There's one thing I absolutely CANNOT stand in the writing world...

And that, my friends, is plagiarism. What makes you think you can steal another's work and accept compliments for it as if it were your own? Does it make you feel better to know that people love a story you never could've written on your own? Is the attention worth it when it has nothing to do with you or your skills? I'll never understand.

The one good thing about being a mediocre, half-noticed author is that the chances of being plagiarized are very small. I write decent stories, sure, but nothing worth stealing. (Please, don't take that as an invitation to steal my stories. Chances are, I will find out about it, and I will make your life a living hell because of it.)

I've seen too many good authors stop posting their work because of plagiarism. I've seen too many people stop writing altogether because of plagiarism. So, please, don't plagiarize. Either write something on your own or be content with reading the work of others.

FYI, I wrote this journal entry because I stumbled across someone on FictionPress.com who had posted 175 stories and ended up stopping because several of them were plagiarized. It just seems like such a waste to me...