Don’t Share
Viperz_d asks: (paraphrasing) Should projects being worked on be kept secret? I never reveal ideas due to the fear of them being stolen. Is it okay to show some parts to fellow writers or to share the entire idea?
Viper, I only share my idea at one stage—then I clam up.
First, don’t worry about people stealing your idea. Ideas are easy and odds are a thousand other people have had the same idea. Raw ideas are less than one percent of the work. 99.5% of the rest of the work and artistry is developing that raw idea into a pitch, and then an outline, and finally writing a finished novel or screenplay.
But I don’t tell anyone my idea because a fledgling idea is too easy to pick apart and ridicule. Once you lose that spark of enthusiasm, you may never recover it. So protect your ideas and keep your enthusiasm alive...until it is developed into a fully formed pitch.
Once I have the final pitch, I try it out on a few trusted friends. If I can pique their interest or get “chill” bumps I know my idea is good enough to commit writing an entire novel about it.
Then I clam up again because I don’t want to “talk” the entire story out of me, and I get writing. I know several writers who talk a lot about their ideas...but never get around to actually writing. I wonder why.
Viper, I only share my idea at one stage—then I clam up.
First, don’t worry about people stealing your idea. Ideas are easy and odds are a thousand other people have had the same idea. Raw ideas are less than one percent of the work. 99.5% of the rest of the work and artistry is developing that raw idea into a pitch, and then an outline, and finally writing a finished novel or screenplay.
But I don’t tell anyone my idea because a fledgling idea is too easy to pick apart and ridicule. Once you lose that spark of enthusiasm, you may never recover it. So protect your ideas and keep your enthusiasm alive...until it is developed into a fully formed pitch.
Once I have the final pitch, I try it out on a few trusted friends. If I can pique their interest or get “chill” bumps I know my idea is good enough to commit writing an entire novel about it.
Then I clam up again because I don’t want to “talk” the entire story out of me, and I get writing. I know several writers who talk a lot about their ideas...but never get around to actually writing. I wonder why.
posted by Eric Nylund at 5:16 AM
17 comments
This is an interesting part of the writing process: you’ve just turned in something and you have to decide what to work on next.
