Followers of my webcomic, Strawberry Syrup, were disappointed this week: no page. There is a very good reason for this, of course; sometimes, real life steps in and demands my attention. (It's for reasons like that that a webmangaka needs to have a buffer built up, but, of course, easier said than done.)
Anyways, this particular slice of real life involves a short story I'm attempting to revise, rewrite, and polish up into something I can actually send out, and what I want to send it out for has a deadline of March 1st. Right now, I am focused on making the story flow, tightening up the prose, and getting it down to 25 pages without losing all personality. The story itself is one that I wrote five or six years ago, back when I was still an undergrad and had the writing prompt of, "Someone has a secret."
Me being me, I churned out a YA fantasy about a girl who finds a new reason to be afraid of the dark. While it was received well by the class, looking back at it I cringe at certain parts: the purple prose, the plot holes, the craft failures. But I liked the basic story, so I considered that original work a first draft and started rewriting it for my own enjoyment last summer. Not having an actual reason to really finish a YA story of that length, I ended up setting it aside before finishing the rewrite.
Well, now I have a reason, and Draft #2 has been finished. I'm now working on Draft #3, which will be the last draft before I send it out to my little circle of critiquers. Basically, the idea is to make it the best I can possibly make it, and then see how people say I can make it better.
If I don't run into any major snags or muse blockages, it should be done by this time next week. Here's hoping!
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