Don’t start that blog until… You learn not to be a Thieving Plagiarising Jerk
This is Part 4 in a series. Here are Parts 1, 2, & 3 if you’d like to catch up…
As a freshman in high school, while the cool girls I looked up to were busy snowboarding and playing soccer, I was busy filling a blue composition notebook with poetry about feeling alone and misunderstood. My poems were totally private. I would have DIED if anyone ever found the notebook and read them. Of course I didn’t think they were any good, but I loved each one and was working through my own awkward path of creativity. I signed every poem the same way, with my first and middle name and two little diamonds. Everything was symbolic. Everything had meaning. Everything was devastatingly complicated.
I bought that blue composition notebook with my own money and it came packaged with a pocket-sized version that I hadn’t decided whether or not I would use. One afternoon after I got home from school, I saw the pocket-sized notebook in a place I knew I hadn’t left it. Since I shared a room with my little sister, I was always finding my things in places I hadn’t left them. When I opened the notebook I found that it had not only been moved, but my little sister had written in it. I went from sort of annoyed to full blown Kylo Ren RAGE when I read MY poems, my SECRET poems, copied word for word with HER first and middle name signed at the end of each one complete with two little diamonds. HOW DARE SHE!?!?
I know I said at the end of Part 3 that we would be talking about blogging tools next, but I just can’t. I can’t talk about my tools before I talk to you about how NOT to be a Thieving Plagiarising Jerk.
Inspiration vs. Thievery
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
~ King Solomon
The idea that there is nothing new under the sun nearly kept me from starting my blog in the first place. I argued, What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said, and researched for that matter, by people much smarter than me. There are LIBRARIES of books on marriage. Why would I start a blog to say all the things that are already readily available to people?
You may be thinking the same thing… Why would anyone want to read what I have to say?
Here’s why: Your perspective on things that have already been said comes cased in your unique context. Context is how you go from stealing someone else’s ideas to incorporating them into something original.
For instance… Pinterest is designed to inspire. It’s one of my favorite tools. Browse, see something you like, use the idea yourself. I found this simple canvas posted by Nalles House and pinned it ages ago. Then, I bought a cheap canvas and sharpie and made my own version…
This is just a small example of how to use inspiration without copying directly. You can see the original idea from the first pictures and then how I created something for myself. You can also see how the beautiful, clean styling of the first picture in no way represents my real life. My pictures show the canvas in my context, hanging above my kids’ art table that really does look this messy most of the time.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” is just a clichē mantra we artists and creators use to talk ourselves down from the ledge so that we don’t commit felony vandalism and murder when we discover our work has been completely ripped off without credit.
Credit makes all the difference
Plagiarism: The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. (Webster)
All you have to do to avoid being a Thieving Plagiarising Jerk is to give credit when credit is due. If you’ve been inspired by an idea and want to write about it, share with your readers how you were originally inspired. Cite your sources. Link back to other blogs and authors. This practice gives you more credibility, not less. It shows that you are well researched and thoughtful, which is better than pretending to be completely original.
Don’t crop out the logo
Sounds simple enough, but I’ve been astounded at how many people don’t obey this simple rule. If you see an image you’d like to use and think to yourself, “I wish that logo/watermark weren’t there. Maybe I can crop it out…” STOP! Instead of cropping the logo, create your own image. If you cannot create your own, that should shed some light on the work it probably took to create the image in the first place. We put our #staymarried logo on all of the images and graphics we create because we hope people will share and we hope other people will discover who we are.
Ask permission
If you’re unsure if you have permission to use a certain image or content, find the creator and ask. If you cannot ask, do not use it. There are so many resources you can go to like Unsplash and Negative Space before you steal someone else’s work. And, now that you’ve read this, you can no longer use Google Images to find something you like, put it in your blog, not give credit, and pass it off as your own.
Create and use your own stuff
The best way to avoid being a Thieving Plagiarising Jerk is just to come up with your own content and images. Be inspired, by all means. Read A LOT so that you’re exposed to a broad spectrum of voices on your topic. Then, using your own life, your own stories, your own context, come up with your unique perspective and share what you’re learning. You don’t need to be an expert in your niche. Sharing lessons you are learning is more valuable than sharing advice. It shows your readers that you, too, are in process and have not yet arrived. I mean, nobody likes a know-it-all and you don’t actually know it all to begin with. Remember, there’s nothing new under the sun.
Your homework for today:
- Familiarize yourself with photo sources that you are allowed to use. Here are just a few…
Makerbook — This is a directory that contains much more than free photos
Unsplash
Negative Space
*Google Image Search is NOT a free photo sharing resource. - Learn more about proper citation and quotation. These are sites recommended by Katie the Editor.
OWL — Purdue Online Writing Lab
AP Stylebook - Go back through your first ten posts and make sure you haven’t already stolen anything. If you have, fix it.
Giving proper credit builds your credibility, so take the time to get good at it.
Next, we really will talk about blogging tools. Promise.
Want to read more about how to avoid plagiarism? Check out this article from Torque.
