Morality of Writing Fan Fiction Based on Literotica Stories

[AwkwardlySet]

You are not going to get a definitive stance from the AH. My advice to you is to make a decision based on your own sense of right and wrong. I see your intentions as benevolent even though this is a somewhat murky area, but it's only you who can answer this for yourself. Also, if at any point the original author appears, I think that their stance should be the one to go by no matter how successful your eventual story turns out to be.

 

[StillStunned]

That's not the same situation at all. That's out and out theft. How would you have felt if they had written genuinely new pieces based on your work, fulsomely credited you, and pointed readers at your inspiring works?

(...)

I genuinely don't see this as taking from the original author but building on to it. I can see where views on this may differ greatly, particularly for those of you struggling to make a business of this.

If they'd asked me, and involved me in the writing process, I might (*might*) be OK with it. But here and now, no. There are infinite ideas. Think of your own, don't piggyback on what I conceived, shaped, fleshed out, changed and rewrote before publishing.

 

[SimonDoom]

That's not the same situation at all. That's out and out theft. How would you have felt if they had written genuinely new pieces based on your work, fulsomely credited you, and pointed readers at your inspiring works?

I'm not yet convinced that my proposed course of action is a problem. That's very likely a me thing, admittedly. In 2006 one of my stories published on Lit expressed my interest in seeing the tale told from the point of view of a different character and expressly invited readers to create their own renditions of my story. Not to justify my position, just to give you an idea of where I stand on the issue. I might hate what someone produced, particularly if they chose to deliberately mock or tear down the original piece (which, ironically, is permitted on this site under the parody label) but a part of me would be absolutely chuffed that my work inspired someone else's work.

I genuinely don't see this as taking from the original author but building on to it. I can see where views on this may differ greatly, particularly for those of you struggling to make a business of this.

It all depends on what you mean by "a problem."

Most fanfiction is copyright infringement. When you write a sequel to somebody else's story and your story includes names, settings, plot points, etc. from that person's story, and it's NOT a parody, then it's probably infringement.

But in the case of what's typically recognized as "fanfiction," meaning stories written and published on free websites based on famous works of fiction, this practice is commonly tolerated (not always, but often). There are a lot of practical reasons for that, which have been discussed here and in previous threads on this exact same subject. I think it is recognized that if you, for instance, write your own story set in the Star Wars universe and not earning anything from your story, you aren't causing any harm or taking anything from the author. You may actually be adding value to the famous author's work.

None of this, I think, applies to a Literotica author. So I believe strongly the fanfiction rule should not apply to Literotica authors. Some disagree. But so many authors DO agree with me that, in my opinion, it is a discourtesy to assert your own opinion and write an infringing story based on someone else's story. It's a discourtesy regardless what you think about the law or the morality of it.

The Site has a clear rule against infringing the copyrights of others here. Writing a sequel to someone else's story, without permission, clearly is copyright infringement, and giving credit does not change that as a matter of law or ethics (giving credit absolves you of the charge of plagiarism, which is something different from copyright infringement).

Others are correct, however, that the Site is inconsistent in its enforcement of this rule. So if by "no problem" you mean you think you can get away with it, then you probably can unless the author reappears and complains, in which case your story will be removed.

It's very much up to you. People are split on this issue.

Now, as Lovecraft suggested, I'm going to have that drink. Scotch will do, I think.

 

[MajorRewrite]

If there was a guarantee that the sequel wouldn’t be crap, I’d have no problem with unauthorized “fan fiction” based on my stories. Unfortunately there is no guarantee.

An unauthorized sequel was written to one of my stories. Someone else did a reboot/rewrite of the same story. Both were crap.

 

[Cagivagurl]

This is my opinion, and only an opinion.

I do not consider it ethical to use somebody else's work without their permission.
It doesn't matter if it a month old, or decades old. It is still their property.
If you contact them, and they give you permission. All good.
Trying to contact them is not good enough. If they do not respond, accept that as a no, and move on...

This is the third time you have asked this question in different threads. You change your approach slightly, then ask again expecting or hoping for a different answer....

Copying another writers work is plagiarism... Theft of their intellectual property. I personally find it unethical.

Write your own story... Be original....

You don't have to copy somebody else. You clearly have an imagination, use it to develop your own characters and plot lines.

Cagivagurl

 

[MillieDynamite]

If you use a classic work of literature on which the copyright is expired, go for it. I've done that myself. But those works have passed into the public domain. I've tried to write the work in a way that is respectful to the original creator (you know, just in case I'm right and there is an afterlife, I don't want Bram Stoker asking for me to be expelled). But if copyrights are still active, well, a bunch of his have already given our opinion.

