A good writer steals. But stealing like that is not done by taking a story and altering it until it looks different enough.
That's called plagiarism. Stealing is done when you see a concept out construction that you adapt and work into your OWN story. That you wrote yourself.
plagiarism = the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.
synonyms: copying · infringement of copyright · piracy · theft · stealing · cribbing