This is a modified version of a post that originally appeared on WOW-WomenOnWriting. I started re-thinking the idea of building a creative idea off of someone else’s work–does that rise to the level of plagiarism? If not, what does? Or should we be more relaxed about plagiarism?

The same week I read about a German author who is defending her plagiarism, J.K. Rowling is being mentioned in another case of an author who believes Rowling heavily borrowed from his books.
Please note that I have no first-hand knowledge of either issue.
In the instance of the first case of plagiarism, the author Helene Hegemann believes that her use of another’s author’s work is an art form. According to the Salon article I read, Hegemann reportedly told a German newspaper: “I myself don’t feel it is stealing, because I put all the material into a completely different and unique context and from the outset consistently promoted the fact that none of that is actually by me.” However, as Laura Miller points out on Salon, Hegemann did not give the author of credit for the passages from “Strobo.”
When studying the greats, often a professor will suggest copying the words of the master to learn the cadences, word choices, and rhythms. I’m sure my novel writing career would do much better if I were to borrow heavily from the greats. But I also understood that as civilization as moved along, we build on the shoulders of those who came before us. Some even argue that there are no original stories, just a re-hash of stories that have come before.
On the other hand, I have taught college students whose academic careers can be destroyed by an instance of plagiarism and yet they seem unsure what constitutes plagiarism–and why it would be such a big deal.
I think that as an exercise and to understand the world in its context, I think that writers should be aware of those who have come before. And to be inspired by them.
From the standpoint of creativity and a writer’s own interaction with creativity, I’m not sure that plagiarism is the best method of rising to the occasion and meeting our muse. But maybe I’m wrong.
What do you think about the mixture of creativity and plagiarism?

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