I've talked about it a couple of times (and by a couple of times I mean probably everytime I open my mouth) about the Webtoon/webcomic I am currently writing, The House of Raolet. I've been working on it for about four years now, and only a couple weeks ago did I post my prologue and first chapter. I'm not really sure what the speed at which an individual should be writing a Webtoon, but I do not believe it is this.
I have spent most of my life story-writing. My sister and I would swap stories we created all throughout our childhood, writing stories together and constantly keeping each other updated on the ones we wrote on our own. I often thought as I got older, this juvenile desire would eventually fade away and I would focus more on a more "adult" art path.
I did not.
I had abandoned art for a while in high school, but by the fall of my junior year I felt lead to pick it back up again, kickstarting my new art career with The House of Raolet. It started as a fun little idea that I believed would be a cute cartoon or comic one day, but I never actually considered it turning into more than just an idea in my head. I worked on and off on this story idea, trying to get back into the swing of things after my lengthy art hiatus, but eventually my heart really settled on this story. It brought me a lot of comfort during some difficult seasons at the end of high school, and I always told myself that I believed God gave me this story to learn more about Him and myself.
But again, I never planned on doing anything with it.
However, that changed around my freshman year of college. I had tossed around the idea of actually turning my story into a comic, but I had little to no knowledge about the comic/webtoom realm of writing. I never grew up reading comics or manga, and here I was considering to write one. I felt extremely under qualified and began to use that as an excuse to push off the idea. Though, during this pushing off, I did my research. I asked my art professors which comics were the best for beginners, and I basically tore apart the webtoon app reading comic after comic, taking in all the knowledge I could. I knew at some point I would going to either use this knowledge to actually make something of my story or let it fizzle out into the business of student life.
So I buckled down and started preparing.
I wrote extensive page-by-page outlines, timelines on top of timelines, character references, practice comic panels- I knew this story and its characters inside and out. However, I still lacked the courage to start actually writing it. I rewrote the entirety of the story about four times over, taking out characters and throwing in new ones, twisting plot lines into sailors knots, and just generally doing everything that I could to absolutely perfect this story. It meant the world to be- it had to be perfect. I wanted it to mean to the world to everyone else.
I put off writing my webcomic until my junior year of college, just under four years since I began toying with the idea in high school. I watched several other artists whip out beautiful webtoons in mere weeks, while I was trudging through still four year in. I dealt with a lot of doubt and considered many times if it was even worth starting at that point. All of this waiting lead up to one summer tainted with extreme depression and anxiety, and in the midst of the turmoil, I knew it was time to tell this story. It was in that moment I come to the conclusion that it did not matter to me how many people read it or liked it, but the most important thing was that I wrote it. It became a very personal experience to me.
I spent nearly four months writing the first epsiode, hitting obstacles and art blocks all along the way, but I prayed and pushed through. I am by no means a writer and was riddled with insecurites about the product (fun note: I wrote the dialogue for the first episode at about three in the morning, and it may or may not have shown haha), but in the end, I was mostly proud of myself. Sure- I wished I hadn't taken so long to get there, but I made it. It was a pleasant reminder that there isn't a timetable for these things. Every day is a new day to do your best, even if your best is just a sketch or two.
I will continue to write slow, because the slowness has given me space to be thankful and enjoy the process. Even to this day, I believe the Lord has allowed this story to stand the test of time and trials. The messages I want to share in this story are near and dear to me, and what matters most to me is that I share it, even if it takes a little while :)
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