Inevitably, once you’re known to be playwright, people will seek you out to bring to you ideas. It will happen, I promise you. Someone will approach you at a party, take you aside, and say something like: “I’ve got this great idea for a play, but, I’m not a writer. So I’ll tell you my idea, you write it out, and we’ll go 50-50 on the money it makes.” Very generous. But my standard – and respectful – response is: “Thank you very much, but I’ve got a long list of ideas of my own, more ideas than I have time for. But thanks anyway; I appreciate your confidence in me.” What these well-meaning folks don’t realize is that ideas are, comparatively speaking, the easy part; writing is the hard part. There also is the danger of lawsuits. If you listen to, say, Joe Smith’s idea, and later you write a play that Joe Smith thinks is based on his idea, don’t be surprised if you get a letter from Joe’s lawyer. While an idea can’t be copyrighted or owned by anyone, it doesn’t mean someone can’t sue you. (A lawsuit puts you to the time and expense of having to defend yourself in court.) However, this is not to suggest you should never listen to an idea being pitched to you. If the person approaching you is an accomplished director or producer who can make a production happen, or if the person is a published author looking for someone to work on a play adaptation, or if the person is willing to pay you to write the play, in cases like these a proposal could be worth entertaining. (This all assumes, of course, that the subject of the proposed play is of interest to you.) In short, avoid the suggestions of others. But, if someone makes you an offer you can’t refuse, make sure your agreement, whatever it is, is in writing. You'd be surprised how fuzzy memories become when money is involved. (More on contracts another time.)
