Is this Kosher? (Not a food question)

So I wanted to run something by other writers - namely, at what point can something be considered "stealing" from another writer?

The reason I ask is I have one particular character idea that I absolutely love, but it involves a detail that is, so far as I know, something that has only ever been done by one artist in particular, so putting it into my work is essentially "heavily borrowing" the other artist idea.

My example is Ayla from Chrono Cross Chrono Trigger. I grew up on movies in which man and dinosaur are struggling to survive in a prehistoric world, and the idea of taking "primitive" woman and representing them with a buxom and gorgeous blonde woman who, apart from having a furry monkey tail, looks identical to modern humans really intrigues me. My issue, as I said, is that so far as I know the tail detail (which is brilliant) has only ever been done by Akira Toriyama. I don't really want to use the "its a Shout-Out" ploy as an excuse here, just wondering what you folks think - would using the tailed cavewoman idea be ripping off Akira, or is it kosher to borrow in this way?

edited 5th Mar '12 4:35:49 PM by MyGodItsFullofStars

Well, first, what would having a tailed cavewoman accomplish that a cavewoman without a tail can't? Before we even get to the 'stealing' part, why does your story need a cavewoman with a tail? Do they have some kind of a physiological or other form of advantage?

The idea might seem cool to you, but it also seems a bit superfluous. Especially if you're working in a non-visual medium, readers might forget your character has a tail or wonder why you even gave her one if it serves no purpose.

Also, associating tails with primitive humans is a bit of a Did Not Do The Research thing- it's true that the human coccyx bone is thought to be a vestigial tail, but hominids (the family that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, humans, and orangutans) split off from the tailed Old World Monkeys around 30 million years before they ever stood on two legs.

edited 5th Mar '12 5:13:19 PM by CrystalGlacia

I'm a biology major, I'm more than aware that this is Somewhere A Paleontologist Is Crying. Doesn't have to be especially scientific in the setting I have in mind, as it is a Fantastic Science expedition gets stuck in a Lost World where they encounter the evolutionary ancestors of such creatures as griffons, dragons, and unicorns, etc. The whole point of the tail is I want the character to have some sex appeal but still have some recognizably "primitive" feature to distinguish her from "modern" peoples, and thick brow ridges, sloped jaws, and a hairy body kind of kill the mood for most folks.

I was with you until that last sentence (I don't have a problem with the idea of a tailed human, as long as you're not trying to pass it off as real-world palaeontology, and I don't think it's plagiarism). But doing something just for sex appeal, unless you're getting paid to write porn, isn't a very good motivation. If she's a well-written character, she'll be interesting and sympathetic to the reader, whether or not she conforms to 21st century standards of beauty.

Or, you know, follow your original plan and make her a Homo sapiens with a tail. That's fine too.

I just worry about repeating this disaster:

Hmmm... assuming for the sake of the argument that you make her realistically primitive... one the one hand, I don't believe that sex-appeal in written fiction really comes from looks. It comes from interaction, description, language. "I could look at her unsettling beauty every day for months, and discover ever new aspects with every renewed look, getting more intrigued every time. And of course, her acute sense of humour sweeps me off my feet every time" (obviously going overboard here) will work regardless of whether the character has furry eyebrows or not. Given that it makes sense for her suitor to be attracted of course.

On the other hand, I guess that there is huge danger of this resulting in comedy, and it could be a tricky one to pull off. But at least in principle, it should be doable. It can have interesting side-effects as well. Think of the "If you could see her through my eyes" song in Cabaret, where it's political commentary hidden in comedy.

Well, it decidedly won't work if you give her a trait that is decidedly hideous, like huge hairy moles.

Maybe the trick is to find at least a few traits that are conventionally attractive, and highlight those?

May I suggest that you just write two, three pages to see if you can get it to work, and then go from there?

Can I point out that a buxom, blonde cave-woman in a Mary Sue mold... who just happens to be called Ayla... happened way before you've realised? Clan of the Cave Bear. In short, Chrono Trigger nicked and played with it first...

Suggestion: get all those doorstoppers out the library, before you make mistakes in being too close to them than you might realise otherwise.

EDIT: In that Ayla's defence: fewer palaeontologists cried when she came out than you'd think, but time marched on. Although, the degree of Sue and Stuism you find? Can make you cry for other reasons. And, the sex-scenes. You learn to spot them coming and skip 'em. Trust me, you'll soon find out why.

edited 8th Mar '12 3:31:28 PM by Euodiachloris

The tail issue aside, I for one would prefer a story about a black cavewoman to a blonde. If she's going to live in a tropical environment with dinosaurs, she better have some melanin.

Dinosaurs? If you have dinosaurs and humans coexisting, you've already thrown out any claim to plausibility.

Really, though, I don't see the point of adding a tail. Apart from being scientifically inaccurate it adds nothing except for making clothing and chairs needlessly complicated.