How do you create webnovels without burnout or losing motivation?

[marihadalamb]

This is a personal question for all webcomic artists out there. What keeps you from getting demotivated from your project?

I'm sure people feel this way towards creating novels too. I hope to one day convert my novels into webcomics, whether through a team or by myself, but I've always wondered how people are able to draw them daily. This is less about giving advice and more about hearing your personal ways of dealing with it!

[cherrystark]

Writer here. I used to have a problem with finishing stories. I had the grand aspiration to write a novel but never finished it. I struggled for weeks during the rewriting process to turn my 20k word story into a novel. The plot takes place over maybe a week. There was no way I could realistically adapt the plot into a full-length novel. Then I decided to write it like a TV show and problem solved. Adapting my writing style gave me unlimited options for story potential, so I'm not stuck living in one plot line forever. Every new story in the series brings out new challenges and new adventures, so it keeps me motivated.

[Five]

I also hope to make my novel a webtoon one day too lol, so we have the same dream. Anyway, back to the question. I help myself not lose motivation by recalling the vast amount of people (realistically, maybe 10) that are rooting for me to make it in this career, so yeah, when I do that, I feel like I owe it to them to not give up. Might work for you too, I hope.

[Five]

Honestly, I dunno how I did it, but I wrote a whole 30k word vol 1 for my novel and the whole plot of the volume was just 2 days 🤣.

[cherrystark]

I get it. It took months to figure out part one. I knew the plot of part 2 after an hour walk

[SoftWonderBun]

Webcomic artist here!

Like a lot of people, I imagine, once I've got the idea is out of my in a cohesive shape I sit on it for a while. Work on character sheets, environments, etc. and if I'm still excited by it once I've done all my pre-production I know I've got something.

While working on it, I try to fall back on my skills and just get the work done. Some pages are more exciting than others. Some pages are more challenges than others. Keeping what you want to do in balance with what your skills are will help you go a long way. I also give myself 'break' pages. So I will make some pages just one big illustration or do a simple 4 panel grid so I can keep the story progressing forward without burning myself out doing the most on every page.

I would say if your are going to split you time between comics and novels I would think about what is better as a novel or as a comic. More over what are you willing to draw as opposed to just writing about. Just to give an example, I've got a story that take place for major portions in a gym and boxing arenas. I would rather do ANYTHING ELSE then draw gym equipment/boxing rings/crowed arena scenes so I know that story is best left as a novel instead of a comic.

[allisoncandraw]

I'm a webcomic artist, and admittedly motivation can be hard to find sometimes when it comes to making art. But I've had a really good experience with my series so far with very few instances of art block/lack of motivation.

I purposely chose a 4-panel slice of life series because 1. It's enjoyable for me to create and 2. It's low pressure in comparison to a more "serious" graphic novel. Because the strips are short, I'm also able to make them several weeks in advance. This gives me a nice buffer so I can take a break if I need without sacrificing my update schedule.

[SoftWonderBun]

I find for me I feel worse when I'm not working so I don't know if I've got a motivation 'problem'. If anything I have a hard time stopping and taking a break for a long time because I want to see it done and outside of my head.

My comics are very 'niche' so I make them for me and tell the story I wanna tell because the pool of outside interest is small-ish. Regardless, I'm gonna do it for me at the end of the day. I'm not very beholden to viewers expecting fast updates so my backlog is literally a year plus ahead of where I'm currently working with how I've got my update schedule set up.

[marihadalamb]

I find for me I feel worse when I'm not working so I don't know if I've got a motivation 'problem'. If anything I have a hard time stopping and taking a break for a long time because I want to see it done and outside of my head.

Oh, I have the exact same issue!

A lot of it for me just comes down to knowing my passion lies in writing more than art. I know where my limits with art stand and I find drawing my characters once a week or two is a lot more productive for me than attempting a comic. I'm striving to get up to that point later on, though.

Thank you for your input!

[marihadalamb]

I never thought about it that way! A 4-panel slice of life sounds lovely to read. I currently have in mind doing koma panels for comedy relief for my novels. Thanks for giving your personal experience ^^

[XiuLyn_12]

Artist and author here. I'll be sharing my personal experience about having to draw every day.

Yes, I do get demotivated, even burnout at some point. But what keeps me going and able to draw almost every day is that I'm doing what I like. I make a story of my preference and interest, and draw in the style and design I like. You get less burnout and out of motivation if you're doing something you like.
Also, I don't actually draw my comics daily. Since I'm not an official creator, I can update whenever I'm comfortable with it. So, I usually do other things in the weekends instead of forcing yourself to work everyday~

[allisoncandraw]

Sure thing! Happy to share I like the idea of the comic relief panels, I say go for it!

