How do you take your work seriously and kill the cringe?

aqua03 2023-06-09 02:32:48 UTC #1

I've been talking to a friend recently and he told me that "if I keep my world mostly consistent and I take my characters seriously, then you'll have a good story regardless of how in depth or hard you make your world and systems."

The thing is, I'm not really entirely show just how I should take my works and characters seriously, especially if I play to my strengths of comedy. I always seem to live in fear of being seen as "Foolish" and "immature" or "Cringe/Objectively bad" for my work and be shunned for it, which isa terrible way to live constantly, but I'm really not sure how to fully break out of it and learn to trust myself and "Embrace the cringe" because I genuinely want to move forward without fear that I'm gonna be the subject of losers on week long podcasts who nitpick everything to prove that I "Objectively" suck or something.

I think I draw too much of my life's decisions out of what I think other people think of me and my decisions....

Scarlet_Cryptid 2023-06-09 03:59:14 UTC #2

One of the things that has always helped me with this mindset is that the fear of being seen as immature or childish is one of the hallmarks of being a child. Kids worry about wanting to grow up, to be seen as mature/adults. Anything that reminds others (or themselves) that they are, indeed, still a child is anathema to them. And this mindset doesn't necessarily stop when someone is bodily an adult; there are plenty of adults who have a childish mindset and fear being seen as childish.

Someone who has grown out of that, however, can embrace childlike things because they're secure in knowing that they're an adult where it matters, and only people who look at them and think 'gee, that's cringe/childish' are people who haven't grown out of caring about whether something is childish.

Like, if you're honest, reliable, responsible, and a kind person.... who freaking cares what you do with your spare time? Or what you like? What business is it of theirs anyway? Even if you do suck at something... you're under no obligation to be good? Especially for their benefit?

Take care of your adult business, like what you like, and cultivate an attitude of letting people like what they like and ignoring the haters who can't seem to figure out that really simple concept. It'll serve you well. Then go make art!

DokiDokiTsuna 2023-06-09 04:03:57 UTC #3

...You don't have to take things seriously, though. ^^; I mean, if it doesn't help you to take things seriously, then don't. Write silly conflicts, write stupid characters. Do tongue-in-cheek narration throughout the whole plot, if it fits the tone you want (lots of writers do). 'Gravity' isn't actually necessary for a good story.

I recently tried a (successful) experiment to break my recent writers' block, by writing a story that's 95% dialogue. Only two characters can speak at a time; each 'chapter' is a single conversation.
Naturally, something like this usually ends up super poignant or super lighthearted, since there just isn't a lot of room to build a complex mood; and of course since I was already suffering a block I picked the easy route and went 'lighthearted'.

Most of the characters are very simple-minded; my inspiration for the first few chapters was literally "when kids meet up in preschool and instantly decide to be best friends"; there's some deep worldbuilding and mystery throughout, but the characters themselves are really only capable of commenting and complaining about it. :T

To say this story exists in a world whose population is 100% idiots would only be slight hyperbole...but I still think it's a great story. ^^ The chapters are easy to write and fun to re-read; the central conflicts could be taken very seriously, but the fact that the characters accept them uncritically makes the plot entertaining. It lowers the stakes, so you can focus on the characters' developing relationships and personalities through the dialogue. If I had taken it 'seriously', I don't think it would have been as interesting to watch these characters muse about their pasts and their fading memories while they march towards their deaths.

Maybe this'll make you feel better: EVERYONE gets this kind of treatment. NO ONE is safe. Even the gravest, most serious, super-grounded works of fiction have critics who laugh at them and think they're stupid (and occasionally they're right).

So, really there's no sense in thinking that you can somehow avoid this if you write something 'good enough'. There's no such thing as writing well enough to prevent ridicule; that's not how art works. And realistically, as a relative unknown, your chances of someone randomly hunting down your work and picking it apart are fairly miniscule. =/ Just write what you want, and have fun~

cherrystark 2023-06-09 04:49:00 UTC #4

I had three thoughts when it comes to killing the cringe and taking your work seriously.

