Into the Obscuradrome #19
Hello. I’m Bob Pastorella, co-host of the This Is Horror podcast, website manager for This Is Horror, and writer. I’m the author of Mojo Rising, They’re Watching (with Michael David Wilson), and have numerous short-stories and non-fiction online and in print in various publications.
“You stole my story."
There seems to be a major lack of understanding of copyright lately, especially when concerning “ideas”. I’m no expert, but my understanding of the protection of ideas is that there is no protection at all. What is protected, according to these folks who are probably experts, is original works fixed in a tangible form.
What does that mean, exactly?
Well … the book. More importantly, the execution of the idea in the form of a story, written and published.
So yes, you can write and publish a book about a young woman who discovers she has telekinesis. You could probably call her Carrie, though that’s not a good idea, especially since someone else has already written about her. But nothing’s stopping you unless you include that her mother is a religious zealot, there’s a prom, kids pulling a prank, and a bucket of pig’s blood. The “idea”: a young woman discovers she has powerful telekinesis abilities, has NOTHING to do with copyright. The other parts of the “story”, her mother, the prom, the prank, the bucket of blood, are all protected under copyright law.
In recent news, a writer accused another for stealing her idea of a character having sun-themed superpowers, apparently having never heard of the god Apollo, or this other dude named Kal-El, aka Superman (though to be fair, it’s only because we have a yellow sun).
In all likelihood, that unique, original “idea” you have for a story isn’t really original, or unique. Search long enough and surely you’ll find someone else has already tackled your concept, often in better and more impactful ways. Sorry, but when it comes to ideas, there’s not much new under the sun. What is original is what YOU bring to the table to spin that idea into a story. That's what makes it protectable. The characters, the setting, the twists and turns, the logical yet unpredictable ways you make the reader squirm in their seats. That’s all you, and 100% protected by law. All you need to do is write it in story form, publish it, and it’s yours … at least until it’s renewed or falls into public domain.
Titles are also not protected under copyright. So you could, in theory, title a book “Jaws”, and it could even be about a man-eating shark, but you probably wouldn’t want to do that because someone beat you to it. But you could write that book and publish it, and there’s nothing anyone could do about it. But if you include things like it being set during 4th of July weekend, or happening at Amity Island, or have characters named Brody, or Hooper, or Quint, then chances are Peter Benchley’s estate attorneys are going to send you a nasty letter attached to a lawsuit. Just like the “idea” issues above, it’s the “story” that’s protected.
Brands are protected, so you probably wouldn’t want to name your book ExxonMobil or Starbucks, unless of course you can prove the book isn't about the things those brands represent, and even then you’re probably going to being fighting an uphill battle you’re destined to lose. But then, a book called ExxonMobil doesn’t sound too appealing anyway.
My major gripe with things like this is usually from people not understanding how things work. And yeah, sure … I get it. Writers should fiercely protect their stories. Copyright gives us that protection. We should probably shift some of the protectiveness to the cultivation of our ideas as well. Not from a legal standpoint, but from a personal position. Occasionally, you might run across an idea that is somewhat original, especially if your spin is compelling and could make an excellent story. If you don’t want anyone stealing your ideas, it would probably be a good idea not to share them with anyone, ever. Write the story, get it published, then crank it up on the hype-machine all you want. Before that, mum’s the word. Regarding titles, I’m fairly quiet about them. I’m sitting on one right now for a future collection that I think only maybe two other people know about, and that’s it. I’m not sharing it with anyone else, because it’s a good one, at least to me.
And just because nearly every idea under the sun has been done to death already doesn’t mean you should throw your hands up in the air and give up all hope. That knowledge should inspire you to follow your dreams and let your imagination run wild. The sky is really the limit, and there shouldn’t be any threshold to the fathoms of imagination. Got a good idea? Spin it into a story, fill it with compelling characters we can’t get enough of, plot your twists, make it make sense and be completely unpredictable, and put your imagination to use to share that kickass story with the world.
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Reading:
For 2024, I’m interested in reading more espionage fiction and fantasy. Wow, those are two genres that sound like polar opposites, but I have reasons. One, the espionage I’m talking about is more the le Carré variety and less James Bond. Brooding, lonely, emotionally damaged people using subterfuge for the greater good living on a razor’s edge between life and death. Two, I think reading about these kinds of characters will allow me to learn how to write those characters myself. I plan on reading le Carré’s Karla Trilogy next, and I do have the first of the Slow Horses books on deck to dig into soon enough.
With fantasy, I’m trying to tap into a sense of wonder. Often, in horror and especially weird fiction, we have an overwhelming sense of dread when faced with the unknown. I get that, but what of those characters that feel a sense of awe? What if the strange thing we face is not something of dread, but of excitement and profound joy? That’s what I trying to tap into. I feel that kind of experience can round out certain characters and their motivations.
So I’m rereading Barker’s Imajica. Then I’ll probably slide into Weaveworld. It’s been YEARS since I’ve read either, and both have levels of fantasy and horror that tickled my fancy so long ago. Hopefully time has been kind to both of these classics.
Listening:
John Coltrane, Savatage, Riverside, Mastodon, The Darkjazz Manufactorum, Colin Stetson, and Motörhead.
Watching:
I’m getting ready to watch the return of True Detective by finishing up my rewatch of S1 and S3 of the original run. S2 is pretty good, but not cut from the same cloth as the 1st and 3rd seasons.
As we step into this reset of time, a leap year incidentally, I wish everyone a happy and safe new year.
peace&love
Bob