Writing That Award Winning Novel

By C.L. Beck
© 2007

Writing can be a lot like baseball—at least for me. In baseball, the pitcher spits on his hand, wraps his fingers in some weird way around the ball, cranks back, and throws like heck. Who knows what’s going to come across the plate? It could be a slider, sinker, or a curve ball.

In writing, I don’t spit on my hand—that would make the keyboard all slimy. But I do wrap my mind in some weird way around an idea, crank back, and write like heck. Who knows what’s going to show up on the computer? It could be a mystery, a romance, or fantasy.

Or it could be a cross between a sinker and a slider, which I like to call … a stinker. I’ve run across several authors who’ve had great success getting those published, so if you think you’ve written a stinker, don’t throw it away. When you’re rich and famous, the reading public will want anything you’ve written, including your note to remember to buy new underwear. (If you were smart, you didn't write down the size. After all, what writer wants the whole world to know he wears a 52½ in undershorts?)

Most of us have heard stories of authors who’ve written their award winning novel on a napkin, in two hours, and with a quill pen. Doesn’t that amaze you? You’d have to have one mighty big napkin for a whole novel to fit on it. But wait … I’ve heard of people copying the Bible onto the head of a straight pin, so technically speaking, I guess it can be done.

I suppose the moral of the story is to write, regardless of where you are and what writing tools are available. You never know which is going to be ‘the one’ that will catapult you into fame. And don’t worry about the rejections. One way to guarantee you’ll never get a rejection is to write nothing. That, however, is counterproductive to winning awards and making millions off a book you wrote on the back of your napkin while at Wendy’s.

And now that I’ve made these suggestions, I really must go. A plethora of ideas have floated into my mind, and I need to go find my business card. No, not so I can send it to an agent. So I can write my next stinker on it.