No matter your genre, let characters "exist" in your world. If your premise is goofy, let EVERYONE be goofy. One of the many criticisms that I've heard about SpongeBob Squarepants is that he's obnoxious. People's lives are made harder by SpongeBob and Patrick's shenanigans. But if the entire cast is showing up to participate in your homage to Cluedo, it's not weird. People can accept the wildest premises if the entire cast is fully entrenched into your premise.
Make a plan. Now, this is not meant to start a pantser vs plotter debate. But if you are writing a story, you need to know a) what you want to do with it? b) how you can end the story? The first point is easy. Do you want to self-publish on a platform like this? Publish it into an ebook? Traditional publishing? For funsies? You have options. If you plan on selling it, write it until you are proud to show it off to the people you care about. But as for the second part, you have to know how to end the story. Cinderella should have a HEA with her prince. Two characters share true love's kiss. Bartlebee dies. Whatever your story needs to have an ending.

Some of the cringiest modern stuff I've seen has no plot and no endgame. Despite Twilight's flaws, you can summarize the series in an elevator pitch. A seventeen year old girl falls in love with a vampire despite supernatural forces trying to keep them apart. People will buy series where the "plot" rambles on for a half dozen books, but that won't stop the cringe.

Write it for yourself. You can't please everybody but if you like a series and working on it makes you happy - go for it. I've literally seen people write time-traveling Regency COVID erotica and it's sold. If you can't have fun with what you do, no one else is going to.

CloudyMagpie 2023-06-09 04:54:07 UTC #5

I agree! you don't have to write serious stories, but I think maybe a better wording for taking your work seriously is to take it sincerely? (maybe? little help?) Whatever tone/mood that may be, embrace it. Do not be so afraid of internet trolls that you twist your stories and characters into something you don't want them to be to try to get the trolls on your side. trolls think everything is cringe, so ignore/ block them, (should you ever even come across them) and don't take their mocking to heart.

Shanny8 2023-06-09 04:57:28 UTC #6

LOL! I Remember the Covid erotica(s)...I was like "wyd?" but hey, they were stuck in the house for a number of months...

LostKelp 2023-06-09 05:27:20 UTC #7

1st thing, it's not bad to be cringe, it's not that bad to have a dramatic moment that falls flat or a joke that ages poorly. It feels bad when you want to tell a story and your audience is suddenly taken out of the story. It's just growing pains, sometimes you'll hit sometimes you'll miss. it's all very person-to-person. If you make something cringe-worthy, thats fine.

2nd thing, the best way to avoid being cringe is to basically do whatever you're doing with 100% confidence that it's the coolest shit ever. Is that attainable? Well it's more attainable than you think. What if it's not the coolest shit ever? well then make it cooler! Add in whatever stuff that you personally like, whether it be mechas or godzilla or a character with a style you like or neat guns or neat cars or neat plants or whatever! it doesn't matter as long as you love it, you love making it, will someone find the things that you love cringe? Yes, but you will always be cringe to somebody no matter what you do. but so what? YOU love it. that's enough, and I assure you there will be more than one person who loves mechas or godzilla or bugs or anime or brony shit or whatever cringe thing thing that you love.

3rd thing, the people who will call the things that you love "cringe" or "stupid", aren't really worth listening to. This isn't to say that you should dismiss criticism. Sometimes you will botch a message ore take something from a culture unknowingly or use an offensive stereotype without thinking - if you do that take the L, say sorry and fix it where you can and disavow it where you cant. but when the criticism is just. "lol cringe" then they aren't really engaging with your work and can be ignored.

darthmongoose 2023-06-09 08:46:49 UTC #8

I didn't kill the cringe. I embraced it.

C S Lewis once paraphrased a Biblical quote into this gem:
"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

C S Lewis wasn't afraid to be a grown man who writes furry Jesus isekai fic... because he knew he was a grown up and had nothing to prove, and he had confidence that his stories about kids going to a magical land to hang out with lion Jesus were awesome, and he wrote them with absolute sincerity, and treated all the characters like he was writing any story with a less bizarre and fantastical premise.