[VibrantFox]

I'm an artist and writer but I've already gone through pretty severe burnout but one thing that's made things easier in my second go round has been writing things that are very self indulgent and being "obsessed" with my characters. Not only because of external advice but my own motivations I've made it a point to do things that make me happy first and then for others second so creating characters and stories that i really enjoy and know I'll be invested in and drawing in ways that I like.

If anything seeing other folks who do the same is what encourages me to stay on that path and not feel like I'm screwing up or missing out either because i know that with having fun with what i do it makes things easier to bear and even then i'm willing to take time and put effort because i love my work and want the best for these lil people living in my head (plus it makes self talks fun )

[DarkSena]

As an artist here I'd like to say that you cannot avoid burnouts and that works for all of us... novelists and artists. Honestly just like life also creating comes with huge up and downs and you're going to get to experience terrible lows while creating something which is going on for a very long period of time. You cannot really avoid it, but you have to learn how to live with that.

Even if you comic doesn't do well in terms of numbers, you always have to remember for whom you're creating for. It's for yourself and you're bringing something out with a huge value so as long you're enjoy your story, then this is a wonderful reason to keep up with it. That's what I do tell myself when I find myself at the brink of dropping my series.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I don't draw daily, but I have been working on my comic for 2 years (yes, my first upload was August 2021 but I've been working on it for a few months before that :P), which is the longest I've stuck with a project. And I'm confident I'll be able to stick with it for many more years after that. Why?

Because I strongly feel that my comic needs to exist in the world. It carries messages I want to shout from the rooftops. I've scoured the net far and wide for other stories that say the same things, and was left wanting. Even stories that address similar themes aren't approaching it from my angle, addressing the nuances I want to emphasize.

I'm not 100% motivated 100% of the time. But I think it's okay to have lapses in motivation. I can drop it for week, month, even years, but as long as I'm still breathing, I can always pick it back up. And as long as the story still matters to me, I WILL pick it back up.

[Kuma]

I write for a living, so it has turned into an habit for me. The only reason because I shifted from weekly to one chapter each 2 weeks is because I'm actually having more work on my day job so I don't have the physical time to write as much my novel as I want to.

To me the trigger to write is knowing I have to do it. Not just that I want to (Which I want, a lot) but also that I have to.

[YS_og]

Im 300k words into my current and only web novel (on 3rd arc) and its been almost 2 years into it. I stay on it consistently because I dont ever allow myself to entertain other novel ideas or anything else, and talking to a buddy of mine who helped design most of the plot keeps my direction steady and ideas fresh. Writing is definitely easier with someone keeping you on your feet.

Ah, I also reward myself with things if I can write 500 words a day at least.

[SoaringMoon]

So far, it has been really, forcing the habit of doing the thing regardless if I want to or not.

Thankfully, I haven't resisted that feeling as far as I can tell. Once you get into the mentality that it is something you have to do, like any other thing in your life; you are pretty good to go. What @YS_og said about rewarding yourself after accomplishing the task at hand totally works. However, once you build it up as a habit forming exercise; it goes from "I really don't want to do this." to "I should get this done before I make breakfast so I don't have to do it later."

This only really works if what you portion for yourself is only an hour or two. If you don't have any other obligations, like a 9-5 job for example. Treat it like one. Sit down at 9 o'clock, force yourself to do your project for 2 hours. Take a 15 minute brake. Do 2 more hours. Then take your 30 minute (or 1 hour if you feel like spoiling yourself) lunch break. 2 hours working, 15 minute break. 2 hours working... only then are you allowed your leisure time.

Everyone knows about trading their time to money.
Some people know about trading their money to help themselves.
Almost nobody knows about trading their time to help themselves.

[Mallory]

I got pretty burned out on Engram, but it was a combination of making this way too difficult for myself by indulging my perfectionism, and also having an injury that made it physically painful to draw. So when my pain got too high, all I got to do was sit there and ruminate about all the things I needed to change until I couldn't take it anymore. I still want to work on it, but I just built up enough mental anxiety about it that I needed a break. I've worked with clients in the past where there was an "ugh, I don't wanna draw this" feeling, but that can be dealt with by powering through. What I feel with the burnout is... it's more similar to the panic attacks I used to feel when I first got injured.

So I'm just letting myself work on it a little bit at a time, and I'm just experimenting with ways of making it fun for myself again. I think that's the key, and it's unfortunately not something that can be written down as concrete steps to follow. You have to keep yourself accountable, but also recognize when you're piling on too much. Setting goals you can achieve and feel good about without putting yourself through a wringer, so that it's still more fun and rewarding than a chore that hangs over your head every day.

[N1ghtm4r3]

i try and pace myself working on it, and at times taking a break from working on it so i can not be to bored of it