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Aug 27

I just write like I am in a fantasy myself. Recently, I started making theme songs for my stories to encourage me to write. Find ways to make writing fun like exploring the areas you want to write about or collecting things that appear in your story. The point is to have fun, while writing. That's what writing for myself defines to me.

Hmm this is difficult question for sure and I can only really respond from experience. I'm guessing your writing and drawing because you do actually enjoy and not because you have some grand idea of becomeing rich off of it like big creators. Yeah it might happen but to be honest their are much easier and less painful ways. Writing for me is more of an obsession and I decided to comit to the one project my brain kept going back to as the one I wanted to share with the public first. I have dozens of other project brewing in my head that I ruminate on and I make a point to have a just a fun day a week for my writing where I do actually write what ever I'm most obsessed about at the moment, while the other days are dedicated to working on my project I'm actually sharing.

Burnout is apart of the process for most creatives and the way I handle it is when I have that writing surge I let it run wild for my project so I can build enough of a backlog for when I reach that burnout stage. It works for me though I know most people reccomend having a consistent writing schedule.

Lol accidently pressed enter I'm still writing more give me a minute to finish

As for writing for yourself just write what you enjoy and not what you think is popular. I think that what people mean when they talk about writing for yourself. You shouldn't care about how the public percieves it so long as you enjoy the story and the characters thats enough. If other like it that's just a bonus.

Just ask youself what you want from you writing and art. Some of my stories have very deep reasoning behind writing them like showcasing change and highlighting certain issues I'm passionate about while others are more superficial like hmm I don't like how this genre depicts x y or z so I'm going to write a story that's how I like so I can enjoy it. It's sound cliche but passion goes a long way in comitting and continuing a project for long periods of time.

The really specific way I keep myself passionate about a project it always having a part of it I'm excited to get to. Like I need to write the buildup to the romance (the boring part) to get to that first kiss (the fun part). Having those little goals of scenes I'm excited for helps me get through the parts that are hard to write.

I think I'm finally done rambling tell me if you have any other questions though I can only help with the writing process since I'm not an artist.

Whether you realize it or not, when you write and when you draw there's always a clear goal in the works that you make. What I believe you should do is step back and visualize your older works. Think, "why do I make this?" "Is it because I wanted attention?" "Are these stories I wanted to tell?" "Do I relate to these characters?" "Who am I writing this for?" "Where do we go when we fall asleep?"

For me to get started on my project, I basically read my old works to see my weakness and improve on it as I write. Especially learning how to not write myself into a corner. After all, I am my own critic.

I hope this helps even just a little.

Edit: When you write a long story, take lots of notes for it. It'll help you in the long run and know that not all of it is going to be in the story. Personally, it was hard for me to write the first few notes but I learned to make it a habit by actually writing down scenes that I won't be working on for a long time. Eventually I just start writing short notes and sometimes doodles.

Edit Edit: Speaking of eventually being on your 20s, I didn't write my story until I was 21 years old. That entire thought process for my story took me four years before I even begin writing my project. I see people who are in their 30s and 40s who still struggles with trying to write and draw what they enjoy. So really, age don't matter when it comes to creating art and stories. It's how you approach breaking out of that cycle. Don't let fear get to you because what we don't see is what we're are afraid of. Once you get past that point you might find that you enjoy writing more than you ever did before.

Draw and write the comic that you would want to read.
You have to be part of that world and forget the outside world, only create things
that you 100% enjoy. When you write or draw something it has to really excite you,
then you know that you are writing for yourself.

I was in a similiar situation, I didn´t have the feeling to write for myself, I was
writing with other people in mind and this is the biggest mistake you can make
as a creator. What does my family or a potential reader say etc. that´s a dead
end street which will lead to work that´s not authentic. What excites you as
a person more than anything? What is the captivating world that you want to create
that you can´t stop thinking about?

You're barely off your mother's teat.

That's what they're for.

No you don't.

Ask yourself if you're doing it because that's the art form you like making, or if you just happen to like the art form and are trying to claim a piece of it for yourself. A lot of people make comics because they saw a comic they really liked and wanted to recreate that feeling for themselves. That feeling was only created after someone put in a swimming pool's worth of blood sweat and tears.

If the effort isn't something you're willing to put in then you don't actually want to make comics, you just want to enjoy them.

