Turn your eye inward, and form the habit of
tracing the origin of your inspirations--sometimes it may chagrin you
to find how near to unconscious imitation you have been. You may get
the inspiration for a story and write it; it may be accepted and
produced; then, after its release, some friend will casually remark
that it reminds him of a Vitagraph picture that he saw a year or two
ago. And only after he has called your attention to it do you realize
that that Vitagraph story, seen and forgotten, _was_ the source of
your "inspiration"--and perhaps you have committed an unconscious
theft.
In an earlier chapter we have urged photoplaywrights to keep in touch
with the market so as to avoid writing on trite themes. But that
practise will not help the conscious plagiarist. Why should he invent
a new twist when he can steal one? This would seem to be his
short-sighted logic. Fortunately, there are not many unscrupulous
writers who deliberately attempt to sell to editors stories which are
simply adaptations of more or less well-known stories or plays. A
great deal has been said about editors and their assistants being
familiar with standard literature and current books, plays, and
magazine stories. But no editor is infallible, and once in a while a
stolen story "gets by.
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