Using other authors characters.

[SouthernCrossfire]

As most have said, no.

I read a story on here where an author did this to themselves. Well not 750 words, but the start of the followup used "I had this dumb dream" to retcon the last several chapters of the previous story. Honestly not the worst way to deal with having written an ending you really don't like.

Similar to Dallas, the original retcon.

 

[WittyUserName]

Come to think of it, most of my stories are in BDSM. You just wrote a new scene for me!! I'll be sure to credit you since I am not the kind of person to just steal someone else's work.



Like some.

Much obliged. I must say I'm impressed with how you managed to make this tangent relevant to the initial topic.

 

[cw5523729]

Much obliged. I must say I'm impressed with how you managed to make this tangent relevant to the initial topic.

I know! Considering how much I excel at derailing threads, I'm just as surprised as you!

 

[IWroteThis]

I read a story on here where an author did this to themselves. Well not 750 words, but the start of the followup used "I had this dumb dream" to retcon the last several chapters of the previous story. Honestly not the worst way to deal with having written an ending you really don't like.

I'm not saying I'm old, but I remember when Dallas did that to their entire ninth season.

 

[IWroteThis]

Similar to Dallas, the original retcon.

I didn't realize I wasn't on the last page, so I didn't see your post before I made my own about it. I wasn't trying to steal your thunder.

 

[Off_base]

When is the newbie crossover?
How long until I graduate?

I didn't bother to look for a sticky

 

[cw5523729]

When is the newbie crossover?
How long until I graduate?

I'll let you know if I ever reach that point

I didn't bother to look for a sticky

I swear I'm not making this up - just today, before this thread, I noticed for the first time that one of the stickies at the top of AH actually had posts from the previous 24 hours and wasn't just old, out of date BS that no one ever reads! You know, like every other forum anywhere. And I was shocked!

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

I didn't realize I wasn't on the last page, so I didn't see your post before I made my own about it. I wasn't trying to steal your thunder.

No thunder and no problem. Maybe just great minds think alike?

[Of course, that would be a first for me. Haha]

 

[ADirtyPerv]

@iwatchus wrote an entire article. I don’t recall if it mentions this particular issue.

Problem is, just like a hypothetical FAQ his guide is unlikely to be read by those who should read it.

@iwatchus 's article is the only reason I wandered on here at all. It gave me a glossary with which to interact with y'all, as well as filled in a few gaps that I didn't pick up in the time I've been posting. It's awesome and highly recommended.

 

[StillStunned]

I swear I'm not making this up - just today, before this thread, I noticed for the first time that one of the stickies at the top of AH actually had posts from the previous 24 hours and wasn't just old, out of date BS that no one ever reads! You know, like every other forum anywhere. And I was shocked!

I assume you're talking about the "craft of writing" thread? That one, and the "self-editing for authors", get new posts quite regularly, and they're treasure troves of useful tips, ideas, experiences

 

[cw5523729]

I assume you're talking about the "craft of writing" thread?

Yes, that was the one

That one, and the "self-editing for authors", get new posts quite regularly, and they're treasure troves of useful tips, ideas, experiences

Yes, I really should get around to reading them. I really do mentally block out the list of stickies to get to the new posts below them on the (mistaken) assumption that stickies are always old, out of date crap that no one ever reads or updates.

 

[cw5523729]

I assume you're talking about the "craft of writing" thread? That one, and the "self-editing for authors", get new posts quite regularly, and they're treasure troves of useful tips, ideas, experiences

Well this is just great. I just started reading that thread, got to post #2 (yours), got to the first sentence that reads:

"When I was at uni in a previous millennium,"

and realized that I was in college in the previous millennium too! So now I feel old. Again.

So thanks. Just thanks.

 

[CalBishForNow]

See again, my suggestion is simply: make it your own story and publish.

As long as you're not directly copying another writer's work or using their characters, you'd be fine. No one will care if the plot or setting is similar, as long as you make your version unique to you.