A lot of under-baked writers see a series like say... Evangelion, and they go, "Ah. Evangelion is good because it has dark themes, like people being sad, and people getting killed, and robots beating up monsters, but in a cool way where it's violent. If you took that and removed all the silly elements like the kids and the robots being bright colours, and put in more sex and violence and people being sad, it'd be even better!"
....But thinking these surface elements; gloomy colours, lack of Fantasy, being about adults, sex and violence, people being sad and jaded, are the things that make something mature and worthy...is how a teenager, or somebody with the mind of a teenager thinks.
I rewatched Evangelion recently, and the thing that struck me, rewatching it as an adult, was the depth and nuance of the characters. It's a show about a 13 year old boy piloting a big purple robot and punching weird aliens... and yet it explores concepts like how we define ourselves from others, or what it means to have responsibility with absolute sincerity and sensitivity. These are the true things that make something good and deep. It's why Undertale is good; it's absolutely ridiculous in terms of concept and what the characters look and talk like... and yet, many people consider it a very deep and emotional experience, far more than grittier games with more violence and adult human characters and fewer silly jokes and puns, because Undertale genuinely explores feelings and has deep, nuanced characters.

It takes guts to step up and to say "THIS IS WHAT I LIKE." and to make something absurd, but then also not to weasel out of being laughed at by then saying "haha...ha, oh yeah, it's actually a parody. It's meant to be bad...on purpose..." and having all the characters quip, "Psh, this situation we're in is like a bad comic book lol." instead of expressing any kind of vulnerability. I used to do that, and I think it's actually way more cringe than my modern work, because it comes off so insecure. I'm not ashamed of who I am any more, and my work is stronger for it.

If somebody looks at my comic and says "PSH. This comic is stupid, it's about a bunch of melodramatic gay people in colour-coded outfits with silly unrealistic oversized weapons, it's for babies!" ...they're the fool who's only reading my work on the surface level. Any hack can make something that looks deep on the surface by having a gritty, dark art style and having everyone be miserable and putting in lots of sex, drugs and violence, but that's not real depth, it's just copying the surface elements of other things that are deep and choosing easy subjects to get a strong emotional reaction or seem mature by being adult-orientated. Real depth is about expressing something true and vulnerable that resonates with people. Hamlet isn't deep because everyone dies at the end, it's deep because it's an exploration of one man's emotional struggle with a politically, morally and emotionally complex situation. I have confidence in the depth of my work, and the seriousness with which I treat the things that truly matter; like the emotions of my characters, and the complexity of them having to work through a difficult situation where everyone has different feelings, and readers who are genuinely tuned into the story pick up on that, which makes it all feel worthwhile.

wispysing 2023-06-09 08:49:51 UTC #9

I agree with all the advice on here. I think what matters is finding people who do care about your work. Because, let's face it, there will always be someone who finds something cringe. It's inevitable. Everyone's a target for someone, including you and me.

My advice is to put your happiness first and foremost. Why worry about folks who loves to point their fingers? They're not worth your time anyway, and someone else will find them cringe, too! I get what you're feeling, I think it's natural to seek approval from others, but never let the fear of not gaining it enough replace your dreams and ambitions. And I think I've said this to you before, but for every hater there is out there, there will always be someone else (if not more) who finds your work awesome.

Legendofgenii 2023-06-09 10:26:47 UTC #10

Go with your gut. Make what you love.

NickRowler 2023-06-09 12:05:00 UTC #11

I think you need to change your perspective on what it means to cringe.

Cringe doesn’t mean bad or humorous. It is more the embarrassment or 2nd hand embarrassment you feel.

I think in some ways, you need to get to the root of why you are embarrassed about your own work.

I tend to find my old work, even from my childhood, charming. My old work that makes me cringe is stuff that I feel like damaged my development as an artist or something that reflected a more personal issue (mental health issue).

