Stance on stories inspired by others?

[HHHawkeye]

So while it's part of an anthology of stories set in a larger unified setting, the story I'm currently writing is heavily inspired by a story I saw and thought to myself "wow, this would be really hot if the genders were reversed".

But now that I'm mapping the story outline out, I'm starting to get worried that the stories are too similar in concept. That writing an AN of "inspired by [X]" wouldn't be enough, and it would be a sort of faux pas to post it.

So I thought I'd ask some opinions about it. How similar would be too similar in your eyes?

 

[oggbashan]

I have a couple of such stories.

Two were inspired by German stories on Yahoo Adult Groups. In both cases, I acknowledge the source, but my stories are much extended from the originals.

Another story Christmas Fairy was inspired by a short story by Piers Anthony 'The Bridge' and I say that in the intro. I took the original idea and thought 'what if' and wrote as if it was a continuation of Piers Anthony's story.

But how far my stories are inspired by others? I don't feel the need to acknowledge a possible debt to Dorothy L Sayers' The Nine Tailors in my story Christmas Truce although a commentator noticed it.

Apart from dealing with a flood, most of my story is original.

 

[Defluer]

If you're writing it and not copy pasting it... I say why not. Maybe have somebody read both when you're done just to get their feelings but I've got like two or three in the works that are "Inspired By" Other stories. And if you say it at the beginning of the story, that just points traffic to them, so it's a win win. I wouldn't mind if somebody wrote an Inspired By after one of my stories.

 

[SimonDoom]

Nobody has a copyright, or proprietary right of any kind, in the mere ideas and concepts of their stories. They only have a right in the particular creative expression in their stories. If what you are borrowing from a story is abstract and general enough, there is nothing illegal or unethical about borrowing it.

Like, for example, somebody wrote the first "mailgirl" story -- the bizarre but for some reason sexy idea of women hired to run around offices delivering mail in the nude. Many people, including me, have written their own version of mailgirl stories. There's nothing wrong with that.

Many of my stories are inspired by ideas from other stories I've read. There's nothing at all wrong with writing such stories.

If you're just taking an idea from another story, there's no obligation to cite the story it's inspired by. In the case of the mailgirl story, I DID give thanks to the other mailgirl stories I'd read, because I was confident there was no copyright problem, because I thought it was appropriate, and because I wanted to encourage readers who liked my story to read the others. In your situation, if you are changing genders, then you're going to be appealing to a different reader base, so I wouldn't recommend making an attribution.

Avoid using the same character names, the same character traits, the same setting, the same specific plot points, and absolutely do not lift any of the actual text from that story and put it into yours. If you do that, you should be just fine.

 

[TadOverdon]

I don't have a "stance" on it. My writing is derivative and based on what I read that's more common than not.

A lot of people first write because something they've read affects them strongly in a positive or negative way. "I want to do that" vies with "Christ, I can at least do better than that."

 

[KeithD]

So I thought I'd ask some opinions about it. How similar would be too similar in your eyes?

That's impossible to answer in the abstract.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

The head of creative writing at my university says this all the time: "Writing is rewriting. The stories we write today are a response to what we've read in the past."

I'm in her short story class right now and she points out every time an author includes a line that echoes or responds to in a text we've read before. To divine a story wholly original and derivative of nothing is to create a story with nothing to say and nothing to ground the reader.

 

[KeithD]

The head of creative writing at my university says this all the time: "Writing is rewriting. The stories we write today are a response to what we've read in the past."

I'm in her short story class right now and she points out every time an author includes a line that echoes or responds to in a text we've read before. To divine a story wholly original and derivative of nothing is to create a story with nothing to say and nothing to ground the reader.

This, yes, but your teacher was being a bit myopic. Inspiration comes from so much more you are encountering in life than just what you've read.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

In the visual and plastic arts we often do our own piece copying another's, but in our own style. We include in its title a citation of the original artist. It's stated as "name of piece," after "name of original piece" by "name of original artist." I've seen similar in music and poetry.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

So while it's part of an anthology of stories set in a larger unified setting, the story I'm currently writing is heavily inspired by a story I saw and thought to myself "wow, this would be really hot if the genders were reversed".

