How do you find motivation?

katieomnom 2016-10-31 00:42:04 UTC #1

Hello! I'm fairly new to Tapastic (a few months of posting, anyway) and definitely new to the forums! I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed, I just find myself in a rut and am unsure of how to go from here...

3 years ago, I started taking comic-making seriously and began writing a story that I was thoroughly enjoying. I got very into it, and got to learn just how much work goes into such a project! After a few months, I was able to produce 2 chapters, and then... my boyfriend broke up with me. I know how random and irrelevant that sounds, but after a very long relationship, I was devastated. I stopped drawing altogether for the longest time, and it was ages before I started to act like me again. Along the line, I started developing new stories that I loved very dearly and eventually started drawing some of those too!

I found Tapastic by chance a few months ago, and thought "Oh, why not? I may get a viewer of two!" I posted my original comic, and was pleased to see that I got more than a few subscribers! (still not a lot, that story only has around 80 right now, but that's far more than I ever expected!) And that got me excited to work on comics again! I slowly started posting more of that comic, and was very excited to share the new projects I'd started!

Unfortunately, compared to the first one, no one seems to have taken notice of my new story. I find this a tad depressing, it's the story I'm working on currently, and I think it's actually by far better than my older one anyway! I still love the older story dearly, but everytime I work on it, I just recall all of the dread that came with it last time... I know history isn't bound to repeat itself, but working on it just depresses me, especially when I have new and (I think) better ideas! I suppose I am jumping the gun a bit, I only have the Prologue of the new story posted, but I got roughly 20 followers the first day I posted my older one! (The new one has 5)

So now I'm just curious as to what to do... Do I follow what I want to do, and continue my new story? Or do I think of the fans, and continue the older one first? If I do that, what are ways to motivate myself to work on it? What are ways that you use to motivate? Sorry for the long post, I just find myself desperate looking for advice...

Also, I suppose I can use this as a small tool to shamelessly self-promote, while I'm at it. =P A Piemakers Tale is the new story that I'm starting... If you'd like, feel free to take a look and let me know if it's worth continuing~ Thanks for reading!

dojo 2016-10-31 01:39:36 UTC #2

Honestly you'll be happier in the long run if you work on the projects you personally enjoy doing. The whole "not as many people like my new thing as they did my older thing" really isn't that uncommon a thing, and is just how things go sometimes, but I don't think that should discourage you from focusing more on the newer thing, especially since it sounds like a pretty personal reason for you not to want to keep up with the older one. So much of projects getting noticed early on and subscribers "pouring" in is based on luck that you shouldn't base what you do on whether lightning strikes twice or not. (I haven't been on taptastic that long either, but I have been on the internet for a long time, and pretty much any website that does the whole subscribe/follow system is kinda like that).

So yeah, my advice to you is stick with the project that doesn't have personal baggage attached to it. I think you'll be happier in the long run, and you won't have to try and force motivation. I personally don't feel like it's worth the trouble making yourself do something with personal baggage attached especially since you really don't know if those negative feelings that keep cropping up when you work on it are ever going to go away. And just from my own experience forcing myself to do things like that, it more often than not just makes things worse.

And try not to worry about your follower count. Just keep working and putting yourself out there. You already said you love your new story and that's already a great start, and I'm sure it'll show in your work. People will see that, and eventually they will come. Just keep truckin', pal!

shazzbaa 2016-10-31 01:58:38 UTC #3

No, this isn't irrelevant at all! :< It really does change how you look at your work and how you feel about developing it. I think when something like this happens and it's life-altering in that way, it changes some part of you, so that it can be hard to identify with the voice you had before it happened, and hard to keep telling that story.

20 followers on the first day seems anomalous to me, honestly. You were super fortunate -- that doesn't usually happen! Don't feel bad about not being able to follow that exact performance!

But when I started my second comic and ended my first one, there was probably a year of people telling me how much they missed my first one, and asking me to please, pleeeeease consider starting my first comic back up again, or doing a sequel to that comic. But after going for a few years, there are more and more people who know me more for the new work that I'm passionate about now, and people who've found me because of my new work, and people who are excited about my new comic. I don't think it's a bad sign to have that kind of discrepancy of interest when you start a new project -- just know that it's always gonna take time to build up a new comic to the place your old one was!

(if you're not planning to continue your old comic, though -- it probably wouldn't hurt to put up an episode in your old series once it's done, letting people know that this series won't continue, but you have a new series that's going strong that they should check out! People on mobile especially will often not get notifications, and a lot of folks miss announcements in the descriptions.)

hushicho 2016-10-31 02:56:40 UTC #4

As others have said, it's your choice -- and it should always be your choice -- as to which story you really want to follow and keep doing. Whether from a personal standpoint of wanting to do one story much more than the other, or from a professional standpoint of one series not giving the returns you need to consider it viable, it's a call that only you can make.

I'd heard "inspiration is for amateurs" so many times over the years, and I always resented it when I heard it. I think that is, in large part, because of its fairly objectionable wording. What the oft-quoted saying means is not meant to be as denigratory as it seems. It's just saying that one learns to find motivation as one grows and develops as a creator. Early on, many of us rely on inspiration, which is a fairly fickle force! As we go, usually inspiration becomes a luxury: it's great to have it, but it's not essential for creation.

Music, especially certain types of music, tends to help with the creative flow. Some creators find that setting up their workspace for optimum efficiency can help, and decor can certainly have an effect on creativity too. Of course, getting enough sleep, eating fulfilling and nutritious foods, and the basics can be a big help too.