GodbreakerComic 2023-06-09 13:58:18 UTC #12

I think it's the other way around, personally. Make something you enjoy, something with your strengths (like you said, Comedy) and it will show in your work. Each creators perspective and talent is unique.

However, when people create to please others it also shows in the work imo. It can come off as trying to be something its not or something very derivative.

Do you.

harlan 2023-06-09 14:43:48 UTC #13

I long for the day I am the subject of a weeklong podcast ridiculing one of my works!!!!!!!

I do think there's more to drafting a good story than consistency and "taking your characters seriously", so if I were you I might not put too much weight in this person's opinions barring demonstrated success.

I'm not too sure what that person meant by taking your characters seriously, but if you write comedy, then I think you need to make then seriously funny! 🤣 Maybe develop their personality, be consistent with it, and so draw your readers in to their shenanigans? One of my favorite things ever as a writer is when one of my characters does something and a reader says "Haha! That's so [character's name]!"

cherrystark 2023-06-09 14:54:19 UTC #14

I found a Twilight inspired fic that I wrote in high school and a scifi fic that I started writing in college. The subject matter for both makes me cringe, they both have fan fiction vibes. But when I look at them from a technical POV - I want to applaud myself. The characters have unique voices. The scenes carry emotional weight. Even a decade later, I can still remember the character profiles for each character. THAT part doesn't make me cringe.

So, I think a better question to ask is are you willing to do a deep dive into your work to fix the glaring problems in your work? I've been watching a lot of BookTube lately and a lot of the writers that are dubbed "cringey" are the ones who took their basic draft, changed the names if needed, added a bit of polish, and sold it. If you trying to put out the best product you can, ego aside, I don't think you're cringey.

DiegoPalacios 2023-06-09 15:05:49 UTC #15

This is what you need to address, otherwise you will stay in over-thinking hell. There's no way around it.

How to stop caring?:

Will keep it short and sweet:

The sooner you accept that no matter what we do, our work will not be everyone's cup of tea, the easier it will be to do something.

You can't please everyone because different people may want opposite things, so just focus on what you like.

Anyone pretentious enough to look down on comedy or lighthearted stories is NOT your audience.

And if you are insecure about your writing skills, the best way to practice writing is by making stories. Theory can only take you so far, just like with drawing. A thousand questions can't replace practice and experience, that's how you level up.

So.....JUST DOOOOO IT!!!!!!!!

HGohwell 2023-06-09 15:12:42 UTC #16

You take your work seriously by taking it seriously. Commit. A lot of the time, if you just commit, no matter how absolutely insane the concept or "cringey" it sounds, it will work. As people have said, honesty and sincerity in your work, a commitment to role with it, is what makes it good. I mean, one of the biggest anime in the past few years was underground illegal skateboard death races, or golfing mafia, or pick a sports anime, or look at Yu-Gi-Oh, how stupid does YGO sound as a concept, but look how far it went just by committing to "card games everything". When people say "take it seriously" they don't mean, write a serious work, they mean don't treat your characters like throw aways. Even in a comedy, you have to treat your characters like characters, not just say "oh well it's comedy and zaney, they don't need consistent characters" or similar.

Not everyone will like your work, someone will call everything cringey. And, I'm going to be honest, you will probably never stop caring. The trick is to do it anyway. It's like people say, bravery isn't not being afraid, it's being afraid and doing it anyway. What's cringey isn't doing the childish thing, it's not doing the childish thing because you're afraid of what people think.

AmazementComics 2023-06-09 17:04:26 UTC #17

Alright bud, I don't know if I necessarily have any guidance as I’m only a couple of years into my art journey and still working on technical skills, but you’re insecurities aren’t completely over exaggerated. It makes total sense. Because an idea you really care about, that's really yours, putting that out there is a very vulnerable thing. I would argue that you are probably a little bit afraid of failing (which is also completely understandable), just that the failure point won't be the technical execution (since you've got the skills down), but that people won't resonate with the ideas/concepts/direction.

