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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/33095
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This time, I'm not really talking about the legal side (that has already been covered a few times here), but more about what the readers and the critics think.

The Inheritance Cycle rips off Star Wars, Lord of the Rings. And although many people love it, some critics have expressed a disdain (in a very unprofessional, as far as evidence is concerned, way) towards it.

So apparently, you can still make something good from a bunch of stolen things, however, it conflicts with [what Amadeus said about good stories](https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/32836/25507):

> The answer to that is much harder work than becoming a good technical writer: You have to invent a good original story with something about it people (most of them) have not fully imagined before. Before JK Rowling, I would not have thought of a Wizard's school that would appeal to a children's audience. Before Dan Brown, I would not have thought of Christian artifacts, statues, buildings and manuscripts of having hidden clues to a major secret being covered up by the Vatican. Both of those are genius ideas, superb stories imperfectly realized.

These two contradict each other, and one of them is somewhat true and the other is factual.

So, even going against what's been established of popular but not perfectly executed stories, The Inheritance Cycle still manages to be popular. **How did it do that and how can I replicate the trick?**

Original score: 6