Question:
Writers Of All Genres: do you trust posting your storyline here on Y!A?
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Writers Of All Genres: do you trust posting your storyline here on Y!A?
Ten answers:
Reuben ✡
2010-08-12 20:54:24 UTC
I do trust posting my idea(s) up on here. Those who "need" to steal work would never make it as a successful writer. I wouldn't post entire chapters of my work up though, for the reason that once your work is posted online, you are practically giving away first publishing rights. No smart publisher will accept your work if you have posted the written piece online.



I would never "steal" ideas, but I would borrow ideas. For instance JK Rowling borrowed many of her ideas in the Harry Potter series, but she didn't "steal" any ideas because she developed them into her own pieces of work, for instance the word "muggles" which she claims to have invented is in fact a word used in one of the work(s) of Charles Dickens. What writer doesn't borrow ideas now-a-days though? Pretty much nothing anyone writes anymore will be 100% original.





As for a few of your other questions -



I tend to write mainly horror, fantasy, thriller and erotica, sometimes sub-fusion genres of these. I would never steal work because I like to be creative, I get a sense of fulfilment out of creating my own idea(s) and watching them develop.







EDIT: @Joss, of course it is Copyrighted, but no smart publisher will accept work(s) you have given away for free reading. Anybody who looks into basic Copyright laws and Intellectual Property Rights regarding the posting of work online would know this.



@Steven, I believe that makes you a hypocrite my good friend, you posted the same information as I have above just a few weeks ago did you not?



@Joss again: Please, read authonomy's FAQ and "About Us", and then come back to me, because not once does it state what you have, self-acclaimed know it all. Now I believe your the one replying partially out of context.
Jen[Chocolate Burn]
2010-08-12 21:07:48 UTC
So, I don't normally post excerpts of my work on Y!A. Poems, yes. Poetry is my release, prose is my life.



There is not justification for stealing exact words- but if something inspires you to create a tanget- that's okay.



I have never stolen from anyone, I have enough of my own ideas.



I like how you say "do you have too much respect for the relationship between writer and novel" Yes I do respect that relationship and yes *some* ideas are bad- I have seen decent ones.



Yes I have posted a general idea for opinion.



Honestly, I'm afraid I won't get honest answers- I shouldn't be because I get honest and great answers to other questions all the time. Also, I'm afraid my writing is horrible. Haha. I do get critiques from other people individually and I just joined an online writing forum by invitation. So we'll see. :)



Genre's: Fantasy, mystery, historical fiction
★ Xenon ☾
2010-08-12 20:58:34 UTC
I don't post ANYTHING of my work on this site. I'll ask questions, offer advice and answer emails, but I don't trust people on the Internet. I don't want my ideas out there for anyone to see. All it takes is click, copy, and paste and they have your idea.



To answer your questions:



1. I would never steal a whole plot idea. Absolutely not. But, I sometimes take character ideas if people create character portraits and post them. But, I don't steal their WHOLE character. I just take note of the idea or details.



2. Haha. Yeah...but then, no stealing is good, is it?



3. There's good ideas on here, but I want my book to be MY ideas. Plus, that's just cold and cruel.



4. I write fantasy and science fiction



5. Nope...I don't "steal" anything. I may put twists on old ideas or use a concept, but outright stealing? Not cool.



6. Yeah, as long as you don't plagiarize word for word



7. I've never stolen an idea.



8. Nope. I don't trust people on the Internet
2010-08-12 20:56:42 UTC
When people post plot points here, they do so in one of two ways: they either post the first chapter/prologue, or post a very broad synopsis. Have you ever heard the saying "there are no original ideas, only original interpretations"? In 90% of cases, writing style, character names (very few people are so crass as to just outright copy these) and character traits are differing enough -- even in stories with the same general overarching story -- that neither are seen as rip-offs of one another. If I post a story idea here, I'd feel proud that someone found inspiration from my idea. There's enough book lovers out there for both of us.



"Would you ever consider stealing an idea?"

I never have, but I'll probably /eventually/ find some general plot point I'd like to use in a story.



"What genre do you write?"

Fiction. Anything more specific varies wildly.



"Do you steal ideas from anywhere else?"

In my head, out of about a dozen story/novel ideas running around, none are 100% original. I've always found inspiration from other sources. I've never outright stolen synopsi to use as my own, but I do take general starting points.



"Is borrowing a certain grouping of beautiful words okay?"

Depends on whether or not you just Ctrl+C/V it.



"And lastly, have you posted your storyline on Y!A to be approved?"

Posted a prologue a year ago. I still really want to write it, but I haven't even finished the first chapter yet...
inconsolate61
2010-08-12 21:15:43 UTC
Personally, I have plenty of my own ideas, and more story plots than I have time to write out. But that is not the issue. If you post to the public domain (which this is,) what you post becomes part of the public domain. You HAVE no rights to it. You have given them away, donated them to society, get it?

