How to Write - Book Idea

 I majored in Economics and while they didn't really teach me how to write, it did teach me about "zero-sum games."  In game theory (not as fun as it sounds) a zero-sum game is one where a person's victories are offset by another's losses.  Many writers consider book ideas a "zero-sum game," and as a result they have top-secret file cabinets filled with folders with the ideas for the next great novel.   A writer with this attitude feels like sharing book ideas hurts their ability to publish in the future.  To be honest, I'm not sure whether or not this is true.  It seems to me that there is an infinite source of ideas for books.  And even if two people write the same book born from the same idea, their style, voice, writing ability and rewrite might result in two completely different books.  So, should writer's share book ideas with other writers with the altruistic intent that at least someone should write the book, even if I can't and thereby helping others know how to write.  If one of the biggest challenges of knowing "how to write" is knowing what to write about, wouldn't the writing community as a whole benefit from the sharing of hundreds of book ideas?  Or are book ideas truly a writer's life blood with any transfusion resulting in depletion and possible death to the writer.  Can you legally use another writer's book idea?  Maybe writers would be less prone to procrastination if they knew that everyone out there knew their book idea and might be working on it this very minute.  Maybe that is the solution to procrastination.  Tell everyone your book idea in great detail.  It will inspire you to finish it before anyone else can.

 I think there could be a lot of opinions about sharing book ideas with other writers.  As I am currently a believer in the infinite nature of book ideas and with the confidence that more ideas would come, I had the idea for the seed of a novel in the form of a character.  On the cover of Friday's Wall Street Journal, there is an article about real world Superheros who walk through the city fighting crime.  Read more about that story here.  By day, the superhero is a daycare worker, by night, Pheonix Jones.  Apparently these superheros have gone high-tech and come equipped with video equipment, cell phones and even body-armor.  This could be written as a mid-grade or young adult book with the character being a kid picked on in school who takes to the streets at night channeling the kid's inner superhero.  No promises that this is a great idea, or a publishable idea.  It is simply an idea, hopefully it inspires your own ideas about how to write.

Now, the world knows about my idea.  How do I feel?  Is that the warm feeling of happiness that comes from sharing, or impending nausea knowing that I just gave someone else the key to publication and lost the opportunity myself.