But now that I'm mapping the story outline out, I'm starting to get worried that the stories are too similar in concept. That writing an AN of "inspired by [X]" wouldn't be enough, and it would be a sort of faux pas to post it.

So I thought I'd ask some opinions about it. How similar would be too similar in your eyes?

I reached out to the author I was sequelling and they wanted it to be acknowledged that they created those initial characters, passed that they were happy to let me do my thing.

So if it’s a Literotica writer reach out and get their opinion on if they’re okay with it.

Some are, some are not, but it’s what I’d do (cause I did).

 

[Paul_Chance]

If you want to write a similar tale - concept, theme, plot, etc., that's fine and common in writing. Whether you add an acknowledgement is up to you.

I might be inspired by another writer's tale and think "I should write a story like that".

But, the invention of characters is personal to an author, so I would never take their characters or their world.

In other words - I see it as fair game to steal their soul, but not their clothes.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

If you want to right a similar tale - concept, theme, plot, etc., that's fine and common in writing. Whether you add an acknowledgement is up to you.

I might be inspired by another writers tale and think "I should write a story like that".

But, the invention of characters is personal to an author, so I would never take their characters or their world.

In other words - I see it as fair game to steal their soul, but not their clothes.

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." (attributed to Pablo Picasso)

 

[8letters]

If you want to write a similar tale - concept, theme, plot, etc., that's fine and common in writing. Whether you add an acknowledgement is up to you.

I might be inspired by another writer's tale and think "I should write a story like that".

But, the invention of characters is personal to an author, so I would never take their characters or their world.

In other words - I see it as fair game to steal their soul, but not their clothes.

There's a genre of stories where the author takes a minor character or characters from a story and creates a new story around them. For example, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". That's really on edge of stealing an author's world, but I think most people find that acceptable.

 

[SimonDoom]

There's a genre of stories where the author takes a minor character or characters from a story and creates a new story around them. For example, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". That's really on edge of stealing an author's world, but I think most people find that acceptable.

Shakespeare's works are in the public domain. You can do whatever you want with Shakespeare and there's no copyright or moral issue. But it would be different using minor characters from a contemporary work for which the copyright still exists. That could be an infringement under the law. Unless you could successfully argue that your work is a parody (and therefore a fair use), it probably would be infringement.

 

[Amy_66]

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." (attributed to Pablo Picasso)

Yeah, but he stole the quote...

 

[Voboy]

We're all inspired by a million variables. Some of those come from within, some from without. We're probably not even consciously aware of a lot of them.

But if we are? Meaning, if we're conscious enough to feel a nagging sense that we should recognize a similarity to that inspirational piece? Then that's your brain telling you you should go ahead and acknowledge it.

It's not a big deal, and it's not unethical if you give a shoutout to your source. Further, if your source is still active on this site, I think it would be decent to make an effort to contact them and let them know you're appreciative enough to use their work as your inspiration. But that's about as far as I think your obligation extends.

 

[HHHawkeye]

We're all inspired by a million variables. Some of those come from within, some from without. We're probably not even consciously aware of a lot of them.

But if we are? Meaning, if we're conscious enough to feel a nagging sense that we should recognize a similarity to that inspirational piece? Then that's your brain telling you you should go ahead and acknowledge it.

It's not a big deal, and it's not unethical if you give a shoutout to your source. Further, if your source is still active on this site, I think it would be decent to make an effort to contact them and let them know you're appreciative enough to use their work as your inspiration. But that's about as far as I think your obligation extends.

Their last published work on the site was 4 years ago, so I don't think that's likely.

 

[Voboy]

Their last published work on the site was 4 years ago, so I don't think that's likely.

Yep. That's why I said "make an effort to contact them."

If they don't get the word, they don't get the word. But if you feel an ethical need to acknowledge their work (and it sounds like you do), then you'll have done your due diligence and paid your debt.

 

[8letters]

Shakespeare's works are in the public domain. You can do whatever you want with Shakespeare and there's no copyright or moral issue. But it would be different using minor characters from a contemporary work for which the copyright still exists. That could be an infringement under the law. Unless you could successfully argue that your work is a parody (and therefore a fair use), it probably would be infringement.