 

[Katie_Mae]

Morality aside, you would not be allowed to post the story here on lit, below is what Laurel's stated in the past

There are authors at Literotica don't mind if other writers continue their storylines. Some authors even encourage others to write the next chapter. There are also writers who do not want this.

We allow works derivative of other Lit author's work so long as the continuing author has contacted the original author and has received express permission to post the work here.

 

[lilshymynx]

Now, as Lovecraft suggested, I'm going to have that drink. Scotch will do, I think.

Pours 2 fingers of Lagavulin and slides it across the bar.

 

[SimonDoom]

Pours 2 fingers of Lagavulin and slides it across the bar.

Sounds good to me.

 

[Otto26]

If there was a guarantee that the sequel wouldn’t be crap, I’d have no problem with unauthorized “fan fiction” based on my stories. Unfortunately there is no guarantee.

An unauthorized sequel was written to one of my stories. Someone else did a reboot/rewrite of the same story. Both were crap.

Curious, were they upfront about it being fan-fiction and did they credit you and your work and link to you and your work?

 

[Otto26]

This is the third time you have asked this question in different threads. You change your approach slightly, then ask again expecting or hoping for a different answer....

Literotica will publish stories based on other writers' works only if you have their express permission. Unless you are parodying/mocking their work in which case you are fine. Literotica will not publish images which include images to which you have the explicit rights to publish. Unless you post them to the forums or use the work of MMO game manufacturers or 3D posing applications. Literotica will not allow you to use a text to speech tool to convert your stories to audiobook format because a technology that first became functionally usable in the 1950s is generative artificial intelligence. Except they will let you do that. Sometimes. I find all of this just a wee bit annoying.

I can see where you see what you see from your position. From where I sit I've had ideas to expand my ability to creatively express myself, I've explored them, and they are incompatible with this site. So I'll keep writing and publish my stories.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Literotica will publish stories based on other writers' works only if you have their express permission. Unless you are parodying/mocking their work in which case you are fine. Literotica will not publish images which include images to which you have the explicit rights to publish. Unless you post them to the forums or use the work of MMO game manufacturers or 3D posing applications. Literotica will not allow you to use a text to speech tool to convert your stories to audiobook format because a technology that first became functionally usable in the 1950s is generative artificial intelligence. Except they will let you do that. Sometimes. I find all of this just a wee bit annoying.

I can see where you see what you see from your position. From where I sit I've had ideas to expand my ability to creatively express myself, I've explored them, and they are incompatible with this site. So I'll keep writing and publish my stories.

You are free to do what you want.
If the site allows it, then do what you want.

My opinion is divergent from yours. I believe plagiarism is theft...

It takes a lot of effort to develop characters and story lines. Many hours spent working on building something you can be proud of.
For somebody to blatantly steal those ideas... Well if you think that's OK....

If you feel comfortable with the idea that it's OK stealing another human beings property.
Then more power to you.

Cagivagurl

 

[Bramblethorn]

It's bizarre, isn't it, that there is category on Literotica called "Fan fiction" and we're all fine with that. Yet, every time this question comes up (and I can think of three other threads on this in the past year) 90% of respondents always say: "No, you can't do that."

So, my question is, why would it be okay for us to write, say, a piece of Stars Wars fan fiction without Disney's express permission, but not okay to write fan fiction of another's Lit story?

Are we just a special case of authors or something?

I have no huge enthusiasm for Star Wars (Rogue One was decent, I'll sit through most of the others if bribed with popcorn and good company) and yet I could easily fill twenty pages with what I know about the Star Wars universe, because there's no avoiding it for anybody who hangs out in geek circles in the 21st century. People communicate in Star Wars memes, they use Star Wars references to explain storytelling concepts, and sometimes the fandom turns into a battleground for social/cultural issues that I do care about. Similarly, although I have much less enthusiasm for Harry Potter, I can hum Hedwig's Theme and tell you what the four houses are at Hogwarts and who the Half-Blood Prince was and why Quidditch is stupid and so forth.

Those stories loom over others in the genre. Star Wars wasn't the first space-opera story and Harry Potter wasn't the first magical-school story, but if I write a story in one of those genres I have to expect that readers, publishers and reviewers will be approaching it with expectations shaped by Star Wars and Harry Potter.

I think when a particular story gets so ubiquitous and influential, that creates a certain..."right of reply" isn't quite what I'm trying to say, but it'll have to do. If people have no option but to breathe in Star Wars day after day, it seems reasonable that they're allowed to breathe it out now and again.

