INUVIK - Perhaps Len MacDonald should have signed up for a few creative writing courses in university rather than being so set on his business undergrad.

"Maybe I stepped into the wrong line-up in university," he said with a laugh.

Len MacDonald sits at his computer in his living room, where some of his quirky off-the-wall prose originates. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

The 48-year-old certified management accountant not only has a knack for crunching numbers, he's also a literary force to be reckoned with.

For the second year in a row, his writing has been singled out among thousands of other Canadian entries in a national literary contest called Canada Writes. Hosted by CBC, the event called on writers across the country to send in their submissions for categories including ads, blog entries and movie pitches - but entries had to be a maximum of 200 words.

"When I found out about (the competition) last year I looked at it and said, 'Oh I have all kinds of stuff I can throw into this,'" said MacDonald, who's employed as the controller for Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. "You send it in and you don't think you'll hear anything back."

Like last year, this year MacDonald was the only person from the NWT to make the top-20 cut, which was separated into the top 10 from the east and 10 from the west coast. He found about his latest honour a few weeks ago.

Also like last year, he made use of his off-the-wall humour to crack the distinguished list.

This year's winning entry is a funny observation piece based on a group of seniors boarding a tour bus in Dawson City. He happened to witness the event last summer while on vacation.

The entry reads, in part:

"So, I'm sitting doing nothing when at about 8:55 a.m. I notice the movement starting around me; slowly, like an orchestrated event. The tour bus pulls up; the sound of air brakes; the tour guide or "keeper" of the tourists emerges, which I now believe must set off some ultrasonic signal to the mostly elderly tourists, because instantly, like stray cats making for a bowl of food, they slowly start appearing and heading to the bus."

MacDonald admits his sense of humour is a little different than most, which he injects into most of his writing.

"I like to write about what I see and know," he said. "I enjoy the humour side of things. I see things through different lenses than most people. I'm probably quite observant. I take in a lot."

The recognition feels pretty good, he said.

"It's flattering and encouraging," he said. "It's always nice having your ego stroked."

MacDonald's not an obsessive writer, but as time passes he admits he's getting there.

"When an idea comes to me, I try to get the idea down so I might go back to it later."

MacDonald, who hails from Cape Breton, N.S., doesn't come by his talent honestly. He can't recall anyone from his family tree with a talent for the craft.

"I'm a black sheep in the family," he said. "But we share the same satirical sense of humour and outlook and perspective."

He realizes he doesn't fit the stereotype of an accountant, but he insists writing and accounting have more in common than one would think.

"When you're doing fin-ance and accounting, it calls for clarity and objectivity and an analytical approach, much like good writing does. So those skills are easily transferable."

Either way, his partner Tegwen Jones thinks his latest distinction is also pretty cool.

"He's certainly very skilled in writing," she said. "He writes about things that he sees. It's so visual. So it's nice that he's being recognized for that. It's something that he should be really proud of."