Plot Napster

I admit it.

I'm a plot thief.

There are no new plots anyway, right? So no matter how original you try to be, you will have inadvertantly stepped on the toes of some previous story's plot. That being the case, why not steal from the best?

I steal plots from the classics -- fairytales, medieval epics, religioius canons, classic literature. And even from history, although I'm not sure if history can be said to be properly plotted.  (Historical events tend to be too farfetched to be suitable for fiction, which, unlike reality, has to be belivable.)

I've started work on Dindi Book 2, titled-- for now -- The Singing Bow. I'm twelve days behind schedule, and having some trouble diving into it. My mind keeps nibbling away at Book 1; I'm finding it hard to focus on the new work. But thanks to the beuaty of plot napster, at least I have a plot!

I start with a stock fairytale (when in doubt, Cinderella always works); add a rip of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, overlay a Dark Dangerous Man (more an archetype than a plot, I suppose) and sample a cool form of human sacrifice once practiced in the jungles of India. Download into new novel.

Yeah, you heard right. Dangerous Liaisons with human sacrifice. No talking bears this time, though. Just giant scorpions.

Voila! I now have a plot worthy of YouTube.