Comic Book Challenge coming FAST!

I just read the info on the blog of the previous winner of the Comic Book Challenge ( http://yirmumah.net/comic-book-challenge-2-details/ ), although it's not been updated on the official contest website yet. Here's what he had to say:

"Submissions will be open from 12am May 1st to 11:59pm May 31st. People will need to submit a one-page paragraph and one completed page of art, showing what their plan for the overall book is. Submitters should have an art team selected and in place, ready to commence production on the book as soon as the winner is chosen."

Now, here's what I have to say: HELP!!!!!

I can't draw. Don't get me wrong, I have a slight bit of talent in the area. But it's in COPYING, not orignal artwork! I can do rough drawings of other people's work, or even from photos, but I can't produce original work from my own head! I need an artist to collaborate with me. I have pitches that I'm working on. But if I can't find an artist, I'll be stuck with sending in a page of stick figures! Which the contest guidelines say is acceptable, but really, does someone who does that have any shot at winning? I think not.

So if you're a talented illustrator... if you've always wanted to break into the comic book industry... if you KNOW anyone who fits either of those criteria... if your cousin's second wife's thirteen year old daughter is an artistic prodigy with a comic-book bent... LET ME KNOW! Put me in touch! I've got a month and a half to find an artist that I mesh with, who likes my pitch and wants to be part of this. Not even a month and a half, considering the artist will need a full page or more of illustrations by the end of May!

HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!

Inspiration while seated on a throne

I've discovered that one of the best places to get inspiration is in the bathroom. Whether it be in the shower, an extended stay on the throne, whatever, something about the cosmic vibrations in the average bathroom stimulate the mind. That's one reason my laptop, or at least a notebook and paper, go with me almost wherever I go. No, not into the bathroom. But they're never far away for those times I have a brainstorm and need to write something down or type a quick outline for an idea.

Case in point: Book 2. I've been working on the revisions for the first chapter of my second book, and tossing around some ideas that would work, but weren't really all that pleasing to me. Then, while seated on that majestic porcelain throne, inspiration struck. The problem with the opening chapter was with character development of the two main characters in the scene, and an unbelievable plot leap that my agent just couldn't accept. So I realized that part of the problem is that the opening to the scene is the epilogue to the first book. Other than the whole cliffhanger aspect, making people who read the first book want to pick up the second one, there's really no reason to split it up like that. Moving the epilogue from book 1 to the first chapter of book 2 allows for the character development that my agent felt was lacking. In addition, I also came up with a solution to the plot leap that fixes the problem and yet still allows our two heroes to be thrown into the same situation as they were in the original version... which is where I need them.

So things are moving along. I still haven't figured out what to do about the prologue, but I'm moving along on chapter one. Once I have that put together, it'll be time to go back and tackle the prologue and hope I can figure out what to do with it.

Maybe I should go visit the throne again and see what I can come up with.