Adopting a story/series?

[Pastaadventures]

Over the years I've been reading smut I have found myself really attached to certain stories. Enough so that I begin adding my own bits and pieces to tailor it to my own preferences. Sometimes completely rewriting and adding sequel chapters in my style, especially to abandoned stories(have one from 1997...)

Now that I'm looking to publish the good ones I'm wondering if there is anything I need to do other than crediting the original author.

 

[EmilyMiller]

At the very least, it might be polite to ask their permission.

Em

 

[Pastaadventures]

At the very least, it might be polite to ask their permission.

Em

Yeah I reach out to the ones that are still active of course, always down to collab. I was more so asking about the authors that are inactive.

 

[Voboy]

No bueno.

These are not your stories to write.

If you can get permission from the writers, then do what they allow. If not? You have no right to these ideas. Write your own.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yeah I reach out to the ones that are still active of course, always down to collab. I was more so asking about the authors that are inactive.

It depends how close and derivative you are to the originals. If you're very close to the originals, I don't think you shouldn't do anything without permission.

If you've wandered far off track such that characters, story line, and locations are no longer recognisable as the original author's, then that's inspiration, not direct derivation.

I'm more ambivalent about long abandoned stories (decades old, rather than a story written last year, which the author might still care about and be holding close). Are they fair game? Probably not, but if character names, plot lines and locations are all changed, who's to know?

In the case of ancient stories, it would be down to your own writer ethics, I think, as to an acknowledgement. It would never occur to me to use someone else's work as a starter, I've got more than enough ideas of my own.

 

[SimonDoom]

You can't write sequels to preexisting stories by other authors without their permission. It does not matter whether they are active or not, or whether you can locate them.

But with enough changes (names, settings, using only your own words, changing some plot points) you can write your own story that is inspired by the previous one. That's OK.

 

[tenyari]

If an author has set up a shared universe or granted permission for you to set up a shared universe then go ahead.

Otherwise don't do it. Rewrite until you're not longer carrying forward their thing, but have something original.

 

[ronde]

You can't write sequels to preexisting stories by other authors without their permission. It does not matter whether they are active or not, or whether you can locate them.

But with enough changes (names, settings, using only your own words, changing some plot points) you can write your own story that is inspired by the previous one. That's OK.

I agree. I would never allow another author to write a sequel to one of my stories even if asked.

That said, if you change enough of the original story, you can write what you want as long as the work demonstrates originality rather than blatant copying. A work does not have to be unique.

You can even use the same plot as long as you vary the setting and characters. After all, depending upon which reference you use, there are only a limited number of plots and they've been used over and over since people began writing stories. As an example, compare the plots of a silent film western, a 1950's western, the "Star Trek" series, the "Star Wars" series, and the offshoots of those. They all share similar plots with similar characters - a strong man, a desirable woman, danger, and the good guy saves the girl.

What you can't do is copy even small parts of a story verbatim and claim it as your own. In the UK, even the used of the same word has been deemed to be a copyright violation.

 

[SimonDoom]

You can even use the same plot as long as you vary the setting and characters.

This isn't quite true. The makers of The Magnificent Seven got permission from the owners of Seven Samurai before making the movie because it's a blatant copy even though all the characters and the plot are completely different. The owners of Kurosawa's movie Yojimbo sued the Sergio Leone for his blatant western ripoff Fistful of Dollars, and probably would have won but I think they settled.

You cannot copy plot point by point without permission. You can take the idea of the story and create a new story that is your own. An example would be Star Wars, which bears some similarities to another Kurosawa film, the Hidden Fortress, but is different enough that a copyright suit probably wouldn't have been successful.

So, the lesson is: make sure your version does not copy the plot of the other story too closely.

 

[Pastaadventures]

It depends how close and derivative you are to the originals. If you're very close to the originals, I don't think you shouldn't do anything without permission.

If you've wandered far off track such that characters, story line, and locations are no longer recognisable as the original author's, then that's inspiration, not direct derivation.

I'm more ambivalent about long abandoned stories (decades old, rather than a story written last year, which the author might still care about and be holding close). Are they fair game? Probably not, but if character names, plot lines and locations are all changed, who's to know?

In the case of ancient stories, it would be down to your own writer ethics, I think, as to an acknowledgement. It would never occur to me to use someone else's work as a starter, I've got more than enough ideas of my own.

