view and adding something different to the material. An introspective piece should not be confused with an adoption, or novelization of the original work, which can only legally be done by the original copyright holder.
To write a good introspective piece, you first need to know the main points of what you're writing, much like how I summarized the information in the one scene in a brief paragraph, or maybe two. So, what were the main points of what I wrote?
- Harry got a letter from his grandparents.
- He found out he had other relatives he could live with, but also why he couldn't live with said grandparents.
- He arrived by train, and talked with them, before heading off to the room they had prepared for him.
Next, don't look at the work, or watch said work. Focus on these points, and for each of these points write something. For example...
Harry got a letter from his grandparents.
The corners of the letter were worn, tucked away in a book – the one Hermione gave him on Quidditch to be exact. If he didn't read the book detailing his favorite past time, he read the cursive letters scrawled on the paper, the idea of actual family caring about him hitting hard, and yet feeling good. Harry didn't wish for this feeling to be taken away.
The letter came around Christmas time, with various Christmas delights. Candies, and a photo which allowed Harry to see what his parents looked like. Every so often he would trace their faces, looking at the picture forlornly. They wished for him to visit over Christmas, but Dumbledore had refused, which hurt Harry deeply.
He found out he had other relatives he could live with, but also why he couldn't live with said grandparents.
He finally approached Dumbledore, the idea of the professor betraying him seeming so far away, and yet so close a reality. Harry approached the man, and he said, "I apologize Harry. With your mother's death came a protection connected to her bloodline, which protects you from any of Voldemort's followers who might want revenge. While I would love for you to visit your father's parents, certain precautions do need to be put into place.
He arrived by train, and talked with them, before heading off to the room they had prepared for them.
This eased Harry's anxieties. The weathered book and letter kept him company on the train, providing him something to stay his excitement. They were everything he expected and more, despite being purebloods. They also wanted him and made him fill welcome.
As one can see, what's written in an introspective piece is completely new material that relates in some way to the piece being written. One can also take each of these points and have tons of paragraphs for each. Sometimes, if something important comes up, like for example, the words the grandfather speaks, "I wish this could be permanent" are important, and I could have added this in, but this is also only one line of dialogue from the original work.
How though does one determine if a line is important?
The context of course, but also the value the line has to the character whose introspective everything is from. The line must be something they take heart in and has life lesson meaning to those words. They're also the kind of works which get quoted by fandom because of the significant value and life lesson that goes along with those words. For example, some of Dumbledore's famous lines are significant in nature.
However, the context of the introspective matters. A line that has nothing to do with the introspective should never be thrown in. Introspective are specifically about how the character feels at a particular given moment in time, not the actual time itself, which is why one doesn't need to go detail into detail in regards to what happened. Again, this isn't as significant as the feelings the character feels at the given time, and only need to be briefly mentioned.
Add to this, other things aren't important. Harry's not going to think about or feel about his grandmother liking Muggle cookbooks.
Introspective though can be hard to write, particularly if one isn't able to yet discern what is or isn't important to touch upon, but they're also rare in comparison to other fics.