Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend & FP Plagiarism

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend! I went to one banquet family reunion and two BBQs and gorged on way too much food. It was a nice break.

Unfortunately, I believe I'm practically five months behind on responses so I hope most readers can get their answers from this blog.

I know. I suck. I haven't updated in ages. I'm sorry. Super sorry!

I just finished Histology, which was a packed course with an exam every week. I had my board exam last Friday and ... now we start Neuroscience.

Friends and family think I'm joking when I say I'm going back to school tomorrow. They're like "Silly! It's summer vacation now!"

No ... it's your summer vacation. It's my start to a brand new course. I'll be rolling out sometime in July so wait for me then before you guys start having fun, yeah?

Yes, I'm quite depressed. I'll try to fit writing in there somewhere.

Of other bad news, I recently received messages from readers about plagiarism issues and the uproar in the FP community over how plagiarism had affected a major FP writer, Myrika. I believe she not only had to deal with multiple cases of people posting her story on other sites, but some of them had the nerve to try to slap the story up onto Lulu.com for profit. Sadly, Myrika has made the decision to remove her stories and stop posting on Fictionpress.

I generally like to duck in and out of FP.com to browse random stories and favorites and while I haven't been able to follow all of Myrika's stories, I'll have to be blind not to know that she is one of the top writers on the site - one of the most responsible, proliferate and talented ones with a way with words and timely updates. We've been around Fictionpress for roughly the same time period - I remember when I first started out, she was working on her earlier stories and since then, she's churned out quite a list of impressive works (compared to my measly ... 3. Okay, 2.5 stories. Okay, fine, 1.75. Ouch.) She's a truly dedicated writer and no one - especially not someone who has spent so much time on her pieces - deserve such disrespect, such blatant theft of her works.

I respect her decision to remove her works and work on her writings in private. I respect her calm manner in addressing all her readers and her resolve to protect her stories. I know sooner or later, she can get her polished works published and that would truly be the reward she and her loyal readers deserve for all these years of devoted writing and support. She will be missed on FP, of course, but perhaps, we can soon look forward to a whole new era of published writers stemming from Fictionpress origins? Like, we can soon be properly bedazzled by them in their new and sparkling ... Super Saiyan forms. (Sorry, Dragon Ball references were all I can think of.)

I've certainly heard about several writers making their attempts toward or are already well along their road to publishing. Ooh la la.

And then there are the rest of us still hanging around on Fictionpress for our hobbies. I've recently noticed some very nice stories and I'll try to make a point of noting new kickass writers soon. Everyone who enjoys writing have my respect as long as they, in return, have respect for all others - writers and readers included - and are truly continuing to hone their skills with their own ideas and talents.

May everything work out for everyone who puts in their greatest efforts. Karma's great at that.

2 comments:

  1. Totally agree with what you said ! I really won't say anything else, or I'd be repeating your every word!

    All I can say is that its a shame what people tried to do with Myrika's stories, because she truly is an amazing and excellent writer. I mean you know too, because you went through the same. I remember very well when someone plagiarized your work.

    I wish I could be like her (or you for that matter, loved your story 'False Facades' =D), but not only I lack such imagination, but I suck at English --' (I'm from Portugal, by the way, lol)

    Well, all I can say is that I hope Myrika will resume her work soon, like she said she would, on FP. And I do hope the same happens to you, though I totally understand you. I'm in college, and sometimes (not as much as you, I know) I lack time to write. *sigh* I'll only get my summer vacations in August --', and in September, I'll be back to college again. Oh well, that's life.

    This is the first time I comment any of your posts, so please ignore my stupid mistakes in this comment --' As I said, I'm not English --'

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  2. Thanks for commenting! Yeah, I really wish people would just have basic common courtesy and respect for other people's work. Plagiarism is a heartwrenching experience for any writer.

    Ouch, you seem to be pretty busy yourself and I hope you'll get a chance to enjoy your summer!

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