First pass at the rewrite is complete. Yay! It clocks in at just under 3100 words, and there are one or two transitions I want to work out. Also, I think I need a sympathetic snippet in there, just to show that one of the protagonists isn't a completely lost cause.
But I have some space to play with now that I know it's only about 3K. And I'm not unhappy with it. I like the first version better, but in some ways, the first version is one of those stories that I wrote for myself. This one's a story written for a rather broader audience.
I'll continue to try to believe that as I begin collecting rejection letters on it. (I need a list of places to submit these suckers. If I get Popinjay's Daughter done, then I'm going to have three complete, edited short stories done...and I will have no idea where to send any of them.)
But I have some space to play with now that I know it's only about 3K. And I'm not unhappy with it. I like the first version better, but in some ways, the first version is one of those stories that I wrote for myself. This one's a story written for a rather broader audience.
I'll continue to try to believe that as I begin collecting rejection letters on it. (I need a list of places to submit these suckers. If I get Popinjay's Daughter done, then I'm going to have three complete, edited short stories done...and I will have no idea where to send any of them.)