Rewriting other author's stories

[MillieDynamite]

The bondage is real and not real at the same time.

It presents such an odd conundrum.

The "rewriter-ish?" is (seemingly) driven to write as authentic a reproduction as possible but also leaning heavy on human nature of the fragility of memory. (so, very likely going to fail in a too similar copy.)

Schrodinger's Plagiarism?

The AH never ceases to amaze me sometimes.

 

[Euphony]

The bondage is real and not real at the same time.

Today's safe word is... radioactive.

 

[Voboy]

FMC pov. She's in college and takes on a part time job with a successful author (M). He needs her to get groceries and run errands and stuff. I think he's a recluse. She needs more money so she takes on additional responsibilities like cooking his meals.

One day she finds a room is open or unlocked that is always locked. Inside she finds a lot of bondage stuff, all over the walls and floor. One thing leads to another, and we find out that the book he is currently writing is on bondage. However, he's got writer's block because he doesn't have anyone using the stuff for him. She offers to be his model/muse for more money.

That's all I remember.

And you don't recall how it ends?

Personally, here's what I'd do (realizing I'm NOT plagiarism-friendly at all). I think you're already doing the right thing: you don't want to pass someone's work off as your own, and you're letting the world know that. I'd make a good-faith effort to track down the writer and seek permission. If that fails, I'd rewrite the story and make it clear to your readers that it's inspired by a story you've read, whose title you've forgotten, and that you're not sure who wrote it. But that you thank them anyway, since their story was so impactful.

Then I'd just go for it.

 

[dasgoodshit]

It presents such an odd conundrum.

The "rewriter-ish?" is (seemingly) driven to write as authentic a reproduction as possible but also leaning heavy on human nature of the fragility of memory. (so, very likely going to fail in a too similar copy.)

Schrodinger's Plagiarism?

The AH still manages to surprise me every now and again.

Not exactly. Barring access to the original, I just want a story with the core idea, which is all that I remember. I can't reproduce the story authentically because I don't know if I even read it in full. My conundrum was whether or not such a practice would be frowned upon.

 

[KeithD]

Not exactly. Barring access to the original, I just want a story with the core idea, which is all that I remember. I can't reproduce the story authentically because I don't know if I even read it in full. My conundrum was whether or not such a practice would be frowned upon.

Using just the core idea would be fine. Original plot ideas are rare and may not actually exist anymore.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Only 7 plots exist, according to one writing site. I can’t remember the site, but here are the plots. Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Rebirth, Comedy, and Tragedy. However, there are an infinite number of variations on these themes. I’m not 100 percent sure there aren’t more.

Using just the core idea would be fine. Original plot ideas are rare and may not actually exist anymore.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

FMC pov. She's in college and takes on a part time job with a successful author (M). He needs her to get groceries and run errands and stuff. I think he's a recluse. She needs more money so she takes on additional responsibilities like cooking his meals.

One day she finds a room is open or unlocked that is always locked. Inside she finds a lot of bondage stuff, all over the walls and floor. One thing leads to another, and we find out that the book he is currently writing is on bondage. However, he's got writer's block because he doesn't have anyone using the stuff for him. She offers to be his model/muse for more money.

That's all I remember.

That's basically the plot of the movie Secretary. Definitely generic enough that you should feel free to write your own take on it.

 

[lc69hunter]

I have received permission from two authors not writing anymore to write an additional chapter on one of their stories, in fact taking them and the characters in a totally different direction than the author left them

 

[Auden James]

My conundrum was whether or not such a practice would be frowned upon.

And I think this thread has already given you the answer, hasn't it?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

It presents such an odd conundrum.

The "rewriter-ish?" is (seemingly) driven to write as authentic a reproduction as possible but also leaning heavy on human nature of the fragility of memory. (so, very likely going to fail in a too similar copy.)

Schrodinger's Plagiarism?

The AH still manages to surprise me every now and again.

That makes me think of "Schrödinger's Joke"

Where you wanna fuck somebody really badly, so you make sex jokes... but you're only kidding if they aren't interested.

"You know what would be really funny?! If you and me somehow ended up fucking? Hahaha! What a funny joke! Unless... HAHA! I'm kidding! But on the other hand? "

 

[dasgoodshit]

And I think this thread has already given you the answer, hasn't it?

Yup. I would have said so, but that normally doesn't stop people from continuing to post their opinions. Very well: @Voboy, you said that I was already doing the right thing, yadda yadda.... To that I say: thank you for the input; I take it to heart. (Everyone's input was appreciated, btw; I'm just saying that I knew my course of action with voboy's post.)

In case anyone is wondering, I consider the topic closed, so of course a bunch more people will reply, unless they don't want to get told what to do... and, well, shit, now I don't know what to expect...

 

[Bramblethorn]

FMC pov. She's in college and takes on a part time job with a successful author (M). He needs her to get groceries and run errands and stuff. I think he's a recluse. She needs more money so she takes on additional responsibilities like cooking his meals.

One day she finds a room is open or unlocked that is always locked. Inside she finds a lot of bondage stuff, all over the walls and floor. One thing leads to another, and we find out that the book he is currently writing is on bondage. However, he's got writer's block because he doesn't have anyone using the stuff for him. She offers to be his model/muse for more money.

That's all I remember.

Yeah, if that's as far as it goes I think you're in the clear on this one, especially if you're acknowledging the inspiration as well as your memory permits.

The "woman goes to live with an older/more powerful man, he has a locked room with a dark secret, one day the door is unlocked" aspect is a long-standing trope - see e.g. Jane Eyre and Perrault's Bluebeard, though yours has a happier ending than those originals. Having a room set aside for BDSM stuff is something that people were doing IRL (people with bigger houses than me) long before 50 Shades of Grey used the idea. "Writer needs inspiration, gets it through RL affair" is also a very well-worn trope.

(whoops, wrote this reply before seeing the "topic closed". Oh well.)

 

[dasgoodshit]

The "woman goes to live with an older/more powerful man, he has a locked room with a dark secret, one day the door is unlocked" aspect is a long-standing trope - see e.g. Jane Eyre and Perrault's Bluebeard, though yours has a happier ending than those originals[...]

(whoops, wrote this reply before seeing the "topic closed". Oh well.)

No problem- I really enjoyed the story. In particular, this part: "and so his wife became mistress of all his estate. She made use of one part of it to marry her sister Anne to a young gentleman who had loved her a long while"

I read that to mean that she paid a man to drain his balls into her sister for the rest of his life. Good story.

 

[stonedinstilletos]

One of my WiP is based on the starting idea of a story that I read on here. But I take it in the opposite direction. They arent the same characters but the starting point is the same and to me its not unethical because its nothing that was explored by the story I read.