Nano Article is now out...

And here's the link:

Novel idea: 50,000 words in 30 days

I don't care for the picture (just because the photographer showed me another one I liked better), but I guess it's me and I'd better get comfortable with that.

My house is almost clean. My hope is to knock out a huge word count at the write-in today. If I don't feel this story after that? I'm totally switching to the faerie book.

Here's a sneak peak at the male MC in that book--Carter Frae.
And yes, I discovered the unfortunate similarity in last names after this one solidified in my head. So I changed the spelling. (For those who don't know what I'm referring to--think City of Bones.) I worked on this story for 2 months before someone pointed it out to me and I'm still struggling to find a new last name for Carter.

Here's Carter wrapped up in one neat song package--Yours To Hold

I have a friend who has read the first chapter of this book. When I showed her an inspiration picture she said, "I'd let him run over me with a motorcycle anytime he wanted as long as he took care of me afterward." I have to agree.

New Poll Question

I'm curious. Do you tell people when they inspire something in your story? It could be a character, a situation, or something as simple as an item that appears in the story. Maybe this person is someone you know really well--family member, best friend, neighbor. Or maybe you don't know them at all but you've watched them all summer at the pool.

Ah, do you see where this is going? Up to this point, everything has been subconsciously done on my part. This summer, for the first time, I saw something and had the thought "I want to use that in one of my stories." It was a tattoo on one of the lifeguards. I stared for almost 2 months trying to figure out what it was (don't worry, I had sunglasses on and was quite cunning and discrete). I still don't know the story behind this guys tattoo, but I know what it reminded me of. That is what I'm using in my story. One of my characters now has a palm sized tattoo of flames (tear drop shaped) with an eye looking out from the center. Isn't that cool?

Anyway, every time I see this lifeguard two thoughts now run through my head and I need your opinion to know if I'm crazy or just stupid.
1. I'm really curious to know what the real tattoo is and the story behind it.
2. I feel like I should ask if he is alright with me giving his tattoo to my bad guy.

So, what would you do? You can leave a comment or fill out the poll to stay anonymous.

I also want a picture of it. After searching hundreds of thousands of tattoo images, I can't find anything like it. So, do I ask him if I can take a picture of his arm. Would you be weirded out by that?

Poll--please help me out.

I finally started revisions on Sendek this morning. The great people on Hatrack critiqued my first 13 lines a month or so ago, and I finally had the nerve to make changes. The story is currently at 84,000 words and I know that is hits a point where things speed along (almost too quickly) to the end, but the beginning has a lot of character introduction and so forth. This is normal, but I'm trying to find a better balance. More tension in the beginning and a few scenes to slow things down at the end.

Here is my question for you. When you pick up a book, how do you decide to read it and how long do you give it to pull you in? Please answer in the poll to the right, and feel free to leave a comment with more explanation or other choice. :)

I am a very forgiving reader and have finished poorly written books along with the good ones. However, I only reread and buy the ones I love. I choose books by the brief scene on the covers. If that doesn't catch my interest I keep moving along the shelves. There have been some books that I just could not get into and never finished. I realized that I quit within the first two chapers of every book that I gave up on. So, if you are writing a book, make it good fast. That is what I am trying to do as well. It is good advice to write a book that you yourself would want to read, and keep reading until the end.

I can't wait to hear your responses!