Anyone else terrified to share their ideas on here because they’re afraid they’re gonna get ripped off by someone? I’m not talking about plagiarism, I’m not talking about trope vs. original idea; those are dead horses at this point. I’m talking about people having a conversation about something, a plot bunny strikes, and someone says “I’M GONNA WRITE IT, DON’T MOVE” or something like that.
I’ve noticed recently that other people seem to think they can also write and post the same idea, and it’s just not okay. If someone has shared an idea they have, if someone has said they are writing the idea, then it’s theirs, it belongs to them. Don’t go write it and post it without permission. Just don’t do it.
Do you have any idea how much it hurts to see someone else getting praise for your idea? And it’s sad really, because one of my favorite parts of writing was sharing what I’m working on, teasing people about the ideas in my mind. It gave me a lot of motivation to actually get it written and shared.
But now I don’t want to share, because I don’t want my ideas getting shat on by someone who doesn’t see all the details of the idea in my mind, and if they get it posted first because I have a life and a job and kids and a husband and a house to clean and so on and so forth, it’s super frustrating.
Bottom line: Always ask if you didn’t come up with the idea. We are a community of writers, we should be supporting one another instead of stealing each other’s ideas! There are plenty of stories out there, and plenty of ideas. Please, be kind and courteous. A simple “hey I love that idea! Are you gonna write it?” is all it takes to avoid all this hurt. Just drop a DM and ask!
