Editing stories for your own use

[mrsgee]

If someone found a story sexually arousing and could relate to it, would it ever be acceptable for that person to edit it for their own use? The person does not have the talent to write in that way. But they could alter the character names, descriptions, locations, and change say Americanisms into British?

I stress that this would be for the persons own use, to get even more sexual pleasure from the story. They would have no intention of ever distributing it in any way, or passing it off as their own.

How do people feel about this? Is it common? How would the author feel: angry; indifferent; flattered?

 

[StrangeView]

If someone found a story sexually arousing and could relate to it, would it ever be acceptable for that person to edit it for their own use? The person does not have the talent to write in that way. But they could alter the character names, descriptions, locations, and change say Americanisms into British?

I stress that this would be for the persons own use, to get even more sexual pleasure from the story. They would have no intention of ever distributing it in any way, or passing it off as their own.

How do people feel about this? Is it common? How would the author feel: angry; indifferent; flattered?

I wouldn't be comfortable with it, it seems to me to be setting a bad precedent. Wouldn't it be better to PM the author directly and discuss your requirements? They may be able to adapt something specifically for you, or there could even be a new story in it for them, which would be tailored towards your thoughts? I've done similar things on occasions, so it could be worth asking.

 

[jaF0]

They would have no intention of ever distributing it in any way, or passing it off as their own.

How do people feel about this?

How would anyone know about it?

 

[Tim2run]

Just keep it to yourself; who would know? It is somewhat on the creepy side though...

 

[mrsgee]

Thank you

Thank you all for your replies.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I personally see nothing wrong with it, nor do I find it particularly creepy - IF everything is kept as the OP describes it.

I have, of course, been told I'm a bit weird, so YMMV.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If it truly was done for personal consumption, how would i know? It would be plagiarism, breaches my copyright, but I wouldn't have to live with that. It's seems to me an odd thing to do, but then, I'm a writer and can't "not write".

I'd prefer that the someone contact me - it would be interesting for me as a writer to take an existing story and personalise it for someone, and more arousing for the someone to read something tailored to their requirements, I'd have thought.

Generally speaking, I'd want to know, because it is "my writing".

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Nope, no problem. I have done this for myself as the names used in the story I like would make more sense to me if they were someone I knew, say. I never intended to repost them like some of the so called authors over at Amazon.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

I've had readers tell me that they've taken my stories and re-written them slightly to adjust for something they wanted to see happen. I can think of three occasions where my story was modified by them to include self-insertion. Someone showed me that they replaced my character Alex with themselves so that THEY become the lover of my character Alexa. I guess I'm flattered, lol.

I've also had readers have tantrums and rewrite chapters to show me how I SHOULD have done things, because clearly they knew my characters better than I do.

I think if someone is gonna edit and use your story, that's a BIG problem, unless they give you all due credit. "This story is an adaptation of a story by (original author), and it wouldn't have been possible without them."

 

[SimonDoom]

How would anyone know about it?

My question, exactly.

If you download the story and keep it for yourself and edit it and don't ever show anyone, no one will ever know.

I personally would not object if someone did this to one of my stories, although I would never know if they did.

 

[Soshameless11]

As long as they're not republishing it, why not? Seems a bit flattering to me.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

As long as they're not republishing it, why not? Seems a bit flattering to me.

Same. Altho I'm often inclined to NOT wonder what they may have done with/to my characters, admittedly... :/

 

[jaF0]

I can think of three occasions where my story was modified by them to include self-insertion.

Isn't that kind of the gist of most stories here?



{I'll go to my room now.}

 

[jehoram]

I don't see a problem with it. I've taken other people's stories and edited them. Sometimes it's as innocuous as correcting misspellings when they bug me too much. Other times, it's more drastic ... cutting out large amounts of scene-setting and just leaving the racy parts. It's for my own enjoyment and arousal, and I'm not going to re-publish it, in either my name or the author's. And it sure saves space on the flash drive.

I do the same thing with some videos. If there's a particular scene that turns me on, I'll edit everything else out. Sometime what's left is no longer than a GIF, but again, it saves space and is more user-friendly for wanking.