It's akin to loving a song and then going to karaoke and thinking you're going to sing it wonderfully. Without vocal training you simply aren't.

That's part of the creation process. You do a tonne of different things until you find the one thing you don't want to move on from.

People will always hate on you for one reason or another. Fuck 'em.

That's what practicing is for. You will suck for a very long time until one day you stop sucking. That's just how it is for everyone. But until you sit down and start grinding it out you will never get better.

The key is to ask specific questions. For example, "How can I write for myself?" is not a specific question.

sounds like you think too much. I suggest spending some time out in a park or any place you associate with relaxation.

Once the thinking gets out of the way, then the "downloads" arrive. I don't know how or why. I don't have complex scientific or spiritual words to describe the process to satisfy someone of high IQ.

That's how I write my stuff. And some people love it. Some hate it. I don't care. As long as it gets this hard to explain satisfaction and feeling of positivity inside me.

Good luck and have fun with your journey :slight_smile:

I dunno but I start to find it fun once I get into it, and suddenly want to keep going even if it was hard to get to that point of starting.

definitely agree with kyupol. sometimes you gotta be no thoughts head empty and just throw things together without worrying about if it looks good or bad or worrying about what people may think

people will hate you for breathing so unless the opinions shared are genuine constructive criticism then forget em

if you're not having fun you gotta figure out why but also dont overthink it so much that it makes creating even harder. if you dont like a show or series dont force yourself to make things for it. go for what you genuinely like. and if its something you dislike see how motivated you are to make a version of it that you would.

the same for ocs and plots. if you're not vibing with it see what you can change to make it into something you do like and for all thats holy do not worry about whether they're a "mary sue" or not. give them 10 billion boyfriends and make them the queen of the school and everyone swoons and the moon turns to watch them or whatever. get silly with it :blep:

that's like i think you do yourself a disservice when you compare yourself to pros in a field. it's fine to be inspired, get ideas from and listen to advice given by professionals but dont let things stick in your head so much that you make yourself feel like you've failed especially if you've barely given yourself a chance to start. so like do things make things bot dont feel burdened by this idea that "if i'm not doing it like them then i'm bad at this" coz it's not true they also had to start someplace and you just gotta ham things out and screw around till you can come up with stuff you like

as for stuff yo do with your notebook i'm personally getting more interested in trying out junk journaling i think it's called or like scrapbooking where you slap stickers and magazine clippings and other bits n bobs onto your notebook pages until you've got something that either looks a total mess or maybe kind of cool. i've also wanted to get like washi tapes and watercolors or just like some good crayolas and stark scribbling with those in notebook pages and see what comes out of it

like i'm slowly marching towards 30 which has been giving me anxiety up the wazoo coz i feel like i've had all this time and i havent accomplished much of anything but also i've got my whole life ahead of me and i've seen people go to and graduate college in their 80s or 90s and start their creative careers in their 50s so the world is big and scary but also anything is possible and that's beautiful so even if you screw up you can try again so i just keep reminding myself that i can try again and i still feel like i'm bad at things but i also know i'm getting better

also don't feel bad if you cant stick to one thing. i've yet to get like an official diagnoses or whatever but i also know for sure that i probably don't have a "neurotypical" brain and i'm really bad at sticking to just one thing. i've currently got maybe 3...4...possibly 5 (i cant count it seems either lol) but like a handful of little story ideas i wanna explore or just ocs who i really like playing with and putting into situations so even if it doesn't become thing "whole big thing" i can still go hey i tried that and it was pretty fun. and i think thats what creativity at it's core is just making stuff and going "huh that was neat" and doing it again and again

that's like i dont think i've sought out with intent any kind of creative advice from people online like in videos or whatever BUT i did stumble across this video of alex hirsch at a book event for the new book of bill that he dropped and it should start at the right timestamp but i though his advice for writers was pretty neat

last thing i think i'll add even though i may have said it already but whatever i'll say it again lol is that there's really no one way to create (except...y'know) but like in the general sense a person has the capacity to make almost anything if they set their mind to it. you just need the idea and the tools and with art and writing it seems complicated but the fun thing is even when you learn the rules the next lesson is to take them break them and bend them to your will (within reason and with some exceptions) but like at the end of the day the point is to just go ham and have fun i think. i've spent a lot of time agonizing over the creative process and whether things i'm making are any good but now i'm just like i make this stuff coz it makes me happy and no one else is gonna make this stuff so i may as well try or something

but i hope you can find the path that works for you and be able to experience that joy of creativity

I think the key is to find the story that matters to you. I think to enjoy the writing process and write for yourself, you have to find a reason that the story is something that you feel you MUST write whether anyone else cares to read the story or not. It makes the characters and their worlds and extension of yourself and your own personal feelings and that makes the world matter to you.