It can be a good idea to be able to tune out the world sometimes. One thing that works for me is setting up the right music and then putting on my favorite set of headphones. But your preferred setup may vary widely from my own! I just recommend trying some things that make sense to you and seeing which ones work and which ones don't work so much. Even if something doesn't work in one setup, it might work in another one, or at another time. Keep a list of all the things you've tried, and maybe try them out later, giving them a couple of chances, before writing them off.

I hope this helps! Keep on creating!

katieomnom 2016-10-31 03:54:34 UTC #5

Thanks for the Positive Vibes, guys! It already helps a lot! =3 I guess I can clarify a little, when said boyfriend broke up with me at that time, he stated that a large part of it was because I was more devoted to my comics than I was to him. Looking back on it now, that was kind of immature on his part, but still understandable. At the time though, it devastated me, and really put the sour taste in my mouth that my comic was the reason he left.

A year ago, he made it clear that he was sorry for his leaving and that he understands that comics are my passion, so he's much more supportive of them now! As well as I make sure to make time for all of the important people in my life, to balance it out... Needless to say, we've been back together for a year now, and things are much better!

I do plan on continuing this comic one day, and have been trying to do it so far for the 'Scribers... But you can really see the quality in my artwork go downhill, and I can tell the passion is almost nonexistent. I'll probably just let them know that this comic will be on hiatus, or at least updated rarely, so I can focus on my more current passion!

And I do love listening to music while working. xD I have separate playlists for each story/story arc I'm working on, just to help get me in the mood... Also, I've learned that audio books help. If I'm listening to something while I'm drawing, it tends to make me focus on detail much better! I love it!

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! =3

mariusthered 2016-10-31 05:59:01 UTC #6

well after seeing your lovely artwork i wouldn't get too down. the fans and followers will come in time just stick with it and get motivation from just understanding that you are a creator. without you the world of your story cannot continue (so don't give up and leave your characters frozen in limbo! ) good luck

shaneoid77 2016-10-31 10:44:53 UTC #7

This. All of this.

As for traffic, try advertising your Tapastic link outside of the site over social media

Fox_Den7 2016-10-31 14:37:14 UTC #8

Even though I don't have a lot of subscribers, my motivation is creating my stories into life and just knowing people look at it, they don't have to subscribe. But just knowing people take the time to look at my comic is motivation enough.

VexinglyYours 2016-10-31 16:24:01 UTC #9

traumatic things like breakups will do this to you. i had a brief pause in my comic for two weeks after a bridge-burning with an abusive friend made me feel horrible. but a way i motivate myself when i feel like shit and can't produce art is well... no one is going to be able to tell my story except for me. if i let myself get stuck at a brick wall, my stories can't be told. so i just gotta persevere and climb.

UzukiCheverie 2016-10-31 16:48:15 UTC #10

Motivation is fleeting. It chooses when it wants to work for you - you can't force it, though.

So instead of finding motivation, I made motivation my bitch.

jamelin 2016-10-31 21:38:44 UTC #11

Well I think you should do what you like best.
If you like to do the new story, draw the new one. Maybe later you will like the other story again or you can rework it.

If briefly read the beginnings of your comics. Your drawings look similar in both stories. The themes seem different but similar in a way. But the characters are presented totally different in your stories. Kachie and her friend show their emotions really good in a short time. When I read it, I get the idea of the character. That's not the case in your new story. At least I don't get the characters intentions. Why does Si wants to hunt the monster. Does he want to impress someone? Similar thing for Kat. In her first appearance she talks about a monster and the others don't listen. That's it. There is no thought of her, that her brother was there or that she is absolutely sure there is a monster there.
For many readers the characters need to be somehow fascinating. This can also be fascinating simple/stupid like the random adventure character that wants to be the best at whatever but really struggles with the normal life. But the readers have to understand what type of character there is. One cannot get all enthusiastic and cheer for a character when one doesn't know what the goal. I think this is one reason why fewer people subscribed to the second story. Others are of course luck.

I myself have some motivation problems. My biggest problem is that I get annoyed by my characters. Yes, I love them but when I really draw their story like every day I get totally annoyed. It seems like with siblings. The sibling that is on vacation or lives far away is awesome but the one you have to live with is the horror...
What I do there is drawing short stories. Every time I just don't want to draw the characters of the longer story I draw a bit of the short story. When they are finished I publish them.

spooktacularprize 2016-11-01 00:36:55 UTC #12

Motivation from me comes from a variety of different sources; my friends who enjoy my comic (some of them who know the "full" story and tend to be more invested than a regular subscriber or stranger); the few readers who do participate - it tends to be a jumble whether i'm gaining or losing subs per week, I can gain 5+ in one week and then lose them all the next week, so motivation in that regard tends to come and go.

So the "regular" readers are what really motivate me; the readers that always like/comment, that I know have been reading since the beginning; the readers that have something nice to say; sometimes out of nowhere a really beautiful and meaningful comment happens and I just get so excited and I know that that are people who will like it even if it's not everyone's bag.

Listening to music that reminds me of the story and helping me to remember why I created it in the first place and inspiration for upcoming scenes always motivates me, because I want to get there.

There are 5 people who like your story and chose to follow it; 5 now, but have you advertised a lot? Subs here are a little harder to come by without advertising; and those 5 people are just the beginning of what could be many more people who really like what you do; there is a fan for every piece of media out there. Marketing can be difficult, I'm bad at it myself, but you will find an audience, I'm sure, if you keep putting yourself out there, even if it's not huge; or if there's not many at first!