A long time ago I mentioned here I was working on developing a manuscript I had written 2 years ago. It appears the story needed much more detail than I had realized (about 90,000 more details).
Thanks to the intrepid diligence of ArtistXero (whose comic you should check out), the budding first draft got some healthy evaluation. We both agreed it sucked (I think he used the term “pestilence” a few times). This isn’t a discouraging thing; in reality, whose first draft is ever good? (Not yours!) But it did force me to take stock of the mani and decide whether the quite considerable work of rewriting it was worth it.
You see, the story takes place in psued0-medieval times; to give it an authentic feel would require further historical and cultural research and hours of painstaking recreation. I would need to do some pretty exhaustive back-story writing, not to mention healthy character development. I just can’t fake it like I do for the comic =P
Should I do it? Can I juggle the development of an entirely separate story AND the continued progress of the Wizard of Quippley?
After some thought I decided it WAS worth it. I already have quite a few ideas for the new draft of the mani and am prepared to check out as many books from my library as possible (Googling can only get you so far, you know). It’s worth it to write a story of substance, of meaning. My intention is nothing short of the bestseller’s list.
Of course by the time this thing gets published the current spectrum of publish could be dead. So I’ll have to just shill my work to you guys. On this blog.