Don't tell other writers your ideas

[dawn515]

So, the other day I was talking to my boyfriend about an idea I had. Just one of those "What if...?" scenarios, but, with his questions, it started taking on a life of its own. Soon I was weaving together one hell of an idea, and my boyfriend started writing down everything I was saying.

 

He said, "If you decide to write about this, I want to collaborate with you on it." All fine and good.

 

So, I told my best friend, also a writer, about the idea, and he thought it was awesome too. He also wanted to collaborate with me on it.

 

Then... a few weeks later my boyfriend brought it up again, but he had his "ideas" with what to do with the original idea -- but completely contrary with what I would do with this story. It ... bothered me. I wanted to yell, "Hey, that's mine! Hands off! It's mine, all MINE!" But I didn't.

 

My other friend was there while this was going on, and he didn't like my bf's idea either. So we were talking about it tonight -- specifically our reaction to my bf's thoughts and how they were anathema to my original intentions -- when my friend said, "I've started writing about it, and I..." It didn't matter what he said after that -- I was just....WHAT? YOU are writing about it?

 

It looks like one of my best ideas has just gotten away from me, no longer under my control. What am I going to do -- write it all down and send it to the patent office and sue anyone who dares to write their own view on it? (Nahhh...what am I, Scientology??)

 

I'm just sorry that I talked about it at all and feel that I should just turn it over to the others, if they want it so much.

 

Sorry, just venting... this really annoyed me.

[Wanderlust]

As a writer myself, I know what horrors this has caused you. It has happened to me before, and actually, a poem of mine was ripped off....sadly, there was nothing I could do about it...I sometimes think back still with seething anger.

 

To protect myself, I pretty much doctor up my own way of protecting my work, or at least I think it somewhat protects me.

 

I write my ideas, stories, poems, etc, and then I seal it up, and mail it off back to myself. When I receive the letter back in the mail, it goes into a box untouched, until I safely have my stuff published. Even then sometimes I wont open it.

 

Because it went through the mail, it now has the date and time on it, with my work contained on the inside. It might not protect much at all, but at the very least you would have a fighting chance should someone show up with your work later on down the road..

[dawn515]

Thanks Wanderlust and Ellie, for your feedback. I didn't really expect much, so your replies were a pleasant surprise.

 

I did talk to my boyfriend about it, and he told me he had absolutely no intention of working on this idea without me. And I did tell him that I didn't like some of his ideas about it, and he was cool with it.

 

I haven't talked to my best friend about it yet. He was the one who said he was "writing about it." Writing about it! (Deep... breaths...) I may bring it up soon, though.

 

Wanderlust, I have heard of that "mail it to yourself" thing before, but does that really hold up? Do you know? And I'm sorry one of your poems got ripped off -- that really sucks! That's why I never post or publish writing online unless it's under a clear copyright. I write poetry too, but I have never posted it online for that very reason. Sorry that happened...

[Alabama]

I am glad you are taking the initiative to protect your stories and poems...it can be important to a writer to keep their work "copyrighted" at best. Good luck to you as a writer! Hope you succeed!

[fieldstr]

Unfortunately, you cannot copyright ideas, so if you tell your ideas to someone and they run with it then there is essentially nothing you can do. If, however, you have your work in writing on paper then you can prove that the work is yours. Technically, as soon as you print your work on paper (not saved to a disk or on your computer) it is considered to be copyrighted.

 

The best way to protect yourself is to do as Wanderlust suggested. I, too, have heard of this method. It proves that you had written the work by a certain date, and that you didn't write it after someone else did. You can also file for a copyright. I've never done this so I don't know how lenghty or difficult the process may be.

 

For me, I save every draft of a story that I write along with any notes. This way if I ever find myself having to defend my own work I can prove where I got the idea and how the story evolved from the original to the final draft.

 

If you really believe in your story then write it now, even if it's only the initial draft. Print it out, and mail it to yourself. Do this ASAP! Then you can start revising and editing. And when you're done, print and mail it again.

 

Good luck!

[hello-I-am-me]

Just tell them to lay off, personally I NEVER tell anyone my ideas, mabye not the healthies thing, but no thievery yet!

[dawn515]

Well, the thing with this last idea was that I weaved it right on the spot, while talking to the boyfriend, and HE wrote it all down. You know how we writers are once we get started on the "What if...?" scenarios. It was only after I had blabbed it that I realized, hey, this is a pretty good idea! I could work with this in the future, just not now.

 

It was my own fault, though, for telling my best friend about it.

 

Yes, usually I do not talk about "works in progress." At all. I'm pretty protective of my writing. I think I should type up what my boyfriend wrote down (basically he was taking dictation), print it out, and mail it to myself. How's that?

 

Many thanks to those that have replied!