And there's no copyright issue with borrowing characters from a Literotica story.

Let's say someone wanted to write a LW story using the mother from my last story and have my main characters appear briefly in a few scenes. That would be very similar to, in terms of fair use, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

Along the line of the OP, someone recently posted a story that starts with:

AN: Inspired by Scouries Two Pregnant Moms & A Sis?

Dearest Readers, while this story borrows the original story premise I have changed it to suit my narrative while keeping the characters, and some lines of dialogue. from the above-mentioned story, The character portrayals have been changed to suit my writing style and many other things were fleshed out.

I sought the author's blessing but after waiting a month with no response (he hasn't been active here since Nov of 2020) so I am going ahead with my story. I hope you enjoy my take on this tale.

The story is different than Scouries', the ratings of the first three chapters have been very good, and the comments have mostly been positive.

 

[SimonDoom]

And there's no copyright issue with borrowing characters from a Literotica story.

Sure there is. Literotica stories are copyrighted just as much as any stories are. Copyright exists from the moment a story is "fixed in a medium of tangible expression." That means the moment it appears on an online server. Registration is not needed. As a practical matter, the risk may be low, because the author has to register the copyright to sue. But the law applies, at least theoretically, to Literotica stories as much as to any stories. It's not likely to happen, but were you to infringe a Literotica story by borrowing the characters the author of that story might then register the copyright and sue you. Unlikely? Sure. But legally possible? Definitely yes. And ethically, I don't think it would be right to do that without permission.

The issue with Rozencrantz and Guildenstern is that the source material is in the public domain. Had those characters been based upon a contemporary work that was subject to an existing copyright, the play would likely have been an act of copyright infringement, UNLESS the author could prove it was a fair use, probably by trying to argue that it was a parody (which, maybe, it might be).

 

[Rob_Royale]

You might think when you are first starting the story that they will be similar but I'm positive once you sit down at the keyboard and begin writing, your story will deviate considerably from the original. It's in our nature as writers.

 

[SimonDoom]

So while it's part of an anthology of stories set in a larger unified setting, the story I'm currently writing is heavily inspired by a story I saw and thought to myself "wow, this would be really hot if the genders were reversed".

But now that I'm mapping the story outline out, I'm starting to get worried that the stories are too similar in concept. That writing an AN of "inspired by [X]" wouldn't be enough, and it would be a sort of faux pas to post it.

So I thought I'd ask some opinions about it. How similar would be too similar in your eyes?

As long as the characters don't have the same names, and the plot points and setting aren't identical, ask yourself this practical question: Is ANYBODY going to notice the similarity?
You're almost certain to publish the story in a different category, so almost certainly not. As long as you take reasonable precautions and steps, this is a non-risk.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

This, yes, but your teacher was being a bit myopic. Inspiration comes from so much more you are encountering in life than just what you've read.

Yeah thats why she uses the word 'response' and not regurgitate.

 

[KeithD]

If they don't get the word, they don't get the word. But if you feel an ethical need to acknowledge their work (and it sounds like you do), then you'll have done your due diligence and paid your debt.

Tilt. "They don't get the word," that's your problem, not theirs. It's not up to the original copyright holder to be available for use permission requests. If you can't get an active permission from them, that's your problem, not theirs. Due diligence doesn't have a damn thing to do about it.

 

[SimonDoom]

Yep. That's why I said "make an effort to contact them."

If they don't get the word, they don't get the word. But if you feel an ethical need to acknowledge their work (and it sounds like you do), then you'll have done your due diligence and paid your debt.

I strongly disagree with this view. If it is copyright infringement to borrow something from someone else's work, you don't ameliorate the problem by giving credit. Giving credit means nothing, legally or ethically. It's still an infringement. The practical and ethical answer has nothing to do with giving credit. The right answer is to make sure that all you are borrowing is the very general ideas of someone else's creative work. Then you have no legal or ethical problem. You're free and clear legally and ethically, and you have no duty to give credit. It's not hard to do. Change the names, setting, and most of the specific plot points, and you're fine. This is Literotica. How many stories are there about moms and sons in the back seat of a car? Nobody gives credit. You don't have to do that much to be in the clear.