How did you guys get confident enough in your story to start it?

[kybrehowe]

Great question, aqua03!

To be honest, I didn't have confidence at all when I first started publishing on Tapas. I kept telling myself "The story's not finished. I'm still unsure how it will all end. I need to work on the lore more."

And that was my problem -- I was so much of a perfectionist that I kept myself from the most crucial aspect of artistry, which was to take a dang step forward.

We live in a wonderful era for the arts, especially for writing and illustrating, because we can publish an amiable product. True art is like a living being: it always changes and is improved upon. So we have the freedom to go ahead and publish, even if we may not have all of our shit together. Having that support system of readers behind your back truly becomes your main drive as you push forward to finish your story.

So do I know how my story will end? I got an idea, but only time will tell. In the meantime, allow the readers to enjoy the ride along with you, because storytelling is all about the journey, anyhow. And if you ever need to go back and edit a page or two, go right on ahead! It will only make your storytelling that much stronger.

[fleohr]

I was having a lack of confidence when I started working on a comic for LW's contest. First, I tried to make a romance, then a thriller, and finally a horror + thriller. The reason I kept changing is because I always thought my ideas weren't good enough or someone already made something similar or even I'm overthinking about the plot

Recently, I realized that I don't always have to make something that is logical or makes sense. So I can let my creative side try to make something unusual, but cringe

There's a comic called "Tales of Unusual" the Beauty Water episode is the most non-logical I've read, but the story is pretty good and funny in some parts

TL;DR Since comics are fictions based on something we read/experienced, we can choose to change it and make a complete different story, even if it's non-logical and unlike to happen

[NickRowler]

I think I was just really really sad and I felt like was drawing. So I kept going and going until I made about 40 pages, I then took a break then came back and did another 40 pages. I was having a hard time telling people what was happening to me IRL, so I posted the comic as my cry for help.

I don't think my way is necessarily the best way but that is how I got used to posting.

[insomniascrawl]

I never did get confident, I just did it, cuz if you never do it... you just never do it.

[mrtoontastic]

Usually, especially when you're a writer and artist on comic strips and novels. The ideas for expansion is always a drive for me. Sometimes, the confidence to start a story often comes from the comic strips I've drawn and the characters or situations I shed some light on in the past, making them expansion-worthy when I started writing. Sometimes, its what you've done in the past which helps kick-start an idea for a story. Think of it as, "I have characters that can do A (save the world/fight monsters/cause trouble among themselves and others), and I have characters or settings that are B (villains/misunderstood outcasts/vindictive/domineering/otherworldly). What would happen if I take characters from A and put them in B?)" And then the rest kinda kicks off from there! Another thing that can help immensely is to read and watch some of your favorite movies and/or books. They often can graze on a topic you were thinking of, but can give you inspiration to either make it your own or expand upon ideas that were glossed over.

[Shihwi]

I am never confident enough in the stories I make. But if you don't make them and let others see it, I think you are hindering yourself from the opportunity of learning new things and progressing as an artist. So, I say, don't beat yourself too much towards perfection. You will get there.

Just do it. You'll improve along the way. And there is no other thing more satisfying than watching yourself from day one until now. You'll never know the results if you don't have anything to show to begin with

Hope this helped. Because it did when one of my friends said the same sentiment to me.

[zigmenthotep]

I just don't care and start anyway, the worst story written is still better than the best only dreamed of.

[Wumbl]

I basically get most of my confidence from internal satisfaction with my work, and if I need it, proofreading.

As far as I'm concerned once the script is at least 50-60% done you're ready to start drawing.

The only thing that might cause a slight lapse in confidence for me is that there might be small errors that I haven't noticed. That's why I mentioned proofreading! Having a co-writer or even just a friend to flip through your script and check for mistakes as well as give you some feedback can help you get into the zone.

[aqua03]

Thank you so much for all the advice and help guys! It really means a lot to me.

Also, one other problem I realized I have when it comes to starting is the fact I love coming up with ideas and fleshing them out, but when it comes to putting those ideas into an actually story, I get cold feet and can't flesh them out in an interesting manner for a full story. Do any of you guys struggle with that?

[eochoa92]

I like to handwrite my drafts.
I'll have several handwritten pages of edits with scribbles/doodles, notes on the sides, etc that I'll go through before deciding to type up a story.
That's sort of my process.
And each draft looks different. I can copy something from a previous draft, but stop middway because I thought of something better and follow through on that. It's stuff like that which makes me prefer handwriting to typing. It's a bit sloppy, yes, but seems to work for me.

[monotone_ink]

I started by creating a one-shot/focusing on shorter stories - when you do this, you have a better sense of what you're trying to aim for, and you'll find it easier to gauge what people find interesting in your work - it was only then that I really tackled the bigger project.

If you want confidence in your story before starting, one thing you should establish is the ending of your story - this way, you'll never get lost, as you'll always have some sort of destination for your story to go towards.

