The section in my story that has refrence to a famous landmark from C.S. lewis book , the lamp .

Its not that there is white witch nearby but the setting is bit similiar i.e. forest middle of nowhere and a lamp

If I left it at that I think I should be ok but,because I like the idea , I was planning to have dull reference to the novel to add more intrigue .


It wouldnt be anything specific as such like character or object i.e. a wand lying around or picture of wanted poster with a certain creature on it would I be breaking any rules ?

Ideas can't be copyrighted, only their expression, so as long as you don't actually use Lewis's words, you should be fine.

If in doubt, ask the Society of Authors - they have a good leaflet.

Emma

It's generally known as an "Easter Egg" and there loads in movies and literature and video games. I remember finding a secret area in Duke Nukem, years ago, which was an ice cave with the body of Luke Skywalker hanging upside down by his feet - just like in The Empire Strikes Back.

Thanks for the heads up E & C

Let me ask you then , given my tools are just words , if I might overstretch this boundary if I was to hypothetical have some of my characters appear in the Narnia land if it was in an indirect way .

I mean if I was to almost have them randomly appear in places that were close to but not of some of the main scenes or at least after they happened ?

Would for example appearing at the cracked stone table with some blood and broken ropes be stretching it i.e. after the sacrifice ?

Or how about having another character from narnia in my world with the same mannerism / personality but in a different form ?

It would not be plagerism, but it would be seen as derivative - ie you have derived your plot devices from another book. Fan-fiction is full of such things. You should avoid proper nouns (eg. Narnia, Pooh Bear, Luke Skywalker) as these are often trademarked and would generate a stiff letter from the company's lawyers if it was published.
The main problem with being derivative is it is much harder to get published because Agents and publishers are looking for originality in storylines.

- NaomiM

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In other words, base one of your characters (or scene setting) on someone from another book by all means, but cover your tracks so the reader does'nt automatically think - oh yes, that's Darth Vader (or Narnia) he's describing there.

Vivian, in The Young Ones, appears in Narnia. He meets the white witch too.

It would not be plagerism, but it would be seen as derivative - ie you have derived your plot devices from another book. Fan-fiction is full of such things. You should avoid proper nouns (eg. Narnia, Pooh Bear, Luke Skywalker) as these are often trademarked and would generate a stiff letter from the company's lawyers if it was published. The main problem with being derivative is it is much harder to get published because Agents and publishers are looking for originality in storylines.

You misunderstand me , the plot I have does not relate to Narnia at all I would merely be having scene or too where , lets see they might encounters things that might be interpted as patterns that might remind certain readers of somewhere else i.e. Narnia .

Even if I had stone table with blood on it in my story and and maybe a hag hopping round it - does that mean I am suggesting that is was Aslan ?


To me all I am doing it taking the imagery archetpyes relative to that story and rearraging them in a different way

To me all I am doing it taking the imagery archetpyes relative to that story and rearraging them in a different way

Well that's all any writer ever does, m.trippen, since there are a finite number of plot devices and character types anyway.
It is the way you re-arrange them that makes it original. You know you've suceeded if the reader doesn't automatically think, eg, 'Oh, Narnia' when they come to a bloody stone slab with ropes across it.

You know you've suceeded if the reader doesn't automatically think, eg, 'Oh, Narnia' when they come to a bloody stone slab with ropes across it.

On the other hand, you can set it up like that on purpose, and if it's film call it an hommage, if it's literature call it a metafictional reference...

Emma

A bit like those band calling themselves "tribute" acts. Some are superb, so I'm not knocking them, but it could be argued that they are taking money that should really go to real thing. (not the band The Real Thing. Unless it was a Real Thing tribute band )

I wonder how long it will be until you get tribute comedians, taking another person's script and simply going through it on stage. Or tribute authors. Can I rewrite a novel, in my own words and sell it on a website?

On a side track (I realise I'm hijacking this thread, sorry) I saw in a brochure a Fawlty Towers tribute, doing tours of hotels. You book in, get your meal and watch the chaos unfold around you. Brilliant! Now that is something I would definitely pay good money for.

Colin M

Lol, Emma.
Or you could go all out, like Jasper Fforde, and satirise literature as a whole.

Aaaaah, Jasper Fforde... I'm just dying for the next Tuesday Next.

Emma

Can I ask, how has Jasper Fforde managed to write the books he has? Is it because his references are all out of copyright?

The only things I have running through my head are stuff out of much older work, is that how he can write about these characters without a problem?

P.S. I think he's a genuis!!!

Eve, you can write about characters till you're blue in the face and they can't sue you, unless they've been explicity registered as trademarks.

A character is an idea, and you can't copyright an idea, only the words that express it, and there have to be enough words for you to argue convincingly that you put some creative effort into them.

Mind you, most of Jasper Fforde's are classic, I think. I suspect he makes up the more recent ones, though I'd have to dive in again to check.

Emma

Oh thankyou so much Emma. That's brilliant news.

I'm writing a short story for a competition and I've been worrying that I'd have to scrap the whole idea (since it's full of other peoples characters).

I can stop fretting now then.

Thanks again for the information.