A Ray of Light! A Moment of Pride/Accomplishment

[thirdly]

I’ve been writing and drawing for a long time. I know that everyone goes through ups and downs in their creative journeys. But, today I want to talk about something that will hopefully remind everyone of a good moment or two in their lives!

Tell me about a moment in the past where you have felt proud of yourself. What did you feel you accomplished in that moment? What were you proud of?

As both a writer and comic artist, I will share two of mine to start things off:

Writing- In my mid teens, I was inspired by much older fan fiction writers online to try my hand at starting a fanfic of my own. I was only able to get about 5 chapters in, but what I did manage to write caught the attention of one of my favorite writers (twice my age at the time) and she was impressed, which meant a lot to me. I knew that if I kept at it, I could reach her level.

Art- In my late teens/early adulthood I had been invited into a group of “slightly above average” artists that made short comic stories tied up in the same theme and published them as pocket manga volumes for conventions. We didn’t make money out of it (and shipping was costly), but we learned the different steps needed for publishing and are able to say “though rare, there are books that exist with our names in them.”

[jmassat]

Those are beautiful memories -- and I mean that sincerely. Treasures! (I recently tried to make books for conventions, which on the one hand was interesting, fun, and felt like a milestone, but on the other hand...it was the year 2020...)

My moment of pride/accomplishment: after a long period of looking at other people's art styles and asking myself "I can do that, why don't I do that?" I finally buckled down and tried those styles. The results were not perfect, predictably, but it was one of my first tries, and it turned out adorable! Trying and "failing" isn't so bad.

[cherrystark]

As a writer, I am proud of the comments I get that essentially say "I need to know more." and the moments when people sit down and binge my series. I think everyone gets nervous when they start posting stuff online. Before, I never shared my stories with anyone.

Like a lot of people, my work is on a bunch of different sites. On one site I use for feedback, several critiquers commented how the world drew them in and they needed to know more about the world and the mystery I was establishing. One another site, I've gotten 200+ reads a day on multiple occassions.

I am nowhere where I want to be as a writer, but seeing those little boosts just makes my day. I feel like these little moments tell past Cherry that her work really is good and she has talent as a writer.

[snowy]

Literally just got a compliment from a creator I admire. This will last me all year.

[thirdly]

The most fun is when you create your own style out of things you like. For example, do you prefer to draw simple lashes, or a bunch of them on eyes? Do you like heart-shaped faces, or oval? Are you into the tiny-waist Disney aesthetic or are you going for a bit more realism? Eventually you’ll make something that’s essentially yours, even if it was inspired by 100 others.

[thirdly]

Yes. Instant feedback always feels amazing, but it’s harder for a writer. The more serious a writer gets, the more they realize they need to have a complete story hammered out and polished first before posting it (I’ve been working on a story for almost 3 years now without posting a single chapter online...the patience will be worth it). But, at first, yeah...comments on chapters as you crank them out are great motivators. But, if you just thought up a plot seed in chapter 11 that you needed readers to know back in chapter 2, you’re going to become increasingly angry at yourself (that’s what happened to me).

[thirdly]

Congrats! I challenge you to remember this moment the next time you get a criticizing comment that stings. Remember who stopped and NOTICED your work. Then, mentally kick that stinging comment out of your head like a pebble down the street.

[cherrystark]

True. But a lot has to do with how much confidence a writer has in their work. I've noticed that a lot of people write according to the trends. If that inspires their creativity, more power too them. My series is sci-fi, which is a hard genre for webnovels. The fact people are enjoying my work after a couple years of hard work is refreshing.

[Aleksei]

I got a Daily Deviation on DeviantART once, for this piece =P
That has been my highest recognition on the art community.

[therosesword]

I would say probably one of my first awards for an audio drama script.

But the one that's framed and plastered to my wall is the letter from Samuel Goldwyn Jr. regarding an audio drama series I wrote comparing it to "Murder She Wrote" and strong female leads in CSI.

But i do have to go with wht @cherrystark says with:

As a writer, I am proud of the comments I get that essentially say "I need to know more." and the moments when people sit down and binge my series.

I've been writing for many, many years, dare I say a couple of decades, and when people read one of the pieces I have here on Tapas and binge the whole book.... and ask for more, even to the point of private messaging me and suggesting more...yeah, that's pretty golden. Especially since I've always been a spoken word writer, so getting those boosts (especially from off-tapas readers) about writing novels (something I'm not that well versed in)... yeah... good stuff.

Write hard, write true

[therosesword]

Whoa! that's a GREAT piece!

[Aleksei]

Thank you very much! It was a shock of inspiration that made me do that mash-up. That, and I wanted to do something with vectors.

[Kaydreamer]

There are so many which have happened online! From artists I truly respect and look up to following me back on Twitter, to industry professionals telling me they loved a bit of fanart from the TV show they created. (Aaron Ehasz from The Dragon Prince!) It's always so flattering when it happens.

And when readers of my comic tell me they're excited, curious, can't wait for more and so on, that always gives me butterflies. I've been sharing my art for a long time, but this is the first time I've shared my stories. That folks are enjoying my writing, finding it funny and interesting, that feels amazing.

[thirdly]

Wow! Congrats! That’s a rarity not many can boast about.

[thirdly]

Thanks so much for sharing! And well done!

[thirdly]

I’m always glad to hear others feeling inspired to write. We NEED more stories out there...new; unique; varied...I’m tired of reading 300 stories with similar plots.

[thirdly]

Comments do increase confidence and the more critical ones help with growth, but I meant in terms of publishing a completed work other than posting chapter by chapter online (though these days we can even publish online). My goal (if I’m still alive by then, we live in dangerous times) is to complete the one singular novel (I have many completed stories online already, but not this one) that I will take the time to publish the old school way (though it’s actually expensive to do); and to then create a comic version of it (which I thought I could do side by side until I began to realize that I would re-write this novel over and over again until satisfied and those changes would affect the comic, so I might as well wait until I complete the story first instead).

[lidiash]

Congratulations on DD! That's a massive piece!

[cherrystark]

I wish you luck on your goal for traditional publish. I still wouldn't discount publishing your novel online or even bits of it for feedback. I do publish my story chapter by chapter. While it doesn't work for everybody, it helps me keep up my momentum and keep writing. When I do present a chapter that I need feedback on, the comments in chapter 2 won't change what I have planned in chapter 11.

As long as you find the style that works best for your, that's most important.

[therosesword]

I still wouldn't discount publishing your novel online or even bits of it for feedback.

Although I tend to have a completed work I have to agree with the online feedback. I've had a few things readers have caught that I, and my beta readers, have missed. One of my readers (not a regular Tapas reader but brought in by my other work) has found things in well established writers' works. She's just got this incredible nose for it. LOL.

Regarding publishing online, a couple writers I know recently have gotten their work back from their traditional publisher and are managing it all now on their own via online and are much happier. But... they were traditionally published before with decent publishers so they've got some solid ground work with how to do things. They just didn't like the teensy standard cut you get with traditional publishing.