<p>garland, I guess I wasn’t clear. What I meant was, it does not surprise me that a girl under this kind of pressure makes a bad decision in order to live up to expectations that would appear to be waaaay over her head (or any 17/18-year-old’s head). However I’m certainly NOT condoning or excusing her actions. When I say it’s understandable, I mean it’s not beyond belief, NOT that it’s okay. I would never plagiarize or steal (well, unless like Jean Valjean, to save my kids or something). As a writer and teacher, it’s not excusable. And normally, I have no sympathy for students who do it because it seems the main motive is laziness or lack of time management, etc… I guess I feel this girl was poorly advised and that’s where the small amount of sympathy I have for her comes in. Nobody can be expected to write a novel for big-time publication and attend their first year of college at the same time, much less a top school like Harvard. Where were the adults in her life saying “this is not doable; take a gap year” ??? It would be a little like attending Havard and playing for the Red Sox at the same time. Something would have to give.</p>
<p>I feel bad for her, but I think cheating is a habit probably formed early on, because she had to be the best in everything and probably she always got away with it. Winning no matter what and how probably defined her as a person. Being an Asian kid is not easy; the community is very hard on its teenagers. Their achievements mean more prestige and honor for their parents. The parents are put in a social pedestal when their children are accepted to an Ivey, especially Harvard. Recently I went to a party, where they played musical chair, the winners from each table got to go up to the stage and dance. One particular girl, very competitive going next semester to the ivies, did not win but got up went to the stage and danced. She could not see herself losing, though musical chair is nothing but mostly luck. To her anything to get up there. This was not even anything important, it blew me away.</p>
<p>A telling comment by the author from a news story published in India:</p>
<p><<The deal with Little Brown was for a two book series. So have you started work on the sequel? </p>
<p>No. I haven’t and I probably should. But I’m actually terrified about the writing process this time around. What if I find out I have nothing to say? What if I can’t write? I just wish I could just move forward to the time when the sequel would be written and I could go around promoting it. I enjoy that part. (smiles) >></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/04/23/stories/2006042300470500.htm[/url]”>http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/04/23/stories/2006042300470500.htm</a></p>
<p>
I’m guessing this option might not be exercised now, ya think?</p>
<p>“I’m guessing this option might not be exercised now, ya think?”</p>
<p>Unless they find the title “The Blair to Kaavya Witch Project” irresistible.</p>
<p>Xiggi, </p>
<p>Just wait. With all the publicity, book sales will go up. With all the publicity, the movie will be made even sooner, IMHO.</p>
<p>newmassdad, you are wrong --look at the parallel passages. This young woman will get thrown out of Harvard and her story will be tossed by her publishers and producers. This is out-and-out plagiarism. She apparently flatout STOLE another writer’s work --not accidentally, not ignorantly, but seemingly consciously. This level of lifting can be done only with intent imo, based on my longtime experience in the publishing biz. This appears to be intentional stealing. I have never seen this level of replication occur “accidentally.” This is far worse than Blair Hornstine, who really quoted without the right attribution and did not co-opt the work of another creative artist as her own. </p>
<p>I do not feel badly for this young woman. She deserves to be thrown out of Harvard. She deserves to lose her contracts, and she deserves to be sued AND to lose in a court of law.</p>
<p>By the way, and perhaps not surprisingly, the other writer was so much better --wherever this Harvard woman “adapted” the language, she invariably ruined the rhythm, ruined the image, and made it worse.</p>
<p>
This is totally beside the point but that post just drips with eloquence. Are you a writer by any chance? (Assuming you are a parent) Which school did you go to?</p>
<p>“Assuming you are a parent”</p>
<p>I am afraid that I am only a guest of the Parents’ forum. I am a sophomore at Claremont McKenna.</p>
<p>
cloverdale, aren’t you a bit premature? I may be wrong. We don’t know yet. You may feel she deserves to be punisihed etc., I agree that her behaviour appears to be dishonest. Nonetheless, the commercial world, especially the entertainment world operates under different rules - and different morals. I hope you’ve noticed that. I hope you also can observe a touch of literary sarcasm.</p>
