Making a Short Story From a Dead RP

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm not really sure what category this falls under, apologies.

 

I'll jump right in. Recently, I took on an rp partner that was... not the most compatible. They weren't awful, but the more we wrote together the more it was apparent hey just did not really have what I look for in partners and the thread inevitably lost steam. Long story short, I took them on out of recommendation from a friend and stuck it out as long as I could because they wanted to improve their writing. I felt like, while they did take my criticism whenever they asked for feedback, it was always three steps forward and two steps back. It got to a point where I was just bored and, being nice and not wanting to be a toxic elitist, I didn't want to just tear into them. So I just quietly ended the thread. 

 

Looking back, I realized something: I could probably take what I have and make it into a short story. With different characters and ideas of course, but the assets are there. If I took what I contributed and made edits, rewrote it a bit, I could probably make it into the story I wanted it to be in the first place.

My question is: would it be dirty to do so? I mean... I wouldn't be plagiarizing anything, as I do not intend to use any of my partner's contributions and mainly reusing some of the things I wrote. But it would probably be insulting if they happened across it, if I posted it somewhere else online. Or wouldn't it be?

Also should mention I don't plan to try to make money off of the story, if I did finish it.

 

Something like this doesn't really cross my mind very often. Normally, abandoned threads are just that: abandoned and left to rot. I just think about this particular idea constantly, and figure if I still have ideas I should try to write them. And, with work, I don't have a lot of time to sit down and take on a lot of threads. So I really don't want to find a different partner. 

 

Anyway, that's all. Thanks for reading 🙂 

[Orion 33]

Honestly? To me it sounds dirty. Roleplay is a multi-player game and you cannot downsize all of the plot points to your own ideas. It comes from everyone. Despite this, I think I need more info before a final decision is made... how long have you been RPing with this person and to what extent (word count/daily/monthly/etc)? Either way, I'm VERY iffy on this. For your sake, I would drop it and move along.

[Lawman 88]

It reminds me of a similar question I once asked on this very board. And from the replies that thread got, I can come to a conclusion that the views are quite similar to those that @Orion had voiced. In short? It depends on context, but as it currently sounds it's not worth the trouble with regards to ownership issues one might run into. 

[Orion 33]

And with a name like @Lawman, maybe you should take their word for it. ^^

[Elena 546]

I say go for it, as long as you use only your characters and the ideas you have generated.

 

In another case, when I needed the other's character too, I asked the writer for permission and she gave it to me (and I posted the result on the forum). In that case, the story was plotted already between us, and it was simply writing the story as we plotted it together, all by myself because she had a hard pregnancy and stopped roleplaying for some years.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Elena