Posters would be well advised to read up on copy right law, at least remedially before giving away stories for free. This is the equivalent of posting your story to a supermarket bulletin board. Trust? you are "trusting" the world at large, and every human being in it with the material you post, for all time. Fifteen years from now, I can come back and likely dig up this post. This is not a writers group, club or privately controlled area. It is a public Q&A site: it can be Googled from anywhere in the world by anybody. It is not the place to display your bank account numbers, credit references, publishable stories, private phone number,...do you see?
maria
2010-08-12 21:03:35 UTC
To be honest, no. I once thought about posting my story's first chapter to receive some feedbacks, but then I changed my mind. But I'm happy giving feedbacks to other writers.



No I have never stolen an idea from a book or from Y!A, though I was inspired by some poems that were written by J.R.R, which made me create new bright ideas with a twist of my own.



When I was younger, I used to imitate my favourite writer's way of writing, and that improved the way I write greatly and improved my English aswell. (I'm not a native English speaker, though all my stories are in English). And I'd pick random famous storylines and complete them in my own way to practise story writing. It was fun.



I never really borrowed 'certain grouping of beautiful words', but I use some old quotes that are known or from a book now and then (or even create one myself).



I write Crime fiction, Fantasy and Adventure.

I avoid Romance and Horror at all cost!



(-:
Liza(:
2010-08-12 23:32:18 UTC
Would you ever consider stealing an idea?

If the person writing it was really bad or thought they might not write it, I might use part of it, maybe a sub-plot or something, but put it in a different story. As long as it's not word-for-word, scene-for-scene, I wouldn't mind using a tiny bit of the story in one of mine.



Is stealing from an answer posted more guiltless than stealing from a question asked?

I see no real difference.



What genre do you write?

I write young adult fiction, mostly adventure and realistic fiction.



Do you steal ideas from anywhere else?

Nope. I prefer to think of my own ideas.



Is borrowing a certain grouping of beautiful words okay?

If it's just a short description, like that of a sunrise or something, I wouldn't mind. If the similarity goes to a sentence or longer, it gets iffy.



Have you posted your storyline on Y!A to be approved?

Almost. I thought about it and decided not to. I don't want to lose my storyline to some jerk on the internet.
S.K.
2010-08-12 21:42:54 UTC
Would you ever consider stealing an idea?

Let's stop calling it stealing, since nobody can own an idea. Each person has the option to keep his/her idea to himself or herself or post it for the whole world to see. Once it's loosed online, it's up for grabs. What I do with an idea and what another writer does with it will be so different my theft probably wouldn't even show, if I took someone's idea.



From a characters name to a major plot path or the whole novel, would you do it?

Yes, I would, without any guilt at all.



Have you done it?

No. I've never seen an idea here that I wanted, even a little. And I have no shortage of my own.



Is stealing from an answer posted more guiltless than stealing from a question asked?

I see no guilt deserved in taking ideas from questions or answers. If writers are serious about protecting their ideas, they won't post them on a public site open to anybody.



Why would you NEVER do it?

Who says I'd never do it?



Do you just have too much respect for the relationship between writer and novel, or are all the ideas on here just that bad?

That bad, I regret to say.



What genre do you write?

Erotica, mystery, and horror.



Do you steal ideas from anywhere else?

Nope. Although I continue to disagree with your terminology.



Is borrowing a certain grouping of beautiful words okay?

That seems more like theft, since someone *can* own a certain grouping of beautiful words.



If you have stolen an idea, was it worth it? Did you feel guilt?

Never done it.



And lastly, have you posted your storyline on Y!A to be approved?

Would never do it. I do post my work and occasionally brainstorm my ideas at a password-protected "serious" writing site.



Thanks for your honesty.

You're welcome, even though I suspect you believe very differently than I do by your use of the word "steal."
Joss
2010-08-12 21:25:29 UTC
I get inspiration for ideas from many places. Ideas cannot be stolen because they cannot copyright. The idea you have is most likely not original. It's the plot details and the characters that make it original.



Would i consider stealing someone's idea? I have enough ideas of my own, plus I could probably think up their exact idea on my own. Would I steal someone's work? No, that's illegal.



Why would you NEVER do it? I don't know. Why is an honest person honest? I'm not interested in any of the ideas I've read here, plus I'm working on my own stories so I don't need anyone else's.



I write Fantasy and Sci-fi.



I don't steal.



Is borrowing a certain grouping of beautiful words okay? No, because that can amount to plagiarism and people can get sued over that (copyright violation). No one owns the right to a "certain grouping of words" but when you start taking large amounts of grouping of words then it begins to look like plagiarism. Read this. This is what plagiarism and copyright violation looks like. No one owns the right to certain passages, but it becomes plagiarism when you start taking large amounts of passages from other books. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Opal_Mehta_Got_Kissed,_Got_Wild_and_Got_a_Life



Yes, I've posted samples of my work online, not just on Answers. I don't need it to be approved by anyone, but I do want feedback. I've gotten good and worthless feedback here. The good feedback is worth it for me to keep coming back. By worthless feedback, I'm talking about the "OMG that's great!" type of feedback. It's very rare in publishing for someone's work to be stolen. It's said that nothing is worth stealing unless you're published. This is because an unpublished manuscript is not worth a penny and beside that it's probably badly written to the point that it'll never be published.



