any problem using another writer's work if fully acknowledge?

[regularguy13]

Someone wrote a story for this site in 2015. It's their one and only work. I read it, liked it, and thought it needed a sequel. I tried to contact the author to get permission but had no luck.

I'd like to write the next chapter. I will list the author and suggest people read the original story. I plan on incorporating his/her work in my story as background. A character will have a flashback. The memory will be in italics to set it apart from my words.

Before I produce the second chapter, I want to know if I'm running afoul of any rules.

Thanks, r

 

[Voboy]

View attachment 2356180

Do a search. This gets brought up at least once a month, on average.

TL;DR: It's supremely unethical to do this without permission. If you made a good-faith effort and couldn't get that permission? Tough shit. Them's the breaks. That's my opinion, anyway.

 

[bumpercars]

Legally and morally, you can't submit work that's partially not yours without permission from the other author.

Can you talk a bit about the story? You might have more fun writing your own take on chapter 1 and going from there, and it would dodge this sort of issue.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Some people will say no, some will say fuck it. Err towards no.

 

[Cagivagurl]

In my opinion. It is totally unethical to use another writer work without their permission.
Getting no response from the owner of the work. Is not them giving you permission .If you like the premise of the story, write your own...
The story is not your property. It belongs to somebody else.

Cagivagurl.

 

[Bamagan]

I want to know if I'm running afoul of any rules.

Yes. Even if the original author died minutes after posting the story, it will still be decades before it's legally public domain. The site says it does not want to publish works that violate copyright laws, which an unauthorized sequel would do, and you'd be lying if you clicked the submission box that asserts you have the right to post such work.
That all may sound heavy-handed, but ultimately it just means that the site will either not publish the work, or more likely, they won't realize it's an unauthorized sequel until someone reports it, at which point it will probably be taken down. You might get your account suspended, or your knuckles rapped with a ruler, or some other largely meaningless punishment. That's probably why this question gets asked every month.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Write your own version of Chapter 1 and then move on to Chapter 2.
Give the original author a thanks for the inspiration credit.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Not without permission from the author. And in an event, even if you did get permission, absolutely not re-using any original content. That's plagiarism.

As others have said, this question is frequently asked - you should go find some of the more recent threads. The general consensus is, don't even think about doing it.

 

[TheLobster]

Now that I think about it, isn’t it odd that Lit has an entire category for fanfics that use settings from mainstream fiction and that’s a-okay, but writing a fanfic off of another Lit author’s and publishing it here is verboten?

Seems kinda inconsistent…

 

[ElectricBlue]

Now that I think about it, isn’t it odd that Lit has an entire category for fanfics that use settings from mainstream fiction and that’s a-okay, but writing a fanfic off of another Lit author’s and publishing it here is verboten?

Seems kinda inconsistent…

I suspect you'll find that those who push hard on the ethics of not using someone else's content without permission, don't countenance fan-fic either.

 

[StillStunned]

Now that I think about it, isn’t it odd that Lit has an entire category for fanfics that use settings from mainstream fiction and that’s a-okay, but writing a fanfic off of another Lit author’s and publishing it here is verboten?

Seems kinda inconsistent…

I think the main difference is that no-one's going to think that Luke Skywalker or Kung-Fu Panda are your original creations, but they might if you're writing about Sligh and Avilia, or Countess Ilira and Sir Anthony.

 

[Agent0069]

While this thread is still alive: how about mentioning characters and events from others stories in your own (suppose it’s even acknowledged)? Something like “In a world where every single sexual fantasy ever written came to pass, who do you gonna call for help?”-kind-of-way.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I think the main difference is that no-one's going to think that Luke Skywalker or Kung-Fu Panda are your original creations, but they might if you're writing about Sligh and Avilia, or Countess Ilira and Sir Anthony.

But if it's done with full acknowledgment, if not with actual permission? There is no difference then in that particular sense.
But yeah, Lit takes down any such work published without the author's permission, if requested. I assume that if LucasFilm asked Laurel to take down all SW fanfic stories, she would do it. So there is no inconsistency there. Laurel expects authors to keep track of any derivative work being done without their permission and takes it down on original author's request. I'd say that's a good and practical approach.

 

[Plathfan]

Now that I think about it, isn’t it odd that Lit has an entire category for fanfics that use settings from mainstream fiction and that’s a-okay, but writing a fanfic off of another Lit author’s and publishing it here is verboten?

Seems kinda inconsistent…

It's more than fanfic. They intend to use excerpts from the original in italics, which crosses a red line even for an artistic anarchist like myself, who always puts stories first.

I agree with Kelliezgirl: change the setting and don't forget to credit the source.

 

[Voboy]

Write your own version of Chapter 1 and then move on to Chapter 2.
Give the original author a thanks for the inspiration credit.

This is the way.

 

[regularguy13]

This is the way.

Thanks for the input. It seems weird that if I steal the plot, change the names and dates, I'm golden. I wanted to pay homage to the person who brought the idea to my attention, but that seems problematic. So...

Okay to close this thread by me. I have my answer.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Thanks for the input. It seems weird that if I steal the plot, change the names and dates, I'm golden. I wanted to pay homage to the person who brought the idea to my attention, but that seems problematic. So...

Okay to close this thread by me. I have my answer.

The desire to credit the original author is a good one and you can say "inspired by so-and-so" even if you end up rewriting it.

