Bloganuary #6: Childhood influences or “Oops, I stole a character”

While I was at my parents’ house for New Years, I took the chance to peruse my childhood library* and stumbled across an old copy of Artemis Fowl – a book series that I remembered reading and enjoying as I was growing up. I decided to give the first one a re-read, just to see if it still captured my imagination as much as it did back then.

*the bookshelf just outside my old bedroom door.

In short? Yes! I enjoyed the re-read very much! It’s adventurous and silly, just as I remember it (although there are a few sections that feel very ‘2001’, which was when it was published).

I also noticed that one of the characters in the book had a startling resemblance to one of the characters in my own book that I am writing right now.

Not just a startling resemblance in fact… more a one-to-one description. They even share the same name.

… oops.

There I was, thinking I was being all creative and unique and that no could possibly ever write anything as creatively as me… only for Eoin Colfer to have already done it over a decade ago (sorry, Mr Colfer, I guess you have a big influence on my writing style).

This is my ‘I didn’t MEAN to completely rip you off…’ face

So I have a re-write in my future. I’m not completely surprised by this, as I had one planned anyway. I didn’t expect to have to cut a character completely though.

Now that I think about it, there are fairies in my book too, just like in the Fowl books…

… Am I just re-writing Artemis Fowl? No. Of course not. That is a silly idea. Isn’t it?

Maybe I’ll need to re-read more books from my childhood to make sure I am not just straight up ripping everyone off.

Oh dear.

See you tomorrow.