[LNRDink]

I think a lot of people have already hit the nail pretty much dead on the head but I don't think it's healthy to build confidence to release your stories. In fact, I believe you must reach such a point that you stop caring about what you write.

Like, no matter what you do, someone will find your writing/drawing and want to eviscerate it. Of course, you don't want that to happen while you're creating it but, once you finish it, you have to be okay tossing that baby to the wolves and just keep running.

[fnflgbtcomics]

Our comics are dual-written by myself and my partner. We talk a lot about the characters and their stories, and sort of "banter" back and forth to feel out their dialogue.
It's difficult to resist starting a story when you really get that pumped for it and you're having that much fun with it. I find that, after awhile, it's something that I end up doing because I'm so excited to show everyone else what I've been thinking of, ahha. Of course, that doesn't mean it's ready, or even great, but it makes me happy so I assume that others will feel the same.

[Velome]

I never did, lol!

The comic I'm currently drawing was my third attempt since the other two stories were poorly planned. I only made one storyboard of each previous story and in that moment I realized the characters were weak. For some reason I didn't feel that with the characters of the comic I'm working on now.

[erma]

I didn't have much confidence at all when I started my series, to be honest! I think it was a combination of unexpected free time between college programs, and the fact that I'd been saying "I'm gonna post a comic one day" for years. With those two things combined, I told myself to just go for it. Something I saw going around recently on twitter was something like this: "the beginning of your first comic is going to be far from perfect, but there is no "perfect" time to start your comic." This is definitely true for me - but it's a (very fun!) learning experience, and I think as long as you're enjoying it and asking for feedback when necessary, you should be fine!

[Jenny-Toons]

It's all about love.

The stories I work on are stories I want to see finished to the end. Of course, I do want other people to see them because story-telling is just in my blood.

I'm confident that not everyone will like my work.

But I'm also confident that I will like it, and I guess in the end, that matters more to me.

So what kinda drives me to get working on the script and the pages is my own love for the story. I want to see those stories come to life, and I personally wanna read them once they're finished. For me, as long as I am my biggest fan, I can keep working on my stories and improve them as I go along.

I can definitely see why it can be hard, especially if you go into comics with also the purpose of finding an audience. It's downright scary sometimes because hey -- most of us know not everyone will love our stories as much as we do. Sometimes, people will tear into your stories like sharks.

I guess my way of seeing it is that love has to be your confidence. It's not always about how well you drew the panels or how perfect the writing is. All of that can be improved with time and effort.

Sometimes, it's more or less the case of "do I love this story enough to follow through?"

If the answer is yes -- you got it made

Even if you are your biggest fan, that's still a fan in my book. And that's what can get a story finished.

[Hodge]

Kinda just went "JUST DO IT!!" and then fail, learn, try again, and repeat. Don't really know if I'm confidant, it's more just sheer desperation and hoping for the best.

[lunaartemisasama]

What really got me in trying to do webcomics was Questionable Content, for me is not a matter of confidence but a matter of guts. I feel if you enjoy what you do and continue trying to improve and don't give up you will get to a point when you will think, wow! did I really made that? did I really improve so much? or did I really made a complete webcomic by myself? (I am better giving advice than following them XD).

[aqua03]

Again, thank you all for the wonderful encouragement and advice! I am thinking of maybe making an unrelated one-shot as practice, but I'll keep working on both and see how I feel and what happens.

[ar-ninetysix]

Also, one other problem I realized I have when it comes to starting is the fact I love coming up with ideas and fleshing them out, but when it comes to putting those ideas into an actually story, I get cold feet and can't flesh them out in an interesting manner for a full story. Do any of you guys struggle with that?

I run into this idea of having ideas and not knowing what to do with them often. What works for me is knowing what I can't afford to leave out. It's fine to have world-building lore or details, but I personally feel like.. I should only include it if it's gonna come up in the story later on. If anything, I'd have it be like a bonus page of information or something. Like fun facts, I guess.

If it's ideas for the plot that you're struggling to put into the story.. again, see if you reaaally need it. If so, think about what way makes sense for the idea to be introduced. How do you get there? Is it even possible to get there? Break it down into steps of how to make it work, these individual steps should be easier to incorporate your idea into the story. It'd be like a checklist or a recipe of events.

Here's an example. Say you want a boss fight in a game, how do you come to that point? Have the level dedicated to them. Ok, but is it out in the open? Probably not, hide the level somewhere. But how does the player find it? Hint at it throughout the game, or have a map vaguely telling you where it is. Would be easy to get in once the player finds it? I doubt the boss wants anyone to just walk in, so have the place leading up to it be dangerous or put a locked door where the player needs to find a key. Is this hypothetical key easy to find.. etc.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Overthinking an idea can benefit you at times when you're in a creative space. Try your absolute hardest to see it from the perspective of everyone reading your story, it's not easy because you, yourself, are the writer, and you know the ins and outs of the story, but yeah. Take small steps instead of jumping over the whole staircase. Hope this helps!