A Benefit of Being a Mystery Writer

I had a blog all set to automatically post in a minute from now, but now I'm furiously typing up something new.

See, there's this manuscript I was writing before my daughter was born. I didn't get too terribly far into it before I went into labor 6 weeks early, but I was enjoying it. Of course, I then went on an extended maternity leave from writing, and by the time I returned, I'd changed gears and decided to work on something entirely new.

That didn't mean I would never return to it. Maybe someday I would. Some time down the road. Eventually.

But now I can't.

See, while I was browsing the "coming soon" titles on some book blogs, I came across a blurb that sounded suspiciously similar to my story. Like THE EXACT SAME plot-point-by-plot-point, and was even a remake of the EXACT SAME literary classic in the EXACT SAME way, using the EXACT SAME twists and resolution.

Now before you say "oh, but ideas can't be protected by copyright"...yes, I am fully aware. There is some debate as to whether plot can be protected and the general consensus is that where expression becomes so intertwined with plot that it becomes the expression itself, then yes, plot can be protected.

Without naming names or titles, I'd say that this is that type of plot. It was very unique. It's not one of those "oh, but everything idea under the sun has already been written" types of things. It wasn't a trope.

But my bad...all I had was the opening 20 pages or so, and a detailed synopsis. Of course, I'd spent countless hours brainstorming it in a semi-protected Think Tank thread in a popular writer's forum. But the writing world is a small community -- nobody would steal it, right?

Wrong.

I happen to know for a fact that this author had visited the writer's forum during the exact same week in question that I was stupidly brainstorming.

Despite what my husband thinks, I honestly don't think the author consciously intended to steal the idea. Rather, I think she might have read it, thought it was cute, and then forgot all about it until it came time to submit a new YA book proposal. At that time, she probably remembered it, but had no idea where it came from, so assumed it was her idea in the first place. And since there are no books out there with this idea (yet!), she decided it must have been her idea.

I honestly don't think it was deliberate. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it.

Anyway, since in my case it was an idea rather than complete expression, there's really nothing I can do about it. Oh, sure, I could push the issue if I wanted, but it would be me against her big publishing house and it's just not worth it.

I truly believe in karma and know that what goes around comes around.

Of course, now that I write mysteries, I can always name a character after her and let her die a really horrible death.

This could be fun...