<p>“Young Author Admits Borrowing Passages”</p>
<p>"While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn’t aware of how much I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty’s words. I am a huge fan of her work and can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious. My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities. </p>
<p>“I sincerely apologize to Megan McCafferty and to any who feel they have been misled by these unintentional errors on my part.” </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/24/D8H6LMKOI.html[/url]”>http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/24/D8H6LMKOI.html</a></p>
<p>I guess she gets to keep the half a mil and the movie deal…</p>
<p>"“While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn’t aware of how much I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty’s words. I am a huge fan of her work and can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious. My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities.”</p>
<p>** I can honestly** say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious.</p>
<p>Unintentional and unconscious? And she can honestly say that? After all, she may have a future in fiction. However, flunking an ethics class is a sure thing for her.</p>
<p>“My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities.” </p>
<p>Future printings? She may want to add delusional to her list of favorite adjectives.</p>
<p>What a travesty.</p>
<p>newmassdad --I am not being premature or sarcastic. I work in the book and magazine publishing industry in NYC as an editor. I have looked at the passages vs. the other writer’s passages. I assure you that I know full well, as a longtime insider, how this world works. I make these statements after looking at the passages in the Harvard Crimson. I do not think this will stand. I hope it will not stand, and it should not stand. If I am wrong, my belief in my own profession will suffer --that much I can tell you. In my experience working on national publications, when writers have been involved in this level of plagiarism they have been fired and banished and their reputations have suffered to ruination within the industry. period. Or do you think maybe she will get Oprah to defend her for a week before Oprah caves?</p>
<p>I’m curious if she “accidently” lifted passages from other books she has read and loved as well for her novel. </p>
<p>When my son was in preschool, he tried the “it was an accident” type of excuse and learned at an early age that it wouldn’t work. Maybe she never learned that lesson, but I’m sure she’s about to learn it well.</p>
<p>cloverdale7, </p>
<p>My comment was NEVER about the author. It was about the book. </p>
<p>Of course she’ll never sell another manuscript. I suspect others will dig further and find more borrowed material.</p>
<p>roflmao!! coronax you are kidding, right? This young woman was admitted to Harvard! If she does not know that lifting creative work from another artist is plagiarism, pure and simple, how did she get into Harvard? Oh, that was addressed above. If you are right, you simply give credence to those who suggest her credentials were crafted by others. Her answer and apology are not professionally acceptable. I have had writers give this same explanation --it is the standard excuse. It is never accepted on the job. Those writers are fired. I doubt the explanation will be acceptable in a court of law.</p>
<p>Mark Twain memorably described an account of his own “unconscious plagiarism” of a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, which somehow found its way into Innocents Abroad as the dedication.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.twainquotes.com/Plagiarism.html[/url]”>http://www.twainquotes.com/Plagiarism.html</a></p>
<p>I find Twain’s account of his unconscious plagiarism quite credible. American literary circles were so much smaller than the borrowing was certain to have been detected, and the dedication was hardly essential to the book. Thus, I think it must have been inadvertent and unconscious on Twain’s part.</p>
<p>I understand that Harvard psychologist Daniel Schechter has described the phenomonon of unconscious plagiarism in his book, The Seven Sins of Memory: How the mind forgets and remembers.</p>
<p>I would imagine that pretty soon there will be a technology and complete database available (assuming the Google project goes through) that will allow authors to double-check their manuscripts for obvious but inadvertent plagiarism before they publish in the future.</p>
<p>Pardon me if I do not believe that the particular plagiarism in question was unconscious. I would be interested in seeing the KINDS of plagiarism
Schecter cites --in fact, you got me, I am going to access his articles from the peer review and will obtain his book from amazon.</p>