Ive had people tell me one of my stories inspired them to write something similar and I've never had a problem with that. In fact I find it flattering.

What we authors dont find flattering is people simply comandering our stories and characters without permission.

Just to play Devil's Advocate, I think the best argument in favor of letting the OP do what they want is that there's a whole fan fiction category. I'm pretty sure no one there got permission from anyone for anything.

 

[Omenainen]

Just to play Devil's Advocate, I think the best argument in favor of letting the OP do what they want is that there's a whole fan fiction category. I'm pretty sure no one there got permission from anyone for anything.

Celebrities have fans. Normies have stalkers. You can’t write fanfic for something that has no fandom.

 

[PennyThompson]

Celebrities have fans. Normies have stalkers. You can’t write fanfic for something that has no fandom.

In the US at least (I assume other countries have similar standards but details might differ) it's like the difference between a Public Figure and a Private Figure.

Once you've achieved a certain level of fame or public recognition, the standards of protection against things like libel and defamation change, and you open yourself to being parodied or harshly criticized.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Just to play Devil's Advocate, I think the best argument in favor of letting the OP do what they want is that there's a whole fan fiction category. I'm pretty sure no one there got permission from anyone for anything.

And if the OP's plan was to post to the fan fiction category, clearly explain that the characters were created by another author and that they hadn't received permission to use them, and used them to tell an original story, I might buy that. Since it's a continuation of an existing story, to me that's right out.

One thing about fan fiction is that it's clearly separated from the original work in medium. If I'm writing, I dunno, Forgotten Realms fanfic using the characters of Elaine Cunningham, it's going to be posted on the internet for free. It won't share a publisher or a cost with the original work, it won't have the TSR or Forgotten Realms logos on it -- in other words, there's no possible way anyone could mistake it for the original authorized work. But if you write a story and then I write a story using your characters, there's no way for the audience to tell it's not authorized, unless I tell them. We share a publisher and a platform, and the site does not indicate which is the original and which isn't without comparing publication dates.

 

[CalBishForNow]

In the US at least (I assume other countries have similar standards but details might differ) it's like the difference between a Public Figure and a Private Figure.

Once you've achieved a certain level of fame or public recognition, the standards of protection against things like libel and defamation change, and you open yourself to being parodied or harshly criticized.

That's relevant to real person fanfic, but not to plain old fanfic of copyrighted works.

There are much better defenses of fanfic than that. Realistically, rights-holders often don't sue creators or publishers of fanfic just because it's not worth their time and money and can even backfire on them, a.k.a. the Streisand effect, so fanfic here is very unlikely to get anyone in trouble. And ethically, it's complicated. Disney was basically writing copyright law for decades; that's nothing to build a moral case around. (For the record, they seem to have stopped; some aspects of Mickey Mouse are public domain.) Tons of famous characters are the result of work for hire and their "real" creators died penniless while the corporations that own the characters are raking in billions, so we might say who cares about that sort of fanfic. Tons of characters are really the result of work of dozens if not hundreds of people and not just one, so it would be impossible to get all their permission and would do no harm to add one more. And as @YmaOHyd said, platform and medium matter too.

All that being said, a maximal "only original or public domain characters ever" is inconsistent with the very large fanfic culture and the site's own policy.

 

[lc69hunter]

I have collaborated with @AnonStoryWriter on a number of his chapters of https://www.literotica.com/series/se/419247641. He was having health issues and indicated that he would be backing off writing until he was better. We had worked on the next chapter and he had almost finished it on Choya when he stopped. I knew how he wanted it to end.
And we had laid out how he wanted the next 10 chapters to go, along with a happy ending.
His email account here on Lit has been suspended, but I just emailed his gmail account from Yahoo, and it hasn't been kicked back. I do not have his skill set to complete the series, but have offered to write a draft of the end of the next chapter so he can finish it.

Hope he is still alive