Ok for example I have two stories I'm interested in publishing, both are derived from the same author. They haven't responded to my methods of contact and have not posted since 2009 or been seen since 2010.

Similar to the original, both stories are loosely linked in that characters reference each other but the stories can stand on their own. Word for word similarities are limited to a total of a few sentences at most or are just phases that set up a scene, sex position or in general just bits of old story spliced with new details. Plot wise, I have added entirely new events but the original events unfold similarly and in a similar location.

The differences are much more noticeable though. Looking at one of the stories, female characters are entirely different with the original being OC while mine are celebs. The male characters remain OC but have entirely different proportions and I have added more than the original cast. The sex mechanically is completely in my fictional universe of human anatomy and physiology while the original is grounded in reality. The original work is 6.7k words while my edits have made mine 17.2k including a completely OC 2nd chapter.

 

[Djmac1031]

Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth:

As has been pointed out, stories get recycled constantly. Especially here.

If another author's story has inspired you to write your own, fantastic.

But there's a huge difference between writing a story inspired by another, and creating what would essentially be "fan fiction," using that author's characters and distinct plots and creating an unauthorized "sequel."

Be really, REALLY careful about "borrowing" passages from the original story. Could you get away with a blatant copy? Probably. But SHOULD YOU is another matter.

Write YOUR story. You can use other's ideas, other's concepts. But not their entire story.

Plus, I think you'd just wind up confusing readers by attempting to connect your story in any way to another authors. And they may be put off by that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Ok for example I have two stories I'm interested in publishing, both are derived from the same author. They haven't responded to my methods of contact and have not posted since 2009 or been seen since 2010.

Similar to the original, both stories are loosely linked in that characters reference each other but the stories can stand on their own. Word for word similarities are limited to a total of a few sentences at most or are just phases that set up a scene, sex position or in general just bits of old story spliced with new details.

Don't do this at all. Using the original author's sentences is plagiarism, and to do that is just plain silly.

Plot wise, I have added entirely new events but the original events unfold similarly and in a similar location.

Whose "original events"? If you're repeating great chunks of the original plot and storyline, that's plagiarism too.

The differences are much more noticeable though. Looking at one of the stories, female characters are entirely different with the original being OC while mine are celebs.

Okay, that's a substantive change, but writing about celebs has pitfalls of its own. Firstly, your celeb fantasies might not be shared by anyone else, secondly, it can be slightly tacky to portray celebs in sexual contexts without their permission.

The male characters remain OC but have entirely different proportions

That's a "so what?"

and I have added more than the original cast. The sex mechanically is completely in my fictional universe of human anatomy and physiology while the original is grounded in reality.
The original work is 6.7k words while my edits have made mine 17.2k including a completely OC 2nd chapter.

So your sex sounds substantively different. Why don't you forget about linkages to the original and develop your own world, since it would appear you're half way there already?

What benefit is there to your story of keeping tight linkages to the original? If your story is "better" than the original, why don't you make even more sweeping changes and break the legacy, make it more yours?

As you can see, the whole notion of this is problematic. Be original, and the ethical issues all disappear.

 

[oneagainst]

Fan-fiction style writing is okay if the author has indicated that they are okay with it. The author is under no obligation to consider your stories as canon in any case... and you do need to assign origination credit/backlinks.

Just lifting chunks is a hard no.

If the author is defunct, copyright expires after 75 years I think but you would be better rejigging characters maybe and turning it into new original work. Seemed to go well enough for E L James.

For the record, I'm happy if someone is reading this comment in 2032 and wants to jump on the end of a story I wrote That would be highly awesome if someone still cared a decade from now. Hell... a month from now....

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I have seen several authors here with work-arounds to writing sequels or variations to stories by inactive authors.

The first, and one I have seen most often, involves an author note containing a link to the original story and an explanation that the original author did not respond to attempted communications. In these instances, the original story is not altered. The sequel adds an alternative ending or story arc without abusing the original.

I have also seen instances where portions of the original story are included in derivative works but denoted with italics or other means to show that they are from the original story and being inserted into the new version. This is lazy and cheap in my opinion, but it has happened here.

 

[Djmac1031]

Hell... a month from now....

Hell, fifteen minutes after they've busted a nut...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

This isn't quite true. The makers of The Magnificent Seven got permission from the owners of Seven Samurai before making the movie because it's a blatant copy even though all the characters and the plot are completely different. The owners of Kurosawa's movie Yojimbo sued the Sergio Leone for his blatant western ripoff Fistful of Dollars, and probably would have won but I think they settled.

