Workshops: An invitiation to idea theft?
I was wondering how you feel about workshops. I am an aspiring screenwriter, and am about to enter a workshop of about 20 other writers. My concern was protecting my work. I don’t have a complete treatment yet, and god only knows how much my story outline will change before I really write it. I can register something, but it might be pretty different from the final work. Do I run the risk of as yet unmet peers stealing parts of my idea?
– Frank
Los Angeles
Get over it. No one wants to steal your crappy idea.
Honestly, Frank, your idea might be terrific. But the reality is, none of the other aspiring screenwriters in your workshop are going to realize it’s terrific, because they’re all busy working on their own crappy-slash-terrific ideas. They came into the workshop with the same false confidence in their genius that you did, and it’s this equity of delusion that will protect you.
Had you written in something like this…
I am an aspiring screenwriter, and am about to enter a workshop of about 20 other writers. My concern was protecting other people’s work. I’m unsure of my ethical backbone, and worry that I might poach other aspiring screenwriters’ stories. Do I run the risk of as yet unmet peers realizing that I’m a thief?
…I might be worried. But I’ve been getting a slight variation on your email every week for the last five years. “Idea poachers” are the WMD’s of newbie screenwriter angst. They’re not really there, no matter how hard you look. Just write your script, and do everything you can to help your workshop-mates.
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December 5th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Frank’s concern is exactly the same as any amatuer’s in any other creative field. I hear this all the time in the IT industry: “How can I get the venture capitalist to sign a non-disclosure agreement before I present my business plan?” It’s the first sign of a newbie.
Ideas are worthless because they carry no risky. And besides, you’re being paid for a script, not a treatment.
December 5th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
…but how do you feel about workshops, John?
December 5th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Yikes, Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.
December 5th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
…but how do you feel about workshops, John?
They’re only as good as the people involved. I help out with the Sundance filmmakers lab — which is a fancy name for a workshop — and find it a great experience both for the fellows and the advisors. But if it’s a bunch of newbies trying to outshine each other, I’d run for the hills.
December 5th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
screenwriting workshops have a bit of a group therapy feel… you talk with people who have the same problem as you (being an unknown writer)about shit (your ideas) no one else cares about. everybody’s nice and kind but at the end of the day the only thing that makes the participants feel better is to see others are worse off than they are.
spend the time writing rather than talking. and if you need 19 people’s input to get a decent story on paper, well, you’re in trouble anyway.
December 5th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
You can’t ever protect your ideas. Ever. Not in a workshop. Not from a studio. Not from a producer. Nobody. Registering a script with the WGA is a nice feeling, as is copywriting your material, but ultimately it’s useless. If someone really wants to steal your idea(s), they will, and most lawyers reject cases of plagiarism and copywright infringement (unless you have evidence your script has literally been lifted), because they’re just too hard to prove. You simply have to hope that people repect your intellectual property, and that if someone steals your idea, in the end karma will bite them in the ass.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
Thanks John -
I had the same concern – not necessarily in regards to workshops, but more in regards to talking to people about my ideas. You’re right – nobody really cares about my crappy ideas – despite the fact that they are total genius.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
I said this in my blog last year and I’ll say it again:
People are too in love with their own ideas to steal yours.
At least, that’s been my experience.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
John,
I loved loved loved your answer!!!! Usually when people ask me this question they offer me examples of how this or that person’s idea was stolen by this or that studio or production company. So I’ll add that 9 times out of 9 when you see a film that’s “just like” your idea, someone else just thought of the same idea. It happens all the time, which is why there were two, count them TWO films released this year that were period pieces about magicians. Also, who cares if someone steals your idea. If you only have one idea you’re in trouble anyway.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
I suppose they’re like anything else. If they’re good, they’re worthwhile. If they’re bad, they’re a waste of time. Life can be a puzzle, eh?
December 5th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
oh lord. please excuse my multiple typos.
December 5th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
I agree that peolpe should not worry about other writers stealing your ideas. As John said a workshop will only be as good as its members, but I do think that there there are many valid reasons for joining such a writing group.
I am a member of a scriptwriting workshop (comprising of both stage and screen writers) and find it an invaluable resourse. As we all know, writing can be a solitary and lonely pursuit, and the sense of community such a worksop provides really helps on a purely psychological level. It is also a particularly apt place to look for informative, honest feedback and constructive critisicm. It doesn’t hurt to read and analyse scripts (both good and bad) and I find that doing so keeps that side of my brain exercised.
December 5th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
HA!
John, while at Sundance were you able to assist Dito Montiel with his “Saints” film? I met Dito at the San Diego Film Festival..Have you seen his “Saints” film? Pretty intense first effort.
December 5th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Long time listener, first time poster…..
Johnny h.
I’ve never been to a workshop, so I may be speaking out of my hind end here, but there are beginning screenwriters who do turn into passable or even (dare I say it) good screenwriters.
There is that early time when feedback and support can be crucial. We don’t learn to tell stories by instinct. There is a reason it is called a craft.
Because writing is almost by definition a solitary activity, the support of a writers workshop can be fundamental for some. For others, it is completely unnecessary, but the interaction, the critique, and the ability to focus on plot, characters, story, etc. can make the difference.
Other than your pocket a bit lighter, what can it hurt?
Concerning the theft of ideas:
For the novice it is inexperience combined with insecurity. We (I consider myself novice) are in love with our ideas. We just don’t realize that everyone else is in love with theirs. There is also the fear that we’ve developed something great, but a producer will hand it off to someone else they know and/or trust.
December 5th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
This came up in a workshop I was attending. I told them to do what I do: only write stuff that nobody wants. Best protection in the world.
December 6th, 2006 at 4:13 am
Matt Hader… I really like your name! ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Hatter
December 6th, 2006 at 9:09 am
Lars – thanks, I’ve never realized that before…(cough-cough)
…My parents are actually pretty comical folks.
December 6th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
John made a good point, one that is not heard often enough. I have always thought ideas are cheap as dirt, that what differenciates writers from the boys is having the damn thing written and, yes, distributed to fellow writers, i.e. the enemy, to the point that everyone who reads it, like it or not, can admit it is a riveting tale. To me, it is style that counts. And I understand the jitters and jealousy that can drive writers to think of themselves as enemies. I have a great friend who is a working D.P. and I found that cinematographers are so much nicer and collegial to one another, and I often wondered why this is not the case among writers, or most writers – as I’ve often heard.
December 7th, 2006 at 1:13 am
J. Chrisopher: Absolutely do beginning screenwriters turn into good writers, otherwise, well, it be quite a conundrum. I also agree that feedback is important, at any point by the way, not just for beginners. I just don’t believe in a group of dyslexics helping each other how to read. Bad analogy, but you get my point.
December 7th, 2006 at 1:14 am
…ChrisTopher, sorry.