Nothing on Literotica comes close to that level of influence. There are a few works and authors who are Lit-famous, at least within their own category. But nobody has ever tried to converse with me via February Sucks memes or a "which SilkStockingLover character are you?" quiz.

 

[Plathfan]

Nope. If I write fan-fiction based on some work a Lit author wrote then I'm going to point everyone to that author and urge them to go read the inspiration. That's just a version of plagiarism. Yes, I recognize this as a widely accepted mechanism for avoiding copyright infringement in fan-fiction but it rubs me the wrong way.

A non-profit sequel cannot be considered plagiarism, as the characters you create--even if they share the same names--are your own, shaped from your inner world, with a voice only you can give.

No composer has ever succeeded in completing Bach’s The Art of Fugue, Mozart’s Requiem, Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, or Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony.

Don’t let the sour, self-righteous egocentrics discourage you; most wouldn’t even qualify as nourishment for the worms in their graves. They delude themselves into believing their writing holds any real significance.

Your heart is in the right place, but I suspect you’re more drawn to the question than the answer. Artists may die, but their art endures. Thirteen years... If you truly wanted to honor it--if that sequel truly burned within you--it would already exist.

 

[Omenainen]

That's not the same situation at all. That's out and out theft. How would you have felt if they had written genuinely new pieces based on your work, fulsomely credited you, and pointed readers at your inspiring works?

I'm not yet convinced that my proposed course of action is a problem. That's very likely a me thing, admittedly. In 2006 one of my stories published on Lit expressed my interest in seeing the tale told from the point of view of a different character and expressly invited readers to create their own renditions of my story. Not to justify my position, just to give you an idea of where I stand on the issue. I might hate what someone produced, particularly if they chose to deliberately mock or tear down the original piece (which, ironically, is permitted on this site under the parody label) but a part of me would be absolutely chuffed that my work inspired someone else's work.

I genuinely don't see this as taking from the original author but building on to it. I can see where views on this may differ greatly, particularly for those of you struggling to make a business of this.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but the thing is, you don’t know how that author thinks about this issue. For continuing their work it’s their opinion that matters, not your intentions, and without an explicit permission you just can’t know you’re doing the right thing.

Literotica will publish stories based on other writers' works only if you have their express permission. Unless you are parodying/mocking their work in which case you are fine. Literotica will not publish images which include images to which you have the explicit rights to publish. Unless you post them to the forums or use the work of MMO game manufacturers or 3D posing applications. Literotica will not allow you to use a text to speech tool to convert your stories to audiobook format because a technology that first became functionally usable in the 1950s is generative artificial intelligence. Except they will let you do that. Sometimes. I find all of this just a wee bit annoying.

And I think that “everything is allowed that I don’t get caught doing” is a mindset people should grow out of by the time they reach adulthood, but alas, here we are.

The intent of the site is explicitly expressed and quoted already in this thread: ask, and if you don’t get permission, don’t do it. Now why would you not honor that?

I can see where you see what you see from your position. From where I sit I've had ideas to expand my ability to creatively express myself, I've explored them, and they are incompatible with this site. So I'll keep writing and publish my stories.

In my opinion, if you have your own ideas and stories, why would you grave-rob someone else’s anyway? Just write your own.

 

[Bamagan]

I think when a particular story gets so ubiquitous and influential, that creates a certain..."right of reply" isn't quite what I'm trying to say, but it'll have to do. If people have no option but to breathe in Star Wars day after day, it seems reasonable that they're allowed to breathe it out now and again.

Nothing on Literotica comes close to that level of influence. There are a few works and authors who are Lit-famous, at least within their own category. But nobody has ever tried to converse with me via February Sucks memes or a "which SilkStockingLover character are you?" quiz.

I think there's maybe a case for properties like Star Wars and other big names that, in the process of becoming multimedia entertainment phenomena, they largely cease to be the work of one person, or even a dozen or a hundred people. The brand is already so saturated with input and output that no number of thirsty scribblings is likely to affect its canon or the public's perception of it. There's also a somewhat weak argument that pornographying such things is inherently parodic and therefore potentially fair use. That being said, I'm not particularly a fan of fan fiction, and if all of it vanished from Lit tomorrow I wouldn't do more than shrug.