You cannot copy plot point by point without permission. You can take the idea of the story and create a new story that is your own. An example would be Star Wars, which bears some similarities to another Kurosawa film, the Hidden Fortress, but is different enough that a copyright suit probably wouldn't have been successful.

So, the lesson is: make sure your version does not copy the plot of the other story too closely.

I knew about The Magnificent Seven, but not about Fistful of Dollars... It is amazing how many excellent movies Kurosawa had inspired.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Over the years I've been reading smut I have found myself really attached to certain stories. Enough so that I begin adding my own bits and pieces to tailor it to my own preferences. Sometimes completely rewriting and adding sequel chapters in my style, especially to abandoned stories(have one from 1997...)

Now that I'm looking to publish the good ones I'm wondering if there is anything I need to do other than crediting the original author.

Well, I got permission from the author as it’s their copyrighted characters. I contacted them let them know I had ideas and was interested in creating something. They told me to do it as long as I acknowledged their copyrighted characters at the start but some authors may be affronted by that, and if it’s from 1997 some authors might be dead.

I wouldn’t know how you approach this but I certainly know EXACTLY how you feel. Sometimes a story can pull you in so much, the characters so engaging they feel like you know them at the end. Hell, ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE came to me largely fully formed 48 hours after finishing LIKE THE DEVIL WITH A DEAL. But that’s the power of the written word and I guess we’re lucky to work in such an open forum.

Heaven help us if Disney take over Literotica. We’d all be screwed…and not in a good way.

 

[Seadog777]

Over the years I've been reading smut I have found myself really attached to certain stories. Enough so that I begin adding my own bits and pieces to tailor it to my own preferences. Sometimes completely rewriting and adding sequel chapters in my style, especially to abandoned stories(have one from 1997...)

Now that I'm looking to publish the good ones I'm wondering if there is anything I need to do other than crediting the original author.

You reach out to the Original author of those stories.
If you do not hear back from them with permission, you DO NOT PUBLISH!!!
I've personally asked a few authors for permission to write my own versions of their stories, and never heard back.
Therefore, I did not publish or even start working on them.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You reach out to the Original author of those stories.
If you do not hear back from them with permission, you DO NOT PUBLISH!!!
I've personally asked a few authors for permission to write my own versions of their stories, and never heard back.
Therefore, I did not publish or even start working on them.

What he said.

Em

 

[PastMaster]

As everyone has said before unless you have the permission of the author - what you are doing ie plagiarizing the story- which would get the story pulled from literotica - and could technically get you sued - although the chances of that are so infinitessimely small that its not even a concern.

If you are inspired to write a story by another author, I think that there are very few of us that can say that hasn't happened at one time or another, then that's fine but to use another authors world and characters without their permission is just bad manners.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth:

As has been pointed out, stories get recycled constantly. Especially here.

If another author's story has inspired you to write your own, fantastic.

But there's a huge difference between writing a story inspired by another, and creating what would essentially be "fan fiction," using that author's characters and distinct plots and creating an unauthorized "sequel."

Be really, REALLY careful about "borrowing" passages from the original story. Could you get away with a blatant copy? Probably. But SHOULD YOU is another matter.

Write YOUR story. You can use other's ideas, other's concepts. But not their entire story.

Plus, I think you'd just wind up confusing readers by attempting to connect your story in any way to another authors. And they may be put off by that.

Adopt is a nice euphemism for what I’d actually like to do to Jenna .

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

Adopt is a nice euphemism for what I’d actually like to do to Jenna .

Em

I'd certainly let you "adopt" her anytime

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'd certainly let you "adopt" her anytime

We have to try to do something about that. One I get over this event-driven hump of writing

Em

 

[lc69hunter]

I have received permission from several authors no longer active, but still have accounts, to take their story in a different direction. I have not yet done so. However, one story that the ending angered me so, I asked the author for permission to write it with a different ending, and he adamantly refused, as he is a BTBer, and the story didn't need to end that way.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I hope the excellent advice you've gotten thus far has convinced you to change what you need to make it yours. It's done every day. Many years ago now, Terry Brooks wrote the fantasy, the Sword of Shannara which was a blatant rip off of LoTR. But there was enough different that it got published. And he's been very successful thereafter. I'm not a fan, but that's neither here nor there.