Hi, I’m having trouble judging whether or not my story follows the guidelines. The story is about people trying to steal a famous painting. I titled the painting Lisa Mona, which is an obvious reference to a real painting, the Mona Lisa. I changed the name a little, like how some authors put Epiflix instead of Netflix or Epigram instead of Instagram. But is that change enough?
And concerning the part where the guidelines say “real places cannot be a plot point or drive the story,” I’m worried, because the story ends up taking place in Paris, France, where the Louvre Museum is (because that’s where the real Lisa Mona painting is located). I only mentioned that the characters would be going to Paris, France to a museum, but I never specified the museum’s name. How much of the story will I have to change in order to make sure my story follows Episode’s guidelines?
About the location, I think it’s okay for it to be in a specific city. I’ve read many stories that have a specific location and even some that have real college names, so I think that should be fine. I think Lisa Mona will be okay but if you want to be extra safe, maybe just change it to the Mona Leah or the Leah Mona or something like that where you change the Lisa part a little bit. I don’t think they will take it down either way though.