If you're drawing other people's stuff or generic studies, nobody can criticize the idea - but when you're drawing your own stuff, then suddenly the idea is part of what's open to opinion and that's scary af! In a way it's like standing like a deer in headlights in the middle of a busy road for everyone to scrutinize the deepest recesses of your heart and mind.

This is definitely an anxiety disorder. Completely natural, but if left unchecked for too long will only worsen. Have you been to counseling? Maybe you can discuss these issues with a counselor. Art and Fear is a very good book that approaches some of these topics. You should give it a read:

But all in all if you think you can create something so artistically perfect that nobody has the right to dislike it or critique you about it, then you’ll remain emotionally and creatively stumped. The perfect story you’re seeking doesn’t exist. You need to make the type of story that’s authentically you. The attraction should always come second.

powerplantanimations 2023-06-09 17:06:14 UTC #18

Full honesty, first rule is not to use Reddit/Twitter buzzwords like "cringe". I'm convinced any writer who has that in their vocab is destined for failure (unless you're doing satire, but even then THAT'S difficult to pull-off). Same with people who use "toxic", "woke", "triggered", "soy", etc.

Second, ALWAYS FOCUS ON THE THEMES FIRST!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough. I've reached a point in my writing where people ask if I'm on narcotics due to the absurdity of my work, and it's not because I'm "embracing the cringe"... it's because every weird decision has meaning in it. It wasn't there just for the sake of being "weird" or "funny"... it was put there because I wanted it to stick out like a sore thumb and make my audience ask "Okay, but seriously why did they put this there?". Once they do that, they'll become invested and take your work seriously because they know you're trying to tell them something through abstract stuff.

Like how in my comic... stick figures! Now someone can think "Lol, anime character die and go stick figure" when it's REALLY a commentary on the whole kenosis concept and how deep down every character is a stick figure. These characters think they're the center of their universes, only for them to lose what made them so great and become average people.

I prefer to take Suda51's approach to writing in No More Heroes and No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again. There's a cutscene in the first game where Dr. Peace has this speech where he talks about how he has a difficult relationship with his daughter and then it cuts to Travis realizing that Slyvia gave him his money. For me, Travis represents the mindset where gamers are at while Dr. Peace is giving a speech that requires a second playthrough to understand (it took me four :v).

Overall, personally, I think it's good to have these thoughts in your brain. It just means you're considering people who want a little more in your story. A lot of writers just shrug these people off and explain that these people stifle creativity when that's ANYTHING BUT.

Even if the story is tounge-and-cheek... yes... you do need to take it seriously (I remember this Seinfield actor making everyone laugh on set whenever he improvs and he takes his job SO SERIOUSLY, COMEDY IS AN ARTFORM PEOPLE). It needs to be appealing both on a surface level but also, it needs to be appealing deep down.

I remember watching Across the Spider-Verse recently and it didn't quite jive with me. It's like "I GOT the messages and the symbolism, it just isn't good on a surface level". Rick & Morty and Snyder fans do this all the time with their stuff and it's just hnnnngh. "Yeah but the themes" I GOT it.

thecrystalrook 2023-06-09 17:15:13 UTC #19

AmysGames 2023-06-09 17:33:56 UTC #20

I actually had this exact experience with my current comic, haha. When I first started working on it, I felt incredibly self-conscious about it to the point where I started marketing it as a parody, adding those exact sort of "bad comic book" quips.

On the other hand, trying to make it 100% serious never really works out for me either, because I would be bending over backwards going "Oh I'm not going to do xyz because it's too cliché." It took quite a bit of self-exploration and slowly opening up about it before deciding to just fully embrace it. Throw in some of those clichés, revel in the ridiculousness! When the story needs to be silly, let it be silly, darn it. And when the story needs to be serious, go all in on the seriousness; no need to pull any punches.

So I guess my advice to OP would be, let your story be whatever it needs it to be. If you want to write comedy, let yourself write comedy. If you want to write something serious, then let it be serious. In my general experience, it's that genuineness that really resonates with people in the end.