What new authors often miss is how much the details matter when it comes to a story. I bet you could give me a summary of the original story and I could turn out two sequels that were both consistent with your summary and both completely unlike each other in tone, mood, theme, etc.

I'm not saying ideas are worthless. Tolkien did something ground-breaking when he had the idea to populate his kid's made-up-on-the-spot bedtime stories with people from the European mythologies he had studied. But by the same token, everyone who's come along since to write cookie cutter worlds with elves in forests and dwarves under mountains is still in the clear, legally and ethically.

 

[Bamagan]

Now that I think about it, isn’t it odd that Lit has an entire category for fanfics that use settings from mainstream fiction and that’s a-okay, but writing a fanfic off of another Lit author’s and publishing it here is verboten?

Seems kinda inconsistent…

I personally tend to look askance at that category, but in the case of pornographic re-imaginings of mainstream media, there's a thin defense to be made that they're parodic by nature, and therefore fair use, as no reasonable person is likely to mistake them as being the real thing. Video pornography seems to get away with that excuse at least sometimes. I don't know if I exactly agree with that, but I also know that Disney has enough lawyers that if they want to shut down Princess Lay Ya' fanfic, they don't need my help to do it.
The 'parody' defense has basically no application in the case of writing a porn sequel to a porn story, and as most of us presumably do not have access to a horde of ravenous lawyers to unleash, we kind of have to watch out for each other when it comes to unauthorized uses of our stories.

 

[Voboy]

Thanks for the input. It seems weird that if I steal the plot, change the names and dates, I'm golden. I wanted to pay homage to the person who brought the idea to my attention, but that seems problematic. So...

Okay to close this thread by me. I have my answer.

Well, I think it went without saying that when @Kelliezgirl said "write your own version," she was not suggesting "steal the plot, change the names and dates." She was recommending that the version you write, though inspired by the person to whom you're paying homage, be in every way your own work. Including the plot. Your Chapter One ought to be yours, not the other writer's.

Not to put words into her mouth, but when I endorsed that post, that's how I interpreted it.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Thanks for the input. It seems weird that if I steal the plot, change the names and dates, I'm golden. I wanted to pay homage to the person who brought the idea to my attention, but that seems problematic. So...

Okay to close this thread by me. I have my answer.

I don't think anybody was saying just change the names.
The intent was for you to use the premise of the original. The thing that that aroused your interest and write a whole new story. The only thing used from the original would be the premise....
Use it as fuel to write your own story. We are all influenced by things going on around us.
So, be influenced, but write your own story...
Cagivagurl

 

[Bamagan]

While this thread is still alive: how about mentioning characters and events from others stories in your own (suppose it’s even acknowledged)? Something like “In a world where every single sexual fantasy ever written came to pass, who do you gonna call for help?”-kind-of-way.

As a matter of copyright, that's not necessarily clear cut, so it's beyond the level of advice I can give you (i.e., I'm not sure that could be reasonably gleaned by reading the relevant statutes).
As far as I know, brief references to unrelated media in stories that are otherwise wholly original probably wouldn't be enough to trigger a legitimate case for a copyright lawyer to pursue. Mentioning that the MC is a veteran of the Battle of Endor, for example, in a story that otherwise involves no characters and settings from Star Wars, would probably not be enough to litigate over successfully.
But more relevantly, since it's a question that would only realistically be answered in legal proceedings, the site might well find it safer and easier for themselves to just take the content down if anyone complains, rather than consult a lawyer.

 

[Voboy]

While this thread is still alive: how about mentioning characters and events from others stories in your own (suppose it’s even acknowledged)? Something like “In a world where every single sexual fantasy ever written came to pass, who do you gonna call for help?”-kind-of-way.

Lit has several writers' events where this kind of thing happens explicitly: some include Amorous Goods, Leinyere, and an upcoming SF "universe" in which people share a setting and fairly freely make use of each others' characters.

I've given permission for my characters to be mentioned before, but that was the thing: it was permission. That makes all the difference, I think.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

While this thread is still alive: how about mentioning characters and events from others stories in your own (suppose it’s even acknowledged)? Something like “In a world where every single sexual fantasy ever written came to pass, who do you gonna call for help?”-kind-of-way.

You can acknowledge other stuff, your characters can go see Star Wars on their first date, or discuss reading a particular book.
When the beautiful woman walks into your MMCs office he could even think, "this was the kind of dame that usually hired Sam Spade, what was she doing here?"

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Thanks for the input. It seems weird that if I steal the plot, change the names and dates, I'm golden. I wanted to pay homage to the person who brought the idea to my attention, but that seems problematic. So...

Okay to close this thread by me. I have my answer.

I'm not talking about just "changing the names and dates", I'm talking about using the story as inspiration.
Steven Spielberg made Raiders of the Lost Ark because he was inspired by the serials of his youth. He didn't just change the names and dates, he took the aspects he loved about them and used them in his movie.
Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown is an homage to the Blaxploitation films of the 70s. He didn't change the names and dates, but he took the themes and made them his own.

 

[KeithD]

While this thread is still alive: how about mentioning characters and events from others stories in your own (suppose it’s even acknowledged)? Something like “In a world where every single sexual fantasy ever written came to pass, who do you gonna call for help?”-kind-of-way.

That's general fine. Don't acknowledge it though--you won't find mainstream fiction doing any acknowledgement. You presumably did it to provide an Easter egg for knowledgeable readers to find and savor on their own.