Consistency/Passion

[courtneyartstuf]

So i'm someone who gets excited about an idea and wants to jump right in. I get so wrapped up that I burn myself out on the first chapter. Even after a break, I don't ever have the same passion. I think that part of the reason that is is because most of the projects I've worked on have been comedies and there hasn't been a big, in-depth story to tell.

Now I've got a big, in-depth story I want to tell but I'm afraid to start because I'm afraid I'm going to burn out and not finish. "Well, if you don't have passion to finish the story then is it really that good or do you really like it that much?" I do really like this story and I'm passionate about it but I have a problem with creating work consistently.

If I love something enough, I'm going to draw it but it's almost like I need to be more accountable. Like I need people around me to ask me about it and help me stay passionate.

Sometimes I think it's doubt or fatigue or even sometimes depression. I want to do this as a career but if I can't create constantly on my own then how could I expect to do it for someone else?

Maybe it's a distraction issue?

Does anyone else have this problem?
How do you work through it?
Any advice?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope this can help others too.

(I know that's a lot but I'm trying to cover all the bases I guess. It's not just one problem.)

[carloswebcomic]

Discipline with some discipline, add a dash of discipline and serve with some discipline. Put your head down and just work... and that's advise from someone with attention deficit disorder.

[Tanisha]

If I love something enough, I'm going to draw it but it's almost like I need to be more accountable. Like I need people around me to ask me about it and help me stay passionate.

Well...what are you saying then? That if you have don't have any kind of encouragement or feedback from people, you just won't continue? Because that's...not... good. I can understand though since I felt the same way. I went through this exact same thing you are so here how I went about it.
When I made my first comic, I only shared about 5 pages of it online and then gave up since people weren't seeing it, I was getting very harsh but good critiques and bad not so much criticism until I just stopped the comic completely and scrapped the idea. I kept doing that each and everytime. I would have a story I'm really excited about and then I'll make like 5-10 pages of it and then just stop...sometimes I was lazy, sometimes not so confident in the story anymore, other times too scared to share my ideas with people, just...so many things! I actually managed to finished some comics eventually but never shared it online due to not getting feedback and unconfident in my art. But then I came up with another comic that I am now working on now, it was a easier story to work with and a style I was actually proud with. I made the first chapter without posting any pages of it until I was finished with this it. I'm not so sure what made me stick with this story and actually keep going with it. Maybe it was because I've gotten further with my art? My storytelling? I think it's pretty much this site that help the me get enough readers interested, unlike many others, so that I never lost hope in myself and that I now have people actually waiting for a new page to come out.
I rambled a lot but basically my advice to you is to stick to a story you want to tell and make a good chunk of it. Try your very best to make it all the way through because if you're on this site, I think you're in good hands for at least a few people to be interested. If you want people to keep you passionate show your friends or family. My mom literally is super excited for me and wants to see me publish my comic which I probably will do. It's a little hard to give advice on this, you just have to practice and learn how to be consistent.

[okellymx]

I get so wrapped up that I burn myself out

Patience is your problem, take it small and slow. Also, don't try and make your next project as long. I'd say aim for a story that is 5-10 pages. Then finish it. Then 10-15 pages and slowly get longer. I have the same problem as well. You need to finish a story.

[okellymx]

P.S. You don't have to work alone.

[Aspie_Gamer]

best advice by far. Just do it.

[AnnaLandin]

If I love something enough, I'm going to draw it but it's almost like I need to be more accountable. Like I need people around me to ask me about it and help me stay passionate.

Posting online is a good way to do this. People WILL be asking when the next update is coming, and picking a regular schedule means you will feel bound to stick to it.

Also in general, this is a matter of discipline. I'm working on a story now that I love - but it's also really, really long, and there are bits of the process that I find super-boring. Like when I have to draw houses in the background of a bunch of panels, or when I have to draw crowds, or whatever. But I do it anyway. I sit down, I take a deep breath, and I work - and I work until it's done.

The biggest lie people believe about creative pursuits is that it has to be fun and passionate 100% of the time. It isn't. You aren't terrible for feeling bored by some of it, and you aren't wrong for not being super-enthusiastic about it the whole way through. Creating something takes a lot of effort, and it isn't always easy. Sometimes, it's slogging through the boring stuff that gets you there.

And if you DO lose the spark, go back and look at what you've done and try to remember why you started. That reason is still there - you just lost sight of it because you've been doing all the heavy lifting for a while.

[Aspie_Gamer]

To anyone on the fence about making a webcomic, I say just do it. Even if it looks like crap, still do it. Yeah people will give you harsh criticism a lot more than they do praise in the beginning, but we all have to start somewhere right? If writing is your biggest concern, try your hand at making a fan web comic for awhile. Not only is it much easier to write characters that aren't your own, it does help with getting your name out there.

Proof to back up my point: One fan webcomic I like following, Gangster Mama by fellow Tapastic user, author, and acquaintance Shygirl, has like 250 subscribers as its a (NSFW) Super Mario comic. Because of this, her original series, My Dear Rabbit quickly amassed a following of 150 subscribers and its only been around since August.

tl;dr even if your art and writing chops aren't where you want them to be atm, you've got nothing to lose by making a webcomic whether its something original or fan made and a lot to gain as a creator both art wise and story telling wise.

