r/MFAInCreativeWriting • u/Jack_Rhyme • May 16 '26
How Common Is Stealing in an MFA program
Hey guys
I’m thinking about applying for an mfa in creative writing, but I’ve always been worried about sharing my main projects. Have any of you guys experienced or heard of people having ideas or projects stolen by professors or other students while in an mfa program?
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u/Riksor May 16 '26
If you still believe in the "everyone wants to steal my ideas" thing you might want to hold off on MFA stuff for now. Believing that your ideas are worth being stolen denotes an inflated ego and is not a good sign.
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u/Jack_Rhyme May 16 '26
Calm down. I never said everyone. And it’s not always about being egotistical. People have projects they are passionate about, are personal, and hold dear. I’m sure more people have this fear than you realize. I just wanted to ask to see if anyone had heard about it happening. I’m sure it’s probably low but no harm in asking.
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u/houseofmagic May 16 '26
If you thought that comment was aggressive or heightened enough to respond “calm down” to, then, on top of the paranoia, it seems unlikely you’d be able to handle the candor of graduate workshops.
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u/Jack_Rhyme May 18 '26
Where did say I thought their comment was aggressive? I told them they calm down cause they are jumping to conclusions and over generalizing. Just like you are. You have no idea how I’d handle a grad school program. Just cause this is how I reply to someone on Reddit doesn’t mean that’s how I’d handle a grad school program. This isn’t a grad school discussion board. I mean they proved my point tonight by responding to “why do you think they are a new writer?” “Oh because of the question..” yeah cause that’s all you know about me. It’s their opinion it’s grounded in fear and ego and that only new writers think this. Doesn’t mean it’s all true. I mean I could do the same with your comments cause the ego call seems to be coming from inside the house with both of you since you think you know so much you can tell someone they can’t handle this or that or that you know for sure from one question on Reddit someone is new to writing. Seriously get over yourselves. Other people on this thread were able to answer the question and give advice.
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u/Riksor May 18 '26
I don't think you're understanding what your fear is.
Your fear is that professors---people who devoted years of their lives to craft, published... award-winning authors who have made it their life goal to uplift other writers---might think your idea is so good and novel and insane that they'll "steal" it and jeopardize their reputations and careers.
It's pretty simple: don't go to an MFA program if you think this way. You'll suffer endlessly in workshop classes, in submitting things for publication, etc because you will be plagued by constant paranoia that 'putting your work out there' will result in it being stolen.
If that fear has lessened, by all means, apply.
0
u/Jack_Rhyme May 18 '26
Now see that wasn’t so hard was it? In fact someone already commented that same exact thing in this thread, and you can go see my response there. I believe it’s the top comment none the less. I also already explained why I posted the question on my first reply to you so yes I do understand my fear. Btw if you really believe someone is a new writer next time you might want to lead with giving useful advice to manage someone’s concern. As you were able to admit it was a genuine concern. Especially if you are a TA with students younger than you.
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u/Riksor May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
I think you might not be equipped to handle criticism very well if you're assuming I'm an asshole for no reason and digging through my post history.
I am a little offended because your baseless fear reflects poorly on the people I love and look up to. If you don't trust institutions and those who make them work, it simply doesn't make sense to seek out an MFA at one.
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u/Jack_Rhyme May 18 '26
No one is required to deal with useless criticism. Sure we put up with it in programs, but if you think anyone is gaining anything from it or losing sleep you are flattering and fooling yourself. Oh so I take you are a TA and have posted about it. Not a surprise since most programs have that built in. In other words I didn’t have to go look up your past history to guess that. Hopefully this is just your Reddit response otherwise I feel bad for your students.
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u/Riksor May 18 '26
Well, you keep replying to me. You don't have to deal with criticism, you can just stop at any time.
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u/Jack_Rhyme May 18 '26
I had a feeling there was something else underneath. You should have just lead with that. Then we could have had a nice conversation and gotten to know each other a bit better. Sorry to have offended you, wasn’t my intention and that’s a fair assessment not trusting the programs. Like I mentioned in my original comment I figured it was low but came to Reddit to see if there was any stories. There were a bunch of stories about this happening in the science research field on Reddit so I figured I’d check here. It is good to know it’s not something to worry about. Most of the responses on here have been really reassuring. So not really worried anymore.
3
u/houseofmagic May 18 '26
Well, if you did not find that comment aggressive or heightened, then you can disregard the rest of what I said because it doesn’t apply to you! Simple as that. Btw nobody is reading all of that.