ADDING: Actually, what you post on the Internet is copyrighted. Information on websites and photographs that people post are copyrighted. Just because you post it on the Internet does not mean you're giving it away. Under USA copyright law, stories that are in complete form will have an automatic copyright. If you post something on the Internet that's not from a complete story then it's technically not copyrighted, but the chances of someone wanting to steal it is nearly non-existent in publishing.



http://www.copyright.gov , check the FAQs.



@Liam - have you checked out inkpop.com and authonomy.com? Those sites are for writers to upload their manuscripts, get feedback, and try to get readers interested. Guess who runs these sites? HarperCollins. One of the big 6 publishers. People rate the books they like and HarperCollins staff will read the top rated books and the good ones (in their eyes) will get published. So, I guess HarperCollins isn't a smart publisher, huh? Not only does this prove what you've said wrong, but I've also heard from literary agents and editors who say that posting work online will not get it rejected; not as long as the work has strong writing and is publishable. What you're saying is a myth. Also, my response that you're responding to was for the person who posted right above me. If you read what he posted and then read my response then it should put it in perspective for you, because you're answering my post out of context.
Steven J Pemberton
2010-08-12 15:13:00 UTC
You can't steal what nobody owns in the first place. The law does not acknowledge that ideas for stories can belong to anybody... which is just as well, because if it did, the heirs of the authors of Gilgamesh would still be in court with the heirs of the authors of Genesis. So if someone wants to use my idea(s) for a story of their own, good luck to them. That just validates my belief that the idea was a good one.



Most of the "would you read this?" or "what do you think of this story idea?" questions I see on here aren't worth the bother of stealing. Most are clichéd and/or vague. Those that give the whole story often don't inspire me - which doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with them, just that I can't get excited about writing that sort of story.



To answer your specific questions -



Would I ever consider stealing an idea? A character's name is not an idea. (I really don't understand the obsession that some people round here have with finding the right name for a character. Just call them Fred and Ginger and get on with writing the frakking story. When you think of a good name, use find and replace to drop it into the document.)



I have a file of ideas that might one day find their way into a story, and I sometimes note interesting ideas from stories I've read. For example, one (otherwise unreadably dull) book had a prologue from the point of view of the evil overlord, who was looking at his calendar and thinking it was about time for another Chosen One to arise and try to slay him. He wondered if there would be a prophecy this time. He liked prophecies, because the Chosen Ones always followed them... so the evil overlord knew what the Chosen One was going to do, and so could easily defeat him. I haven't used that in a story yet, but I might one day. That's about as far as I'd go in using "someone else's" ideas. When I was plotting an earlier book, I noticed that some of the characters were uncomfortably close to characters in a series I admired, and tried to move them further away.



There was one question I saw here that I thought might make an interesting story, so I took a copy of it, but haven't done anything with it yet. It was about vampires, so I'd have to twist it and adapt it to make it my own.



Is stealing from an answer posted more guiltless than stealing from a question asked? - Hmm. A person who answers is volunteering information, so perhaps it would be less wrong (assuming you think it's wrong at all). But I think stealing is stealing and copying is copying, regardless of a person's reasons for offering the information.



Why would you NEVER do it? - That assumes I wouldn't. See above.



What genre do you write? - Fantasy and science fiction.



Do you steal ideas from anywhere else? - See above. Anything and anywhere can be a source of ideas if you can learn how to look at it properly. I got an idea for a story when I went to the shops one lunchtime and saw a group of people hanging around outside an office.



Is borrowing a certain grouping of beautiful words okay? - Depends on how expensive their lawyers are ;-) If people are likely to recognise the source, either acknowledge the source, or don't use it.



If you have stolen an idea, was it worth it? Did you feel guilt? - I don't like that word "stolen", because it implies that ideas belong to somebody, which they don't. I've used ideas from all over, but have done my best to mix and match and make them seem original. My earlier work was very derivative, but that's what you do when you're learning how to write. The stuff that I've posted for public consumption and am trying to get paid for... I don't feel the slightest bit of guilt about the non-original parts of it.



Have you posted your storyline on Y!A to be approved? - What, like I need you guys' permission to write?! I did post a pitch for my current novel here (not the whole plot, more like the blurb on the back of the book). Most people here loved it. Then I showed it to my critique group, who tore it to pieces. Make of that what you will!



EDIT: Liam, I hate to disagree with you, but if you're right, you'd better tell Tor Books that they're wasting their time and money printing copies of Cory Doctorow's novels, because he's busy giving them away for free on the Internet.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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