Transformative Works

Have you ever noticed how many different versions of Cinderella exist? Beyond the Disney film, there have been movies such as "Ever After," a wide variety of novelizations, and even songs based on the storyline. Whether you are a reader, a writer, or both you've probably encountered transformative works in one form or another. However, many questions surround this type of writing. When is it okay to rewrite someone else's story? Can I publish and sell it?

A transformative work takes something that is copyrighted and significantly changes it so that it does not infringe upon the rights of the original author. Defining exactly what degree of transformation is necessary can be a very subjective area, but the idea is to craft a piece that uses the elements it borrows in a new and creative way. It is generally easier to write a retelling of a well-known story, such as the Cinderella example, because audiences will quickly grasp the similarities as soon as the protagonist is mistreated by her stepfamily, invited to the ball, and loses a slipper. This leaves plenty of room for a writer to creatively change the rest of the story without losing the main ideas.

One of the easiest routes to take when recycling a story idea is to start with public domain works. This removes the dilemma of whether or not you can sell your transformative work. However, it's still important to check that your work truly is based on the public domain work, and not another derivative work. Many of Disney's most famous movies are based on public domain fairytales, and there are some elements we've come to accept as a vital part of the story that are not in the original work. For instance, the character Gaston in Beauty and the Beast was added, but the original fairytale doesn't include him at all.

Another direction many have taken with transformative works is the creation of fanfiction. Though there is lot more debate around this topic, legal experts have repeatedly indicated that this falls under "fair use." In this type of writing it is still clear who the characters are, but the events of the story may be changed, an alternate fictional universe established, or some other creative method used to make the story unique. There are a couple of problems that arise with fanfiction, however. Because anyone can write it and easily post it to a blog or forum online, the quality of writing can be very low. Authors have often complained about the liberties people have taken with their stories and the low moral standards that are often written into fanfiction. Additionally, in most cases, fanfiction should not be sold. Most of these stories are very similar to the original work, functioning as more of a continuation of the story or a series of alternate chapters. It would be difficult to write a story based on your favorite TV show that is transformative enough not to infringe the copyright without writing an entirely new story.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the study I've done into transformative works is that, while it can be fun to reimagine your favorite stories with your favorite characters, the best kind of imitation comes down to writing form. Instead of taking characters and storylines you love and finding ways to transform them just enough to make them unique, look at the narrative for the 'why.' Why is the protagonist so loveable? What is it about the dilemma he faces that you find so intriguing? What was it about the ending that made you want a sequel so much? It's the answers to questions like these that allow you to transform your own writing!