Barely three weeks ago, an Indian teenager studying at Harvard university in the US had the world raising a toast to her. She had a $500,000 dollar contract for two novels. The movie rights for her first novel had been picked up by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio -- all this, when she was not even out of her teens.
That dream ended when, a couple of weeks ago, 19-year-old Kaavya Viswanathan was charged with plagiarising a number of passages in her book, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild And Got A Life.
As more and more instances of plagiarism appeared, the book was withdrawn from bookstores in America, the Dreamworks contract as well as the contract for the second book were cancelled. Kaavya apologised, saying she was so influenced by Megan McCafferty's novels, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, that she subconsciously and unintentionally used the same words.
While her argument may not be the most convincing one, it brings up an important point -- when one is involved in creative work, be it writing, moviemaking, advertising or fashion designing, the concept of 'inspiration' always creeps in.
There is usually someone who we tend to mould our work around.
Which brings us to the question: what is the difference between 'being inspired' and outright plagiarism?
How does a creative person use inspiration to create something original?
We spoke to senior professionals in various industries and got different perspectives on the subject. Take your pick based on what works for you.
Inspiration versus plagiarism
Deepti Ruth Azariah, who teaches creative writing to Bachelor Of Mass Media students at Mumbai's KC College, and writes short stories for The Hindu, says, "Plagiarism is a shortcut, which is not going to lead you anywhere. On the other hand, inspiration does not offer any short cuts, it needs to be worked on."
Adds designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, "Inspiration is a much longer route, in which anything that strikes you is evolved into a completely different product through a combination of factors that include research, your own style and sensibilities, and a conscious effort to be different and not appear as a mere clone."
Kiran Nagarkar, author of books like Ravan and Eddie, Cuckold and God's Little Soldier and was creative director at MCM, an advertising agency that existed in the 1960s, says, "The word 'inspiration' is one of the most abused words in today's times. Inspiration is something that always comes in bits and pieces. After the one or two moments that you are inspired by an idea, you are on your own. You have to work hard to put together an entire novel. It's not for nothing that it is said success is just one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
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"Originality is misunderstood," continues Nagarkar. "Don't take the word literally. The pursuit of outright originality is pointless since every story possible has been dealt with in epics like the Iliad and the Mahabharata. But then, these stories must be used as pointers."
Observe and learn
"Reading is paramount," says Azariah as it broadens one's perspective and exposes us to how different minds work.
The key to creating your own style is to be exposed to a number of diverse styles. Azariah gives the example of how one goes for a shopping excursion. You may buy a tee shirt from one place, a pair of jeans from another and accessories from a third place altogether -- mix and match, as we call it. In doing so, your style acquires an individuality that separates you from those who shop from the same places.
"Similarly," says Azariah, "assimilate all that you learn from different sources to form a completely new product."
Understand life
Prasoon Joshi, regional creative director, South and South East Asia for the ad agency McCann Erickson -- he has also penned lyrics for films like Hum Tum, Rang De Basanti and Fanaa and dialogues for Rang De Basanti -- believes that, in a profession like advertising, creativity is of essence, but what's more important is connecting with the target audience.
"While I do not believe that creativity can be dissected, originality of thought is important. If you are not an original thinker, quit creativity and join some other field," he says.
"People must remember that an advertisement is not just about satisfying your own creative hunger," he says. "It's a means of communication with an objective in mind, that of informing the consumer about your product and, eventually, increasing its sales. Which is why you need to know what you want to convey, and this applies to advertising, literature, films or any other field."
He explains that a commercial may be brilliant conceptually, an idea that is unique. But it is not enough if it only makes you say, "Wow, why did I not think of that?" An advertisement, however funny, however imaginative, is rendered impotent if it does not connect with the viewer and makes him act.
"And, for that," explains Joshi, "you have to study life. India has a billion minds, all of different strata and sensibilities, understand them. Understand life and interact with it. Do not be confined to your own milieu."
Be your own inspiration
The first step towards originality is having your personal stamp over your creation.
According to Nagarkar, there is no better way to do so than to imbibe one's own experiences, traits and sensibilities into the creative process.
"Pretence will not take you anywhere. Even if you have an idea from some other place, imbibe it into your own environment because this will ensure the idea assumes its own identity. All human beings are different, so the best way to create something that has quality and its own identity, is to be yourself. Be inspired by things you have observed, or incidents that have happened to you," says Nagarkar.
"Everything in this world is recycled from some source or the other, but then, your own personality and world view contribute in making the product 'yours'," says film director Mahesh Bhatt.
Improvise, think in the abstract
"That extra dash of imagination works wonders," says Nagarkar. "The only way to not get lost in the herd is to be different." He cites the example of the popular norm that, in advertising, one must always project one's product as the best.
"But that norm was broken by Avis, with a campaign that said they were the second best, which is why they try harder. That campaign worked wonders. Conventions are pointers, but you must attempt to improvise and break past them," he adds.
He mentions Altaf Tyrewala whose novel No God In Sight has, in Nagarkar's opinion, a unique narrative style. "He has improvised the norms and the result is that his is a new, exciting voice in Indian fiction," Nagarkar says.
Be unique
Mukherjee says the key to his success is his conscious effort to be different. "I actually studied the market so that I could do something no one else was doing."
Different sources of inspiration
Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks has a slightly different perspective, "I would say the lesser one is exposed to what is happening on the international fashion scene, the better. The more you look, the more you tend to copy, be it consciously or subconsciously. Instead, I recommend looking at mundane things apart from clothes. Think abstract. For example, let a cloud be your inspiration. You can design the hues of your dress similar to the colours that adorn a cloud."
Ninety-nine percent perspiration
Ideas may be instinctive, but converting those ideas into something worthwhile is not a momentary task. It involves patience and relentless hard work.
"If people think that just because writing, advertising, filmmaking, painting are creative fields, they come easy, they are sadly mistaken," says Nagarkar, "I hate it when people ask me to describe any book of mine in a line. It's the work of endless number of years of toil and labour, how can one line do justice to all that sweat?"
With that dash of inspiration and truckloads of perspiration, you can work wonders. Perfection may be utopian, but it is in that journey towards perfection that a genuinely great piece of art -- be it a book, a painting, a dress, a film, a commercial, is created.
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