My best example of this in my experience is my novel "Rigamarole." While many of my other stories have parts of the characters that stick out to me and make them things I connect with and feel I have to write,
"Rigamarole" is the sort of story that will always matter to me whether anyone else ever reads the story or not, because of how it ties into the idea of siblings being there for each other through their darkest moments and trying to save each other from a world that isn't kind to them. It's so emotional and so tied to my own story and trauma that this story matters to ME, and whether anyone else thinks it's important, they can't change my view on it.

But this could be the case for anything more fun as well. If you design characters that you just think look really quirky or fun so you enjoy drawing them, then you can write a story for yourself just because it's enjoyable to do so. Don't rush yourself. Look around and see what you like and what interests you, the things you stick with story-wise or character-wise will probably be the ones that you like the most, so you can go from there.

I just love drawing this girl and writing her interactions with her bestie, so I do

So maybe just start by daydreaming up a character that makes you interested in who they are, what they like, what they do in a day, and build your story from there

Wow that’s really helpful. Thanks guys, so basically put, I have to stop think about what’s good and what’s bad about the popular shows, or shows that I like that have too much fame.
I don’t understand what everyone is trying to explain to me… so I have to stop watching my favorite shows? Or does that mean I have to take my mind out of popular shows I like? Basically what were you talking about at that time? And then how can I make my writing suck and make it really good to read and enjoy, not because of any shows or comparisons to popularity that I know of, but because of me having fun? How can I use my journal for this purpose and make it messy?

I’m a perfectionist. What if I don’t want to change anything to my story when I like it? I know change is important, but I don’t want to stick on one style or thing! While I do know what I love and enjoy most for my art and stories, I’m not certain what I want to make and it’s a treacherous journey finding one project I really love the most.

And feedback/critique/advice is too painful (painful because I think and have second thought about my projects, to a point where I never get them back ever again)! I don’t want the feedback because it’s too scary! And being a good writer is my goal when I grow up. How can I overcome the fear of feedback/critique/advice and deal with the negative feedback that comes? And how can I start writing more after a break from feedback that isn’t actually meant to be negative but is actually more useful advice that is explained in a hurtful manner, even though it looks painful? I need to “thicken my skin”.

You don't need to stop watching or enjoying your favorite shows or comics just don't compare your own creations to them. It's okay to draw inspiration from others but you shouldn't try to replicate another's story or experience. Your journey will be uniquely your own regardless. I think the others advice is likely geared towards not comparing yourself to others.

How to make your writing good is mostly practice. You just have to do it. Learn from others, as I said inspiration is fine. And lastly you answered it yourself in the last paragraph getting critiques. Once again the only way to get used to them is to experience them. You can start with people you trust, but if put your work out there someone may comment suggestions about it and your just going to have to deal. I've had a lot of good critiques and bad critiques and for the writer it is their job to know when to listen and when to not. If you have 5 people complaining about the same thing that's something you may want to fix but if it's an outlier complaint it's up to your judgement. When you send your work to someone for critique I find it extra helpful to include what you want them to specifically critique. If you know one character still needs further development in the draft you send you can tell them to ignore that character and only critque for plot comprehension. Or if it's in the early drafts of a comic you can tell them not to focus on the art and only on the story. You can highlight certain sections of a chapter you're uncertain of like if the kiss scene works or if it needs to be more dramatic. You can even have some just look at your dialogue. Giving your critiquer direction is a good way to protect yourself from critques you're not ready for yet. You can ask them to give a light critique with gentle advice or you can go for a harsh one (which is usually more helpful) but it's up to you to give that direction untill you get the experience that lets you have a thicker skin. A lot of us who have that think skin got it through experience.

