"Just a little writing..."

I guess I've finally arrived as a writer. The other day at work I was doing some copy editing while on my break, and I had someone come up and inquire what I was doing. I explained, and one thing led to another. That's when he popped his "brilliant" idea:

"I have this terrific idea for a book that will sell a million copies. I just need somebody to write it down for me. I'll split the money with you."

I've talked to people at various writer's conferences, and I've chatted with people online. This is far more common than non-writers realize. In a way it's flattering, but in a way....

They say 4 out of 5 people have a story in them. Only a few of us, though, have the time and patience to learn the teachable elements of the craft (Elizabeth George maintains that while talent is God-given, craft can be taught). Earlier I alluded to where ideas came from. Without getting too snarky, ideas are everywhere. Let's look at a few:

• somebody Turtlewaxed a floor before killing a man on that floor - this made the blood easier to clean up (luminol still found traces though);
• maids don't always vacuum under a bed. In a seaside town in Washington a dead body was stashed under the bed in a motel;
• a body was found lying on a heating duct - evidence on the scene suggested the person had been killed somewhere else and deliberately left there (the heating duct will complicate time of death calculations, which are based on temperature);
• a large manufacturing firm, in an effort to save money, decided to print their checks on 20# stock white paper they picked up at an office supply store (the potentials for fraud are incredible);
• a couple bought a piece of property with an mine shaft on it - they discovered that there were over 22 bodies at the bottom of the mine shaft; evidence in the skulls suggested all had been shot and their bodies dumped there;
• a body dumped into cold water was preserved so well the forensic pathologist could still determine critical pieces of information about the deceased that led to an arrest.

And that's just from a casual glance through the newspaper. Admittedly they are only applicable in the murder writing genre, but an idea is an idea.

So, thank you, I'm sure you have a great idea, and I hope it works out. I have enough of my own to keep working for a while.