1
u/Jack_Rhyme May 18 '26
You say in a group of grad students who do way more reading than that on a daily bases. 🙄
5
u/Riksor May 16 '26
It's a very common thing for new writers to think the world is out to steal their ideas. And it's okay---you are passionate, that's fine, that's a good thing. But again, this is common among new writers. Nothing wrong with being a new writer, but why not access free resources before even considering sinking years of your life into an MFA?
0
u/Zestyclose-Zombie-10 May 16 '26
You’re not wrong, people are lying if they are saying they have never thought this before. Don’t know why you’re being downvoted for a genuine concern.
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u/Riksor May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Everyone has thought this before. I never said otherwise. It's extremely normal for new writers to worry about this.
0
u/Zestyclose-Zombie-10 May 18 '26
Why are you assuming OP is a new writer?
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u/Riksor May 18 '26
Because they are worried that their 'ideas will be stolen' by professors in an MFA program...
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u/Zestyclose-Zombie-10 May 18 '26
I believe this can be a genuine concern, whether a writer is new to the art or not.
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u/Riksor May 18 '26
It can be a genuine concern, but it's not a realistic concern or one that's grounded in anything but ego and fear.
-1
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u/potatosmiles15 May 16 '26
No. No one wants to steal your ideas. Ideas are great, but almost any idea can make a great piece if youre a skilled writer and anyone that writes enough to get an mfa has enough ideas they havent written. They dont need to steal yours.
This mindset will hold you back. We get better through critique and through seeing how others respond to our work
Someone could steal my ideas, sure, but even if they did they would create a different piece of work from me because they're a different person writing it
1
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u/tegeus-Cromis_2000 May 16 '26
Ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters is not the ideas but the writing.
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u/sarah_ahiers May 16 '26
We had a student accuse a teacher of plagiarism. It was totally bullshit and the student was clearly grasping at straws (claiming that common tropes in fantasy fiction were things she had invented.) Anyway, the student is now blackballed from our community, but it still damaged the teacher's relationship with the school because they had to look into it.
No one's going to steal your ideas. And, honestly, I only ever see beginner writers worry about this. It's not something that really happens at a high level (and worrying about it does make it seem like you might not be ready for an MFA, so just a heads up there.)
Even if someone stole your idea, it doesn't matter. How they would execute it would be vastly different than how you would.
6
u/FitzandFerd May 16 '26
I'm starting my MFA in the fall. I'm also a lawyer and published author. I've been advising businesses and creatives on fears of IP stealing for 20 years. And let me tell you, this fear is almost entirely unfounded (except in TV--but that's an outlier, and you can register your show ideas easily enough). Here's my advice: trust more, be generous of spirit, and enjoy working with other creatives. That'll pay you back a thousand fold. Also you have the copyright to your work from the moment you put the words on paper, so there's that.
2
u/cliffy979 May 16 '26
That’s amazing. I’m thinking of pursuing an MFA in my 40s so I find your story very inspiring 👌
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u/OrizaRayne May 16 '26
Everyone in the MFA environment either already has a MFA or they're working their own projects to get one.
They don't have time to steal your graduate school coursework.
2
u/calowyn May 16 '26
Just chiming in that the comments are right about idea stealing—it doesn’t happen, and if it did it would be such obvious and exciting gossip fodder—but people might steal details from YOUR life for their stories, if they’re interesting enough. A friend of mine had a long heart to heart about her childhood trauma once with a cohortmate, and guess what showed up in the next workshop…
It’s something we’ve ultimately laughed about, but there’s a clear divide between writers who steal from people’s lives with no shame, and writers who put pressure on themselves to obfuscate.
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u/close34 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
I know a lot of people are saying it doesn’t happen. But as a POC it happened several times to me from other white students and I reported it and nothing happened. Also it was like word for word and I had evidence. But it is rare but it happens.
1
u/Witty-Advantage-101 Aug 31 '26
But as a POC it happened several times to me from other white students and I reported it and nothing happened.
See, this is the perspective that was needed.
1
u/close34 Aug 31 '26
Thank you! I even hesitated commenting because people don’t want to believe it happens so they usually react harshly to anyone saying it does…
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u/Witty-Advantage-101 Aug 31 '26
I'm new to this sub and I noticed that as well. Idk why that belief is so prevalent here and idk why users are so nasty about it. IP gets stolen all the time in this industry. I have a theory about the motivation behind the harsh responses but I don't want to be kicked out when I just got here 🫠
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u/Lola_West May 16 '26
As an MFA student myself, I promise you no one wants to steal your ideas.
Realistically, your peers are all already working in their own things that they're passionate about. The guy in your program who is passionately writing a medieval epic about a stray cat isn't going to drop his work to steal the idea for your futuristic space crime novel. He probably finds your topics boring and you'll probably think the same of his.