Another thing I personally do when I get a critique back from someone. I never edit on the same day I read the critiques. I just read through what the other person says and I give it time to absord and for me to grow a little bit of emotional distance. It's okay to take as much time as you need for that too.

As for the journal can't help you there I don't keep one.

And just some unsolicited advice, just from your comments on here I can see your young and seem a little scattered in what you actually want to do with your writing. Try some long term practice projects to find out if you can commit to one before publishing. It'll likely help you figure out what type of projecct you actually want to be working on along with building the discipline needed to work on something long term. If there's still multiple ones and you can't decide you'll still be able to give the forums a brief preview and ask for advice on which one we suggest commiting to first. For myself I had 10 episodes finished berfore I even considered publishing, 15 for the one I actually ended up deciding on. I hope this helped.

I pretty much started my story because I wanted to reat it myself and I didnt find anything similar anywhere :stuck_out_tongue:

I interpreted "Write for yourself" as writing about stuff you care about.

I get with the context of Vivzipop, she like demons and heaven/hell setting and stuff like that, so that is what she makes her stories about.

So instead of going "I heard mermaids are popular, so I will write about that even tho I don't much care for mermaids." you instead find things you do care about and focus on that.

For example, if you are someone who really loves horses, how can you incorporate that interest into a story? You could write about horse riding, wild horses, unicorns, or something silly like a talking horse.

I don’t know what you mean by this and what are you actually talking about for this topic to help me with this. I don’t think I tried intermittence before… is it not making comics regularly? Or what are you talking about? (Not to be rude or anything)…

You just gotta write/ create a story you want to read. There are going to be people who won't like your story, who will criticize you, and beat you down but you just gotta keep on going. I would recommend watching youtube videos on writing like Abbie Emmons or other writers who write novels. After youg et a grasp on writing then switch over to learning how to draw story boards or manga. In my personal opinion the art is important yes, but if the story sucks, I'm not reading it.

Sketchbook thing: I've never once filled a sketchbook...that's a lie I just finished one, but it took years for me to finish it. Sketchbooks are just for sketching and getting your ideas on paper without commitment. If you're so focused on trying to finish a sketchbook, you'll never start your projects. You can sketch while doing it or after or whenever. There's no rule to complete it.

And to make art for yourself is just that. Draw. None of my sketches from my sketchbook sees the internet. Why? Because they don't need to and two because social media is a hassle, and I don't want to constantly upload just to indulge a few followers. I have stories written that have never been published because I like writing them. It satisfies an itch. I have three comics I want to work on LOO, TDD, and POB and including now I'm brainstorming them. That's part of the creative process. You just keep thinking of new things.

I used to go through the same thing you're going through. I was jealous and kept comparing myself. Quit drawing a few times and then continued and quit and continued and then never started my project. I got good at drawing and writing, but I never finished anything. Now, I'm approaching my thirties, and I just want to get it all out there before I croak. You can take hiatus's (that's what a lot of popular webtoon artists do) and just have time to yourself. You don't even have to publish it immediately. You can publish like next year after you have enough backlog and you're enjoying yourself. My story isn't even published yet and I'm just enjoying the ride.

That's how you create for yourself. Creating stories that you want to read and not giving a fuck about anyone else. Enjoying every moment your story comes together. The progress your art is making, the stress from not doing something correctly, the artistic burnout and just playing a video game or going on an episode binge and coming back to the world you created because real life sucks and your babies are your babies.

Creating for other people is going to get old fast and then you'll never be happy with your project.

That will inevitably part of the creative process.

Like mine for instance:
A cute story about a young demi-god hunting down ghosts and monsters with the god of war

to a romance about a demi-god meeting the god of war and being a fated pair while navigating the mortal realm and fighting against those who are against them.

Yeah, it'll change. It's surprising but in the end some changes are for the better.

Context: I'm 31 and have been professionally making comics and assisting the creation of comics since 2015 (so like, 9 years?) and I'm working on a webnovel now too. And its nerve-wracking cause I'm not used to it lol. I've also been trying to reclaim the "creating for my self" thing too.

I'll start with this: You are not even 20 yet. At your age my only concern was making fanart, fanfic, and just getting better at my own craft. Longevity in creating stuff only happens if you have a core seed of enjoyment first.

Then you worry about putting art into the world.

But I don't think you owe the world everything you make. There is art and writing that none but my closest friends have seen and will ever see. And that's because they were truly made for just me.

