by Patricia Watson

Created on: August 22, 2009   Last Updated: February 08, 2012

If you want to become a successful writer, you will need to be an original writer! Plagiarism is a dirty word to most writers. The obvious form of article theft is the copy and paste method. That is a word for word theft of another person's writing.

There is another form of plagiarism. It is perhaps not as obvious, but it still qualifies as stealing. This murky area is the theft of other writer's ideas. When writers are working on their article, they will try to be unique in their presentation, to gain the interest of the readers. When the plagiarist reads that article and decides to write on the same topic, using the same format, with the same ideas, he has committed theft.

Every writer needs to be conscious of their own content. If you inadvertently steal another author's ideas, you may end up in litigation. Once you have been labeled as a plagiarist, your reputation as a serious writer is gone. Every article that you write should be uniquely your own. Learn to let your inner being lead your thoughts when you write. Don't rely on other articles to gain your creative inspirations. It is not impossible for five people to write to the same title, and produce five different works, each adhering to what the title is asking for.

Writers, who steal ideas and words from previously published works, will ultimately be caught by the original author. To avoid any appearance of plagiarism, we have to strive to write our own thoughts, and do our own research. The time invested to make sure your work is original, will pay bigger dividends in the long run.

The lure of quick and easy money on Internet writing sites, has contributed to a tidal wave of plagiarized material. The word thief joins the site, and starts pillaging and looting from the established writing community. This not only hurts the author whose work has been stolen, it also damages the reputation of the writing site. To maintain the integrity of your work, as well as the writing site, you should report all suspected cases of plagiarism. Let the experts decide if the suspect article has been stolen.

Every writer faces dry periods. Inspiration can just disappear. When this happens, just walk away from your word processor. Resist the temptation to ride the coattails of another writer who is successful. You will find your inspiration to write again.

Writing should be your passion. If you earn money along the way, it is a bonus. If you start your career in writing, only to make some quick cash, you are in the wrong profession. Plagiarism is both morally and legally wrong. You will never grow as a writer, if you depend on the ideas and words of others.

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