 

[jaF0]

I do the same thing with some videos.

Music here. Clip out some spoken bits, intros, crowd noise or applause, maybe some excess whatever in the middle, overly long drum solo or similar.

No one will ever hear it but me.

 

[KeithD]

Here's a vote for "there's nothing wrong with that as stated--for one's own use only."

 

[Bramblethorn]

If someone found a story sexually arousing and could relate to it, would it ever be acceptable for that person to edit it for their own use? The person does not have the talent to write in that way. But they could alter the character names, descriptions, locations, and change say Americanisms into British?

I stress that this would be for the persons own use, to get even more sexual pleasure from the story. They would have no intention of ever distributing it in any way, or passing it off as their own.

How do people feel about this? Is it common? How would the author feel: angry; indifferent; flattered?

If you're not publishing it, do what you like with it.

 

[mrsgee]

Thanks again for all your responses, most of which are positive. I don't feel so weird now .

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BiscuitHammer View Post
I can think of three occasions where my story was modified by them to include self-insertion.

Isn't that kind of the gist of most stories here?

Oh! 'Self-insertion' is pretending you are one of the characters...

How I misread that first post!

 

[Mutau]

Ask Politely

@ mrsgee: Could you not communicate with the author? Mention that you enjoy their writing style and/or subject matter. Explain that you would be honoured to have a personalized story written specifically for you.

The worse that can happen is they say ‘no’.

 

[Specula]

It is out there in public space and can be downloaded. That is part of the intent. What you do with your own copy is your business alone - you have not altered the public document in any way, and you must have the right to fiddle with your OWN downloade version.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It is out there in public space and can be downloaded. That is part of the intent. What you do with your own copy is your business alone - you have not altered the public document in any way, and you must have the right to fiddle with your OWN downloade version.

There's no "must" about it. The only absolute moral right is the copyright owner's over their work. When I publish my work, I don't give anyone permission to change it for their own purposes. That's plagiarism, theft, morally bankrupt etc etc. I could go on, but why bother? I can't stop people doing it but I'd rather they respected my ownership as the original creator, and left my work as it was. It's my story, my characters, don't steal mine. Write your own.

 

[KeithD]

It is out there in public space and can be downloaded. That is part of the intent. What you do with your own copy is your business alone - you have not altered the public document in any way, and you must have the right to fiddle with your OWN downloade version.

I don't have any trouble with this.

 

[MColton84]

If someone found a story sexually arousing and could relate to it, would it ever be acceptable for that person to edit it for their own use? The person does not have the talent to write in that way. But they could alter the character names, descriptions, locations, and change say Americanisms into British?

I stress that this would be for the persons own use, to get even more sexual pleasure from the story. They would have no intention of ever distributing it in any way, or passing it off as their own.

How do people feel about this? Is it common? How would the author feel: angry; indifferent; flattered?

The simplest answer that I can offer is that I wouldn't appreciate it done to my work. I made it, it's mine. However, if you did this for your own entertainment, without any attempt to distribute or share your alterations, that's your business. I would prefer being asked to write a custom work for an individual than to have my existing stuff tampered with. Ultimately, it is my work but your copy, so do with it what you will, but keep it for your eyes only. I don't even want to know about it.

 

[RejectReality]

What you do with your personal copy is your business, so long as you're not distributing it.

I honestly don't get how people find the simple thought of it creepy. Certain modifications, perhaps ( turning it into snuff, or non-con, or incest, etc. ) might make your skin crawl, but if someone just wishes a character was named something else, or looked like someone else, or reacted a little differently than you wrote it? *shrug*

Especially if you never even know about it.

I suppose I'm built a little more "open source" than a lot of people. I don't mind that people have taken magic from my stories and incorporated it into their PnP games. Folks used to modify the old forum attack mod I helped code to fit their communities. Granted, that was built for menu based modification for even the uninitiated, but some significantly modified the code as well. They acknowledged it was a mod of our original system, though.

So sharing something doesn't even necessarily cross my line in the sand. It's situational, and mostly based upon whether it seems selfish/malicious.