Okay, so I’ve been meaning to respond to this for awhile, and I’ve just totally neglected it. I’ve read the same foreword and I think I share a similar appreciation for Neil Gaiman, and it’s been awhile since I’ve read it. Did he present it as a ‘problem’, this feeling that a writer is subconsciously (or consciously) borrowing from another work? I ask because I’ve never regarded it as a problem, but more as a reality (which I think you do, too, as evidenced by your last paragraph). We are inherently influenced by the stories we hear or read – news, books, short stories, novels, you name it – and I don’t think it’s a real expectation for any writer to be totally original.

Sure, there are always going to be more unique story concepts or presentations, but I can assure you that this concept is still influenced by something else.

Now, on to your question at the end of it. Many things will always differentiate you from your models, particularly if you are a “sit-down-and-write writer.” Your stories will still have your own style, your own prose, your own dialogical tendencies, to differentiate you. Theoretically, you could read a book and copy the style in your own, but I think that’d be even more tiresome and difficult than actually doing the writing yourself. Even then, it’s not plagiarism; it’s kind of a relearning. Though immoral (to yourself, mostly, I’d suggest), I doubt it’s illegal to mimic a writer’s structure.

The below is loosely related, not directly
Plagiarism is DIRECT copying, DIRECT stealing of ideas and even words.

Example of plagiarism accusation –> someone sued J.K. Rowling because she was writing a story about kids who go to a magic school and also take a special train. She lost, as I understand it, because it was implausible for Rowling to be familiar with her work. (Rowling has been sued by more than a few people).

Example of plagiarism accusation with an end–> A romance novel a la Harlequin had a scene with ferrets (or some such rodents) copulating, taken directly from a scientific text. The original writer sued to have it removed and won.

I want some beers! I’m thinking that Skype idea should probably happen. It’s the twenty-first century and all – let’s do it!

And there are millions of things that need a good looking at, but more than I can write in a simple blog comment. That’d be a fun topic over some beers, but you’re so far away. :( (Haha beers over Skype or MSN? Done.)

Hard to say what will happen. Newspapers have lasted pretty long, considering pretty much everything in them is found on the internet. I’m sure their readership is way down but I thought they would be mostly gone by now (and perhaps they will be soon).

I’ve found it to be a quandary though… music’s popularity on the internet has generated numerous legitimate services to pay to download music, so that affects the business model for companies. However, enough people want music that mp3 pirating is rampant. You can get any song you want instantly for free. I wonder how long/if it will become the same way for e-Books? I’m not sure that reading is popular enough in our culture that it will ever be “easy” to just pop on and find a torrent for the book you want.

Perhaps the declining readership will actually be the publishing industry’s saving grace against loss of sales due to piracy?