Uh oh, Spaghetti O (yeah, I committed necromancy. I raised a horrible 90s phrase from the dead!)
People have said that speculative fiction–well, literature as a whole–is mostly derivative. But I still think I may be in some sort of a bind. Major, minor. Perhaps it’s of my own making … *shrug*
I’m working on my first “serious” novel (40+ pages of worldbuilding, plot notes and extensive outlines, and about ten start-overs. This is surely it!). I’m pretty sure that many individual ideas and concepts within were/are utilized by writers. One particular idea, however, may be old or may be fresh as ever. Not sure.
The world of my work-in-progress is loosely “steampunk” (some suggest that the “steampunk” brand can only be used if your tale is somewhat historical fiction. Most typically take place in the Victorian through 1930s eras); in actuality, the technology of my novel’s world doesn’t really run on steam or what we think of as fuel, so perhaps it doesn’t apply at all.
There are certain airships in this sea-influenced island-world, Verdigar, called orca-craft: massive, metallic ships in the form of killer-whales, used for trade by affluent merchants and corporations, and in combat (battle-orca) by the opposing States. This is a new technology–highly expensive to make and run. However, while lurking on my favorite book-review sites, I came across this one book by Scott Westerfeld called Leviathan, and it mentioned airships of that sort–I’m not entirely sure if they are “metal-airship whales” or “genetically modified whales” (the series sounds pretty awesome, though! Methinks that’ll be on my summer reading list).
I preceded to worry and nagged my sleepy sister about the whole thing. Will I have to trash the entire idea? If I go through with the orca-craft, will I be sued? If that doesn’t matter, will I be burned alive by an army of angry fans? (haha at the last one).
Is it only acceptable when everyone’s doing it or when the idea is broad (such as elves: you have wood-elves, biker-elves, Keebler-elves etc., but elves have been around for centuries)? I mean, I’ve never come across metallic airships designed to resemble whales in literature before. Or have I?
Somewhere, somehow writers are bound to come up with the similar ideas and concepts. That’s pretty likely. There’s no such thing as originality. I’m just trying to figure out the level of acceptability before treading into “You’re in Trouble” Territory. I’m a broke college student!
lalala of rowan nhaima rhys 