Neither of those situations are relevant to continuing or re-telling stories that are written by an individual (or small collaboration) and already, to varying degrees, pornographic. Coopting their narratives without permission is invasive at best. Publication of derivative works that are uninvited and unwelcome is potentially a form of harassment of the original author, given that they would then have to take the time and trouble to have the offending work(s) removed, possibly from multiple platforms. The 'homage' to their work becomes about as complimentary as saying, "Nice tits!"

 

[Omenainen]

I want to add a few things.

First, nothing stops you from promoting the story you find deserving. You can advertise it on your profile, or author’s notes on your own stories, or in whatever promotion threads we have around, or whatever other platforms you have available.

Second, it’s not in any way controversial to be inspired by someone else’s work. Writing sometimes original along the same theme or premise, with the foreword of “check out this awesome story, it inspired me so much that I wrote this original piece of my own”, is a thing that I don’t think anyone is against. I myself did that once, but even for that tribute (linking to original author and story from my author’s note) I asked for a permission and wouldn’t have done it without.

Third, writing a blatant rip-off, reworking someone else’s story almost word for word or continuing it from where it left off, for the purpose of enjoying yourself in the privacy of your home, is in no way questionable. Otherwise it could be argued that nobody was allowed to, say, sing the Beatles songs in their home, right? Just don’t expose anyone else to it.

So ask yourself, why do you want to publish something that not yours but will bring attention to you?

From what I understand you are an author who has original stories, so maybe you have some muscles to back up the idea that you could do the original story justice. I find it even more outrageous when people sometimes start a thread saying “I’ve never written anything but this story is so good that I just need to continue it/finish the series.” I’m just saying that no matter how good a writer you are, thinking you have the right to decide for someone else what to do with their intellectual property is overstepping.

 

[Writer61]

A non-profit sequel cannot be considered plagiarism,

Plagiarism: the process or practice of using another person's ideas or work and pretending that it is your own (Cambridge Dictionary).

The key point is presenting the ideas/work of others as your own. Whether you do that profitably or not is irrelevant.

 

[Katie_Mae]

The intent of the site is explicitly expressed and quoted already in this thread: ask, and if you don’t get permission, don’t do it. Now why would you not honor that?

To be clear, the "rule" I posted earlier is not an official rule. You are correct in referring to it as the "intent of the site"

The "rule" is from a forum post Laurel made years ago. As per the rules of the site, fan fiction is allowed. An author has no way of knowing that fanfic of lit authors is not allowed unless they go hunting through the forum. Meaning, that asking this question is a valid way of finding out this unofficial rule. Following my posting Laurel's unofficial rule, the op hasn't stated that they will write this fanfic, only expressed disappointment in the unclear rules and unfair application of them. Which is fair enough, the site's had years to amend the rules to say no fanfic of lit works (The site don't allow works inspired by lit works either, even if they are different and not fanfic, fun fact )

 

[Plathfan]

So ask yourself, why do you want to publish something that not yours but will bring attention to you?

Classic reflection.

The key point is presenting the ideas/work of others as your own. Whether you do that profitably or not is irrelevant.

Changing names and settings without acknowledgment is effectively presenting the ideas/work of others as your own! By contrast, creating a tribute or homage to a forgotten piece, especially when its creator is likely deceased, is the exact opposite—it’s an act of respect and preservation.

Fudge! A week from now, we’ll be regurgitating the same arguments all over again. Sigh.

 

[SimonDoom]

A non-profit sequel cannot be considered plagiarism, as the characters you create--even if they share the same names--are your own, shaped from your inner world, with a voice only you can give.

Sure it can. This may be your own personal opinion, to which you are entitled, but it has no resemblance to the law of copyright or the rules of plagiarism.

If you write a story that borrows the character names, personalities, settings, and plot concepts of another Literotica author's story, AND you give no credit to that author, then ethically what you are doing is definitely plagiarism, because there's an excellent chance the reader will have no idea the source material exists, and believe, wrongly, that you came up with the whole thing yourself. That is the very definition of plagiarism.

It's also copyright infringement, whether credit is given or not. All the fluff about "shaped from your inner world" has nothing to do with it.

Whether or not something is offered "not for profit" is a factor to consider in whether it's a fair use, but it's not a decisive factor. It's just something to consider.

If all you are doing is taking the broad ideas of another person's fictional story and making your own story, then you are committing neither plagiarism nor copyright infringement, because the law is quite clear that authors have no proprietary right in the mere "ideas" in their story; they have a proprietary right in the unique, creative expression of those ideas. Authors do this all the time. Jane Smiley won the Pulitzer Prize with her story A Thousand Acres, which is a retelling of King Lear set on an Iowa farm. Nowhere in the novel does she say, "I'd like to thank Shakespeare for giving me the ideas for the story." No one expected her to. There's nothing inappropriate about not doing so. Fiction ideas are in the public domain and freely usable without attribution.


