Become a member of the undead.
Join our community to help the living with your unique skills. From graphic designers to summary makers, we have all types of roles, and we are always open for suggestions for more. Our profile is to be a one-stop for...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aside from having the cool name, the Reapers of our Community tend to be very cool, creative people. If you're that person who has more ideas than you could ever write, or you love working with communities but hate dealing with difficult clients, or are an imaginative artist who isn't really a writer--well, you might be an excellent Reaper!
At first glance, Reapers might get a bad rep. "What kind of lazy writer would use a plot shop?" "If you can just write other people's ideas, what's the point?" and so on.
I am one of those lazy writers who acquired a plot from the plot shop. Despite having enough ideas to keep me busy until George R.R. Martin is 120, I saw one that joined incredibly well with an existing idea and the creative spark went BOOM!
Plots are just a starting point, a way for writers to create something uniquely their own while still giving credit to the person with that brilliant idea.
If it wasn't a huge part of writing, the Tonys, Emmys, and Oscars wouldn't have "Best Adapted" categories. We wouldn't have The Lion King, courtesy of William Shakespeare. "My Fair Lady" and "Pretty Woman" wouldn't have won awards and we'd only see remakes of "Pygmalion." The world is a plot shop.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
If you're a Reaper, you need to think about who takes your plot, what will happen to it, and ultimately, what you're lending your name to. Be firm but polite about your non-negotiable limits. If you only write family-friendly fiction and aren't comfortable with it being used in LGBTQ+ or Mature stories, it's your right to say so.
If the main character is named after your grandmother and you want it to stay like that, turn down those who want to change the name. If it seems like the person taking your plot will never write it without you basically writing it, you can just say no.
Don't be afraid to have firm opinions and stick to your limits. Not everyone will agree, but they don't have to. If you meet a wonderful writer, and the two of you are willing to agree to middle ground and make concessions, wonderful. However, it's your plot. You have the right to refuse anything you don't like before you agree to give it to someone else.
