Portrayl: Where Stories Branch Out

What would happen if you created a viral social storytelling site where users could post and publish their original work as they wanted it seen, and other users could take their story in their own direction as well? Portrayl is the site to find out.  A unique social and literary experiment currently in Alpha release, Portrayl gives you a chance to showcase your work, publish your work and see what others would do with you work to change it and make it their own. 

Not being a huge fan of the “fan-fic” genre, and seeing some striking similarities between the concept behind Portrayl and some fan fiction, I wasn't sure I would like Portrayl. Thankfully, Portrayl has become a thriving outlet for the social literary set, spawning some intriguing combinations of ideas and styles that might never meet otherwise.

From the Portrayl site: “On Portrayl, you can start a story and extend it a chapter at a time. However, if you don't like the way a story is going, you can write your own version of a chapter and create a new direction for the story, but still keep the existing story intact. This is the unique and novel concept behind Portrayl. When a user adds a chapter, it branches off the story into a new direction, each of which is available for others to extend or read. So a story won't just lead to one ending, but could potentially create a family of imaginative and individual books.”

Portrayl offers a user forum area, a library of stories in progress and stories completed, a page for news about the service and more.  Using the site is easy. Portrayl has kept the look and feel of the site clean and simple. This simple approach means that searching for what you want is quick and painless.

Portrayl sorts the stories by type, title, author, chapter, and rating.   You can add favorite authors to your friends list right from their story page or profile site. You can create a profile for yourself showcasing your other web sites and showing a brief bio and photo or avatar. You can even get feedback on your ideas in the forums.

What happens to the stories when the original author decides their work is done? You can leave it as is, displaying on the site only. You can create an RSS feed of your story. You can create a PDF ebook of your story to download and distribute.  Whichever you choose, Portrayl offers the tools to use your choice.

The most pressing concern for me as a Writer and Editor in my own right is the issue of copyright. Who owns the rights to your original story version? How is it protected from prying eyes on the Internet outside of Portrayl? How is copyright determined if a publisher picks up one of the variations on your story by another user and doesn't use your original? I wasn't able to find answers to these and other questions fo copyright anywhere on the Portrayl site.  I emailed the site powers that be, but have yet to receive an answer.  I'll add it as an update here when or if I do. 

Releasing a story idea into the “wild” to be tampered with isn't something to be taken lightly.  Seeing your words used “out of context” in someone else's idea is a bit disconcerting at first. My first thought was “My baby! What have they done to my baby?” Once I got over myself a bit and really read the branched idea, I was intrigued. I would never have thought to take the story in that direction. In that way Portrayl may help people become better, more well rounded writers. 

I like the site, and think it taps into the best parts of collaboration and social creativity.  I may spend some time playing on it myself, but the unclear copyright rules make me hesitant, since I write every story to sell, not for “exposure”.  As far as using the site features and navigating the site itself, I found it very easy and quite intuitive. I give this endeavor kudos for originality, ease of use and innovation in a crowded online literary arena.