Regardless of what any of us thinks as a matter of ethics or courtesy, the Site has made its policy explicitly clear, as cited above by Katie Mae, even if it can be faulted for not always following it: Don't write derivative works based on the works of other Lit authors without their EXPRESS PERMISSION. That could not be clearer.

 

[SimonDoom]

If anyone is curious, here are some pretty good links to sources that explain the basics of plagiarism and copyright.

First, Harvard's rules of plagiarism. Note that these rules apply in the case of ACADEMIC writing. The application to fiction is less clear:

https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/what-constitutes-plagiarism-0

Second, here's a useful simple summary from the Author's Alliance of what you can and cannot protect via copyright:

https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/what-constitutes-plagiarism-0

Here's a source directly from the US Copyright Office regarding what writers should expect in copyright protection of their work:

https://www.copyright.gov/engage/writers/


Of course, what really matters at this site is what Literotica's rule is. That rule is clearly stated: Don't write "derivative works" of another Literotica author's work without that author's express permission.

 

[Writer61]

Changing names and settings without acknowledgment is effectively presenting the ideas/work of others as your own!

That would be plagiarism unless name & setting changes are significant.

By contrast, creating a tribute or homage to a forgotten piece, especially when its creator is likely deceased, is the exact opposite—it’s an act of respect and preservation.

There is no contrast. This is potentiially plagiarism and copyright infringement as long as the material remains under copyright.

US law is that copyright extends for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter for anonymous works, pseudonymous works, or works made for hire, published since 1978.

Claims that it is somehow respectful or preservation or promoting the work are irrelevant.

 

[Plathfan]

Sure it can. This may be your own personal opinion, to which you are entitled, but it has no resemblance to the law of copyright or the rules of plagiarism.

If you write a story that borrows the character names, personalities, settings, and plot concepts of another Literotica author's story, AND you give no credit to that author, then ethically what you are doing is definitely plagiarism, because there's an excellent chance the reader will have no idea the source material exists, and believe, wrongly, that you came up with the whole thing yourself. That is the very definition of plagiarism.

It's also copyright infringement, whether credit is given or not. All the fluff about "shaped from your inner world" has nothing to do with it.

Whether or not something is offered "not for profit" is a factor to consider in whether it's a fair use, but it's not a decisive factor. It's just something to consider.

If all you are doing is taking the broad ideas of another person's fictional story and making your own story, then you are committing neither plagiarism nor copyright infringement, because the law is quite clear that authors have no proprietary right in the mere "ideas" in their story; they have a proprietary right in the unique, creative expression of those ideas. Authors do this all the time. Jane Smiley won the Pulitzer Prize with her story A Thousand Acres, which is a retelling of King Lear set on an Iowa farm. Nowhere in the novel does she say, "I'd like to thank Shakespeare for giving me the ideas for the story." No one expected her to. There's nothing inappropriate about not doing so. Fiction ideas are in the public domain and freely usable without attribution.


Regardless of what any of us thinks as a matter of ethics or courtesy, the Site has made its policy explicitly clear, as cited above by Katie Mae, even if it can be faulted for not always following it: Don't write derivative works based on the works of other Lit authors without their EXPRESS PERMISSION. That could not be clearer.

I've never been great at sticking to the law. Sometimes I’ve paid the price, but other times, it’s paid off. You stick to the law, and I’ll follow my heart. You don’t have a foothold in my world, just as I don’t in yours, and I think we’re both more than fine with that.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've never been great at sticking to the law. Sometimes I’ve paid the price, but other times, it’s paid off. You stick to the law, and I’ll follow my heart. You don’t have a foothold in my world, just as I don’t in yours, and I think we’re both more than fine with that.

I cannot argue with you about what your heart tells you, and I won't, but the problem with following the heart as a guide for dealing with others is that your heart's vision may differ from that of others, and what your heart tells you gives you no guidance in mediating differences between your heart and others. If your heart tells you, "It would be an act of kindness to my neighbor to jump over the fence into his backyard and take his tools to work on my home project, because I know he will get pleasure from my doing so," then there's an obvious problem. Your neighbor's heart may say, "Get off my property, asshole." That's why we guide ourselves with laws, rules, and ethics, and not just personal subjective feelings.

When we voluntarily choose to use Literotica's platform, we consent to its rules, regardless of what our heart tells us.