ABANDONED. Main character plagiarizes descriptive fiction. S/he is smart but cannot write creatively. Plagiarized author might have published with a middle name.

[Stacy]

Not much to go on. Not sure if this is a YA or an adult novel. The main character was smart but could not write creatively. He or she plagiarized from someone who had, I believe, 3 names, like "Bob Thomas Smith". Eventually the MC fears that he/she will be discovered, and his/her school or career is threatened. This book could have been published anywhere from the 1960s to now. It's possible that I made this plot up, or that it is actually a movie. Thank you.

[Gini]

World's Greatest Dad is a movie that has this premise in reverse. He's a writer who claims that his dead son wrote his novels and becomes famous. I don't even know why I'm writing this, its so off base, but regardless its a great movie.

[mdt]

The Words, a 2012 film starring Bradley Cooper, has a similar premise, as well as a German novel called Lila Lila by Martin Suter.

[Stacy]

Thank you. It is none of those. But the movies sound good (I remember The Words in theaters).

[Stacy]

Anna, I don't think it's Old School. Thank you though. I remember a line from the book I read that was something like "Thank God for Bob Thomas Smith" or whatever the name of the plagiarized author was.

[Stacy]

Bump

[Cheryl]

I'm glad you're bumping this. It actually sounds a tiny bit familiar to me - maybe next time you bump it I'll actually be able to come up with a suggestion!

[Daphne]

Stephen King wrote a novella "Secret Window, Secret Garden" about this, and it was turned into the movie "Secret Window" with Johnny Depp.

[Stacy]

Daphne, Stephen King doesn't sound quite right, but I did read that novella years ago. Never saw the movie. Is there anyone who read it recently who knows if the main character, Mort Rainey, did actually plagiarize something? I can't figure it out from the on-line articles. One funny thing that I've come across is, in "Secret Window, Secret Garden" there is a reference to Patricia Highsmith, and one of the characters is named Tom Greenleaf. Maybe an homage to Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf in "The Talented Mr. Ripley"? Tom was a forger. . . Anyhow, I'll probably read it again and let you know. Thanks so much.

[Anna]

It doesn't really fit your description overall, but the mentions of plagiarism and a character with three names made me think of Death of a Writer: A Novel, also published as The Secret Life of E. Robert Pendleton.

[Emlen]

Stacy: the main plot of "Secret Window, Secret Garden" involves the main character being harassed and falsely accused of plagiarism by a mysterious character who seems bizarrely sincere about having written a story incredibly similar to a later one by the main character. However... (view spoiler)[ at the end, it turns out that the accuser is a figment of Rainey's imagination (maybe supernaturally come to life), based on his guilt over a real incident early in his career, where he plagiarized in basically the same way he's now accused of. I found it kind of a dumb ending, but there it is, (hide spoiler)] so that might well be the book you're thinking of. I can't remember if the accuser has three names, but he's definitely rural Southern (he always wears a cowboy hat), and he might well be named "Jim Bob" or something similar.

[Daphne]

There are two guys in "Secret Window, Secret Garden" from whom the main character might be said to have plagiarized. One is (view spoiler)[ John Kintner, who the author actually did plagiarize early on in his career, like Emlen said (hide spoiler)]. The other is (view spoiler)[ John Shooter, who is probably a figment of the main character's imagination, and who is accusing the main character falsely of plagiarism (hide spoiler)]. No one with three names, so maybe not your book.

[Stacy]

Ok just finished re-reading "Secret Window Secret Door". That's not what I was looking for. Also not "Death of a Writer". Thank you all for trying. I'm pretty much stuck on the name being three names, like Joseph Gordon Levitt. Also, I think the plagiarized material was in volumes, maybe in a library?

[Andria]

Perhaps Potboiler? MC plagiarizes the work of "William de Vallée"

[BookWoman]

About the Author by John Colapinto?
Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher?

[Stacy]

No to Potboiler, About the Author and Ghostwriter. I think I might have made this up. Or saw in in a movie or in a TV show. I will leave this up in case anon has any more ideas. Thank you all for trying.

[Cheryl]

Since you are still active on GR, Stacy, here's a free bump. :)

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

You're not thinking of Stephen Glass, are you? He was a real life reporter at The New Republic who wrote articles containing made-up stuff. After being fired he wrote a novel in which a character with three names, Stephen Aaron Glass, (based on himself), is a fabulist. The novel is called The Fabulist. It was made into a 2003 movie called "Shattered Glass" in which he was played by Hayden Christiansen.

[Cheryl]

Is it The Fabulist? If not:

Here's a free 'bump' for fall. Come back in a few months to bump again, ok? Otherwise, to be honest, as we do housekeeping on threads we might conclude that this thread has been 'abandoned' and move it to the Abandoned folder.

[Arielle]

bumping

[Stacy]

Bump. Still looking for this one. Thanks!

[Kris]

Added plot details to the topic header. Feel free to edit it using the desktop site (not the mobile app).

What's the tone - mystery, thriller/suspense, funny at times, dark, angsty, etc.?

What's the time period and location (country, region, big city/small town)?

[Tab]

Could you be thinking about a real life situation?
Kaavya Viswanathan was an author who published a book right out of high school. She was later found to have plagiarized from several authors.

Here's the wiki page about the book:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Opa...

[Stacy]

I’m pretty sure it’s a novel I read, not an actual event.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Stacy, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

No response, moving to Abandoned.