Celebrity deathmatch: Children of Men vs. my book
True Confessions time: I am afraid of the movie "Children of Men."
Not because of the movie's content, or the depth of Clive Owen's forehead-furrows. No, I'm afraid of it because the plot bears certain similarities to "Third," otherwise known as "Lori's *&%#^*ing Book."
The thing is, I know I'm being stupid and irrational. "Children of Men" is about a time when nobody can have children. "Third" is about a time when only 5% of women are fertile. "Children of Men" is a grim, dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. "Third" is a re-organized, near-utopian future in which the seminal apocalypse is so far in the past as not to be an issue. Really, the two plots have nothing in common except that jumping-off point of restricted fertility, a concept that is far from unexplored in fiction and film. They're no more alike than "Gone With the Wind" and "North And South," both of which take place during the Civil War.
But I'm still scared of it. The fertility thing is such a hook that it's memorable. I'm kind of afraid that if "Children of Men" is hugely successful (and it seems to be having pretty good success) that if and when I ever publish "Third" people will just think that I'm either a) out and out ripping it off or b) capitalizing on its success by writing something derivative. Despite the fact that I will be able to demonstrate that I started writing "Third" in 2003, I'm still afraid of it.
Not because of the movie's content, or the depth of Clive Owen's forehead-furrows. No, I'm afraid of it because the plot bears certain similarities to "Third," otherwise known as "Lori's *&%#^*ing Book."
The thing is, I know I'm being stupid and irrational. "Children of Men" is about a time when nobody can have children. "Third" is about a time when only 5% of women are fertile. "Children of Men" is a grim, dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. "Third" is a re-organized, near-utopian future in which the seminal apocalypse is so far in the past as not to be an issue. Really, the two plots have nothing in common except that jumping-off point of restricted fertility, a concept that is far from unexplored in fiction and film. They're no more alike than "Gone With the Wind" and "North And South," both of which take place during the Civil War.
But I'm still scared of it. The fertility thing is such a hook that it's memorable. I'm kind of afraid that if "Children of Men" is hugely successful (and it seems to be having pretty good success) that if and when I ever publish "Third" people will just think that I'm either a) out and out ripping it off or b) capitalizing on its success by writing something derivative. Despite the fact that I will be able to demonstrate that I started writing "Third" in 2003, I'm still afraid of it.