Professionally speaking, if you make art to sell (or writing) then it's never just truly for you. It'll be made at least a little with an audience in mind. Especially nowadays. So when a professional in the field says they crest for themself, I take it with a grain of salt.

Being scared to share your work is perfectly normal. And when you're as young as you are and at the start of things, you'll feel more self-conscious than anything else. That too, is completely normal! What helped me early on is having an online name that was really unrelated to me. I could post art anonymously and get experience that way. It does not have to be tied to you, you know.

You can experiment and then delete that profile when you feel like it's served it's purpose.

As for the journals and sketch books, they're there just for anything you want. They are the playground that no one else will see unless you let them. I have over 15 sketchbooks and 25+ journals I've filled in the last 20 years.and i don't look at them but they are where a lot of my fertile creative foundation were formed.

In reply to your second post with more questions:
Do not stop watching and enjoying your favorite shows, movies, books, plays, whatever! They are the valuable inspirations and treasures that will keep your creative well full. And honestly at this point, I'd use fanfics to help ease you in to working with characters and story in a fun non-monetized way that will also teach you to become comfortable with feedback.

Writing stories is a long and windy road. It's going to be unique for you. I'm saying this is something that can take decades of time because as a creator you also have to grow and experience life to help inspire stories too. And to get older, wiser, and let your brain finish it's maturation too. (that happens around 25 btw).

Right now, you don't have to change if you don't want to. What's important, I think, is to step back and ask why you want to write in the first place? Do you have story ideas you just want to see manifest by your own hand? Or do you think it has to be shown to others because that's just how it's done (it's not btw, you can horde whatever you want and never show it to no one).

I can also relate to being sensitive to feedback. I've let it lead me astray as much as bolster my resolve over the years. I've had a lot of painful as well as exhilarating experiences in creating art, writing, and even a visual novel demo.

More than anything, give yourself some credit. You're on here talking about it and wanting to improve but you're focusing on a lot of different areas. You're also still learning about yourself, what you like, what you hate, what you're comfortable with, who you are, and who you want to be. That process itself is one that isn't a straight line. Sometimes you loop back on yourself to review and change, and that's okay. And sometimes you feel like you're chugging right ahead when something like burnout slaps you in the head. (went through that two weeks ago in fact and had to change my schedule so I got enough rest and it's genuinely improved my art; who knew). That's life.

Create only what you can create. Create on experiences you know. I'm not talking literally, though that helps, I'm talking emotionally. Even if all of your experience is school and childhood and adolescence, there are things that have made you experience happiness, frustration, sadness, etc.

Sometimes all it takes is latching onto an experience that you feel you can handle at a bit of a distance and putting fictional characters in your shoes and playing the "what if it turned out differently" game. Or writing a story that was solely made to comfort your past self; giving them something you wish you had at the time. I almost exclusively do this myself.

So here are some examples that I hope will encourage you:
1/ I once had someone I liked very much but I couldn't stay with them due to parental disapproval so I broke up. From that painful experience I've been working on a story for more than a decade that started with the question of "what if I had the opportunity and the strength to make it work out?" it's become a precious story that I've already torn down once and had to rebuild due to getting advice from a toxic writing friend. Its been a rough path but I've finally started making it again in the last year. It's called Running Fish. It's on hiatus but I've finished a chunk of chapters and that feels good.

2/ https://m.tapas.io/series/Cake-and-Coffee-Complete/info4 this was the first comic I put on Tapas. It's awful. Just...so bad. The only reason anyone should read it is to point and laugh. But it got done.
https://m.tapas.io/episode/32602385 this is a page from the most recent chapter in a sequel to a comic I made.
In-between these two pieces, there were 8-9 years of professional work, experience, and two of my College years learning animation. (From when I was about 22 to 31 now)

This is to illustrate that you don't get worse at something you're striving for every day. Thinking a lot about a thing is good, but so is just trying stuff and making it.

The joy is in the creating, not sharing, for me. Cause anything that happens when you're done is out of your hands.so it's not something to worry too much about.

I've rambled lol, but i hope this was helpful even in a small way. If anything here wasn't, that's okay. Throw away the advice that doesn't work for you. It won't hurt my feelings haha, I've got work of my own to do.