Just find the fun in it. If you're not having fun creating it, then what's the point? I write for myself first and foremost because I have fun creating stories and exploring different mindsets. Sit down and create something just for you to see, that way there's no worries about what anyone else will think and you won't be subconsciously like 'what if this is a breakout hit??' Just have fun and make something you want to make for no other reason than because you want to make it.

My train of thought has always been to treat goals like steps in a skyscraper stairwell... The bigger goal is at the very top but I'm focusing on the steps directly in front of me. And if I find it's not realistic that I will get to the very top... I enjoy the floor I end up making it to in the end.

Intermediate goals! Set a ten-year goal: Where do I want to be in ten years? And then, cast that aside, because you won't be doing that in ten years, probably. But it's kind of something you can think about in the background and shoot for anyway. That's your dream goal, but your dream will inevitably shift and change and your ultimate goal will not be the same as when you started.

Intermediate goals are different, though. In between now and ten years from now, you should set NON-CONTINUOUS goals for yourself in something like, 1 year from now, 2 years from now, 5 years from now. These goals should not be successive, so that if you fail at your 1-year goal, it won't break the entire thing all at once. But you can kind of have them be connected in terms of building up to that dream ten year goal.

A very vague example of a goal I set for myself in the early 2010s:

• One year from now: Study Japanese a lot and become fluent enough to play
• Three years from now: Go to university in Japan as an exchange student and study Japanese.
• Five years from now: Teach English with the JET Program.
• Ten years from now: Have a real career in Japan.

The one-year goal completely failed, and I did not become fluent in Japanese even as I took university classes for it. But I kept trying for those other goals, and I did succeed; I went to school in Japan and studied Japanese, and I became an English teacher pretty close to the schedule I set out for myself. And then, though it took a very long time, I finally became fluent years after I thought. That final ten-year goal... I'm not sure if I actually want to accomplish it. But it's still there if I want to take it.

Stuff like that, but for your path to being a creator, is what you should aim for. The creative industry is full of twists and turns you don't expect, so it's OK if you don't get a massive animated series and instead get a comic book deal to make a Tarzan tie-in series or something. As long as you have fun and also accomplish something that you think can be proud of.

I've found that aligning creativity around what's already working for me is really a virtue.
Something about making fineart (portraits and hand studies/perspectives) just works out for me and my potential audience.

In other words... "it just somehow fits".

Once I accepted that, I realized it's not about dreaming too big, but building your dreams and commitments around the right foundation for you.
(I believe the same can be down with comics)

I'm starting to realize how much more room and opportunity I have to grow in such a small space which I consider the mark of a healthy pursuit.

At some point all of our brains thought:

“You know what - I’d be really fun to make a comic/write a story!”

And we all ran off to start our projects (big and small) - super excited and happy and inspired!

I doubt we even stopped to think about/care if anyone would actually read it (or maybe we did but we flicked that little doubt demon to Timbuktu) - and we gave it our all and went ahead and started anyway.

Let’s all go back to that. ️

And if you haven’t had that moment yet, then you might have a little demon to get rid of. Jumping in at the deep end head first might knock it off.

And all that other stuff (the fortune, the fame, the memes) I’m sure comes later. When others start to notice your joy and commitment to crafting something you love.

If it doesn’t... meh - that’s cool too. We had some fun - let’s start something new!

Edit: and I know you were excited because I read all of your posts.

there's the saying that if you shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars. And to me that saying is about flexibility. Often as we learn more and more about the things we are pursuing, we learn about what is or isn't reasonable. It's easy to dream up all sorts of things--but then you may realize the path to those things is not the path you are on. Like comics CAN become movies and TV shows, but that's not a normal path for movies and TV shows--that's a film path, which is a totally different career. But if you make a comic it can be a wonderful comic, and may in it's own way fullfill a lot of things for you and for your readers.

So I try to focus on one thing at a time with all of my projects--to be mindful of what I want it to eventually be, but to reign it into what is feasible and possible for NOW. For my skillset of right now, where I am right now. Not to the skillset of where I MIGHT be if I start updating (because you don't want to be updating and realize that your schedule is too tight)

And I make goals (like actual numeric goals) To get that project to a point of success within hopefully a few years, and if it isn't really doing it, if it's not really catching on, I'll either adjust the project to better match my strengths or I'll do something else.

So to summarize, I think it helps me set better goals if I focus on my strengths rather than my weaknesses. My strengths, personally are art and story--that's why comics felt like a good fit to branch into story from art (because most people who follow me online are unaware that I write.) However, while I have knowledge of animation, while I did take classes in it in college, it's not one of my strengths--so I don't do it. I don't plan for my pieces to be animated. While I can play piano really nicely and I do play around with compositions about my pieces--it's not actually as strong as my art, so I don't plan for my pieces to become musical adaptations. While I know 3D and could get my hands on a 3D printer, I don't make toys about my stories--because it's just not as strong as my art and my story. While I loved Undertale and I think that visual novels are a great time, I don't think I'll be making my story into a video game any time soon, because I have done enough video game programming to know I know nothing.

So really make a list of what you enjoy doing but also what of those things are strengths for you, and that can help hone your story's direction into a more funneled path, without feeling like you're missing out. Your story will be fine without all those extra bells and whistles. Sometimes we feel like we must cover it up with bells and whistles and make every story into a 3 part epic or it won't be looked at, but that isn't true. Instead it just distracts from what we do well, and can really discourage us when it isn't coming together.

Oh I have that same goal with the Amazement Universe. Initially, it was supposed to be all about The Action Fruit Society, and their own little segment of expanded lore, but the fact of the matter is this: I had to start off small to achieve something massive.

What I mean by that is the more I felt a connection to TAFS, the more I felt inclined to tell stories that were so much bigger than them. That's what gave me the idea to create an extended comics universe. Whether or not my characters and Amazement gain lots of recognition as a brand is something I'll cross later down the line. I personally take no issue overwhelming myself by attempting to create a groundbreaking comics franchise, but that is more of a long term goal. And I have the help and support of some of my friends to assist me, you'll want those people in your corner.

Anywho, to go back to your case, I would say create one solid project like what you're trying to do with Drachenseele, and if it works, expand on it. If it doesn't, try again by creating something else. That should be considered a more realistic and healthier short term goal for you.

i have a big ambitious goal too

The trick is to split it into smaller goals.

ex: 1-make the script of the first chapter
2-draw the first chapter to build a buffer
3-make the script of the next chapter
4-start publishing and keep a weekly/bi-weekly schesdule
5-draw the next chapters one page a week
6-start promoting your work
7-etc....

If you noticed, the goals in the example are goals that are under the creator's control. This is a deliberate choice because circumstantial goals like building a fandom are not under your control, but creating quality content it is.

I think you're exactly right about healing being a slow process. I still have trouble with it. My biggest thing right now is accepting that my series and writing style don't mesh with what most people expect in a novel. There are tons of pre-set expectations when you are writing a novel and mine didn't fit. My brain always LOVES to obsess over numbers and statistics, so I've also had struggles when one day I'll have 75 views and the next day, two views.

I have found success in writing a chapter (1k ish words) every couple days and writing a bunch of smaller stories. It keeps my momentum up and I'm more likely to happily finish writing a 20K word story than a 100K word story. I have tried writing full length stuff and felt like a failure when I stopped those projects.