Find solution
Any good plays to read that are relatively easy?

Should I let my friend read my plays? I'm afraid of paranoid of people taking my ideas?

  • I am 21 and an aspiring playwright. I recently ran into an old friend of mine that I haven't seen or heard from in more than 6 years. We use to go to grade school together for like 9 years. Then by the time we went to high school we fell out of touch. So i recently got facebook to re connect with some of my old freinds and she found me. She asked me how am I doing and what I'm up to and I told her I'm focusing on becoming a writer (which is true) and I'm trying to get my work out there to theaters. I even wanted to dabble into screenplay writing as well. One of the plays I wrote I wanted to turn it into a screenplay as that's what it was suppose to be originally, but to get my ideas out there I turned it into a 10 minute play. My concern is can this backfire on me in a bad way? Is it possible she can take my work and use it as her own? She also has a friend who is an actress and I know her too we all went to school together. I don't mind her reading some of my work because it would be great to get more feedback from others besides my writing workshop I use to go to. One of my plays I already submitted to theatre and I have to wait to hear back from them if they want to produce it our not. I even have proof that I wrote my own plays because it was even graded by a professor and has her comments on it plus the date I wrote it. It would be nice to have some feedback. I have some more stories in my head that I am working on now, but those I won't show her because I don't believe in people reading my unfinished work. It's a writer's thing.

  • Answer:

    I say let her read it. If your play has been produced already at various theatre's then obviously thats evidence enough that you wrote it and it belongs to you. However, the concrete thing that withstands all things is have your play copyrighted as soon as possible. It's a bit pricey, but worth it in the end. Also its obvious you're not a bad writer as your work has been produced in theater's. No theatre would risk there reputation on bad writing. I just thing you have some natural paranoia going on. Your paranoia could be coming from a deeper psychological issue. Lastly, there is no evidence that proves paranoid people tend to be bad writers or that there story idea is no good. I've met a ton of brilliant writers who are paranoid about alot of things and there work has been published and some became best sellers. If anything good writers tend to be jealous of other writers work and hate having people read their work. I think your more self conscious about you're writing than paranoid. Maybe you feel if she reads your work she might make the story better than you can make it. Who knows? Best of Luck! I've worked in theater's and know for a fact that if a script is no good we simply shred it and put it in the garbage. Others return it back to you if you provide an SAE or hold onto for next season if your play matches the theme of next year. So the fact your work is being produced your not a bad writer. You probably have great story ideas or know how to write very well and develop characters etc. As I said before I doubt it will backfire. The fact your asking this question makes me wonder if this person truly is a friend or not? There must be some reason you mistrust her? It's natural to feel a little protective over your work because you worked hard on that. You probably stayed up countless nights staring at that screen trying to figure out what to do next with this character. If you don't feel comfortable say no. It's your work. If she's truly your friend she will understand. Otherwise, I see no harm in showing her. The feedback can do you some good. Every writer needs feedback at some point before they put their work out there. Besides it would be pretty stupid of her to take your work and pass it off as her own esp when you know. That's just stupid and can cause a ton of problems.

Goldie Locks at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

I completely understand your plight...I'm an aspiring playwright as well. It seems like you're really jumping to assume that all these people are going to steal your ideas...but you never know. You said you have proof that these plays have been written by you, so if something does happen just pull out your copyright. It won't happen again. Of course people can plagiarize your work, and if that does occur, you just tell that person that it's not cool. Make sure they understand that you've worked really hard and puts lots of time and effort in your plays. Don't be afraid to lay down the law right away. I think it's great that you're letting other people read your plays because that ultimately the best way to get feedback! And if you're scared of people stealing them, be sure the copyright (it's as simple as writing Copyright 2012...or whatever year it was written) is present. They'll see it. I hope this helped!

Lysi

There is a thing called copyright that 'protects' your intellectual property from being used without your permission. As soon as you create your work, it is your own, and you hold the copyright. You don't have to register your writing, but it is a good idea to date it. If you find that someone is using your work without your permission, or (worse) if they are plagiarizing, there are legal steps that you can take to address this. If you want to show your work to your friend, then add a copyright notice to it, and also tell her directly that she is welcomed to read it, but that she is not permitted to perform it or any part of it or use it in any way without your express written permission. That ought to be enough to get it into her head that you own your work, and she can not claim it in any way as hers.

Anne

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.