@Tanisha Yeah I hope to get to where you are at right now with my own shoujo webcomic, Life of an Aspie (which I've had floating around in my head cooking for over 4 years now) someday. Right now it's on hiatus because of a guest comic I'm doing for someone else right now. Once that's taken care of, I aim to quickly get back on track with LoaA.

[Tanisha]

Very good advice here! Totally second the fancomics idea!

And thank you, best of luck to you! "Model Student" has been in my head for only about a year so it's my shortest planned comic lol xD If you need any tips on shoujo making though message me about it I'll try my best to help!~^^b

[mariusthered]

I find your post very interesting and the fact that you doubt yourself means one thing..... you are a writer.

no matter if writing or art of other forms we all doubt our talents at times, it's just part of the human condition.

I have been writing stories all my life ( i'm 43) lots of people told me to stop. I have a form of dyslexia that means while I can read and write rather well, I cannot get my head around grammar and sometimes I can look at small words written correctly and my brain will say they are wrong so I have to look it up in a dictionary, this gets annoying but I wont give in because if I do I know the stories I write will be lost and they keep me going.

as for web comics, my web comic goes against the grain of society, based in a society set apart. I don't get lots of likes or comments here or on my own website because I know some people don't want to be seen agreeing with some of the points I make about society. but I keep going, why ? not because I don't care what other are saying or not saying but because I enjoy bringing life to my characters, and they should be allowed to be read. fans come and go but if you truly love what you are writing about that love between you and your creations will only grow stronger.

good luck with your project.

Aron.

[ashriott]

I used to have this same issue, apart from being burnt out, one of the main reasons I stop after "chapter 1" is due to bad storytelling, scripting and plot holes. While I have the basic outline of the story, I tended to wing the details. I avoided continuing the story, blaming it on writer's block. Eventually, realising how bad the story was after a long period of time. Also, I was too young back then. Either way, having taken some time to write out a very detailed chapter summary my story from start to finish, has helped me somehow. Maybe it's the thought that there's this comic waiting to be drawn? While I'm still changing bits here and there and I go, having the story fleshed out has given me a lot of motivation. I'm not sure if this will help you but it may be worth a shot. However, depending on how long or complex your story is, this process may take a lot of time and effort as well.

As above posters have mentioned, discipline! I've learned that myself over some years of on/off webcomicking. It can get exciting when you come up with a new idea and want to draw it all asap, but if you're working on an in-depth, long form comic, I definitely suggest to pace it.

[UndefinableCreature]

Well, Ive been there.
You gotta build some discipline, if youre not much of an action oriented person.. but which writer/artist is one?(noneormaybejustafew)
Personally, passion and consistency is linked to the purpose. I always ask myself on the purpose of my art/writing. Though, that can be rather terrifying.

[ToonDoctor]

One thing that works, drop television watching/netflix. You'll gain more time to work on your projects and that may be what you need to get going and to continue to deliver. I frequently say no to invitations to go out from friends. Now, they just accept that I'm working on my comic.

I'm not a fan of doing fan comics because of the legalities and the fact that you're investing in someone else's world/project instead of yourself. Legally, unauthorized fan comics is no better than that porn guy who keeps stealing Tapastic comics to resell them. You're still profiting from someone else's work

[okellymx]

P.P.S Try to reward yourself for doing the boring stuff or anything really. If you want to watch tv, draw a page for every hour of tv you watch.

[Marton]

I feel the same way. My tip; just do it. If you lose interest mid way, you can look back at it and see what went wrong. I've quit several webcomics to start a new better one. I don't think any webcomic artist haven't been through this.

[maripazvillar2004]

Yes, yes and YES. I agree completely.

The biggest lie people believe about creative pursuits is that it has to be fun and passionate 100% of the time. It isn't. You aren't terrible for feeling bored by some of it, and you aren't wrong for not being super-enthusiastic about it the whole way through. Creating something takes a lot of effort, and it isn't always easy. Sometimes, it's slogging through the boring stuff that gets you there.

[Luie]

Nope, nope.

Burnout is a plague that can strike any one of us. Creativity starts with inspiration, flows with motivation, sinks into levels of insanity, and ends with burnout. Think of it like a high, or a jog. You get all worked up and excited and then your brain gets tired. But you can control this. Creative highs are the point of creativity, so you need to pace the work around it. The majority of the work comes from the script and thumb-nailing, and I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say you can't wait to work on pages and post them. So plan out the workload. Get the whole script and thumb-nailing done. Sit on it a while. Take time on it, do as much as you want. Revise to your heart's content, get brunt out and set it aside to look at it later. Then get some input from others and do your final edits. And finally the next time you feel that spark of inspiration, do your first page. Do as many pages as you want until you burn out again. Then pick it back up when you feel like it. Get a whole chapter done or so.

Then when that's done, post one or two pages a week. This will make it look like you're consistent even if you're not, and finally posting your comic will give you the inspiration to start on chapter 2. A lot of comic artists don't work consistently, so adding buffer pages will fill in that gap while you're burnt out. And if the buffer runs short, just be honest and let your readers know what's up. We all know what burnout feels like. c: