How often do you lose confidence in your story? (+poll!)

[DokiDokiTsuna]

• One or two times a year
• Once a month
• Once a week
• Every damn day

Show results

The numbers game's been messing with my head recently...so my "magnum opus" got outperformed by the very first episode of my kemonomimi-anime-girl joke comic...three months later it's just starting to catch up. And sure, that's to be expected, but it started up some pretty serious doubts...like, "maybe this story I've been working on all my life is actually just boring, maybe no one understands it, maybe I'm not even up to the task of writing it..."

As the month went by, those thoughts started getting more intense: yesterday I was basically like "well, I guess this story is garbage but it's gonna take forever anyway so I might as well keep going in case I ever get to anything good". The next update is due soon; I have to hype myself up as well as I can. ^^;

So I finally went to work; I looked at the script again and...long story short, those doubts are gone now. ^^;

But this happens a lot...it's really stupid, how I go through this cycle on almost every break between updates. Like, I know I've lost confidence and regained it before, and yet I also know the next time I get insecure about my work, I'll think all the times before were just delusions, that THIS time I'll look at the script and realize that it's ACTUALLY bad.

A mind is a strange thing.

[amberberry]

I voted once a week but it's probably more like a few times a month, maybe every other week. I keep worrying if my story is interesting enough and if it's progressing well and if it make sense at all. I haven't educated myself in writing so I'm just planning a story and writing it. I don't know anything about the suggested structures, three acts and all that. So whenever I watch some writing videos on Youtube and try bring up a concept that's pretty much necessary I start stressing if I have that or if anyone will mind it missing. I know this part is mainly my own fault and easily fixable but definitely not the only reason I doubt my work.

I worry about if my writing is good. I read a lot, like probably most people here, so naturally I compare myself with all these professional authors. I'm not a native English speaker either even though my level of English very good from studying it for years. But still I worry constantly if I write well, if the language is colourful or interesting to read. I'm not good at coming up with thoughtful metaphors or anything like that so when I see someone else write them, it makes me think "I don't do that. Is my writing bad?"

Sometimes I write a good passage and then I feel great about my story. It's amazing text and I'm so happy with it. And then I hit a harder part and it sucks again.

[Inspector_Spinda]

I'm actually surprised that I haven't yet. I've been drawing it for over a year now and planning it for much longer. I'm still totally happy with it. Occasionally, I do nitpick my own work and wonder if it's all funny/interesting enough, but it's never to the point where i want to delete everything and quit. I'm pretty lucky in that regard I guess, but I have lost faith in many stories in the past and trashed them.

[Hexigate]

Every single day, please save me.

My series has been going on for a couple years, but its statistics would make you think it's an extraordinarily bad story. Every day I see other comics and creators doing so much better. So I can't help but feel like either my story sucks or people are just not interested in what I have to tell.

My anxiety and paranoia can get so bad that when I get feedback saying that my comic's actually good, I'd start doubting the reviewer. Because I'm thinking, clearly if what you say is true I'd be getting much better reception. And this is not a bragging thing, but I've honestly only had good feedback. But I would only hear from readers and subscribers, and my questions of why more people aren't interested are never answered.

Man, I think I need someone else to take an objective look and just confront me with the faults, just so I can have my questions answered and paranoia dissolved.

[amortelito]

From once a week to every two hours. My comic is good enough for me, I love it so much as it is. But I don't think others will love it as much as I do, so that's where the insecurities start.

Also, I am very sad at the fact that the longer the comic is, less readers will be willing to catch up. So, the best parts are likely to be enjoyed by one or two hardcore fans. The viewership is already dropping.

[doomerC]

I don't really have a concrete story in mind; rather, i build up the characters, the events that they take part in and that influence them, and i just let it organically evolve. I'll write down some good ideas to save for later, or sometimes take them out of my current script for future use; once i have a good core for a chapter i let it wind like a snowball downhill, then once i have a good volume i'll cross-reference it with everything else i had in mind and edit it to better match the bigger picture.

For those reasons my workflow pretty much consists of putting my story under the lens and scrutinizing it at every opportunity i have.

At the end of the day though, i put much more emphasis on having each individual scene punctuated. If the reader can land on any single spot in your comic and immediately find something interesting or exciting, then the overall experience will be memorable no matter what.

[rmdooley]

I am convinced being an artist is being in the state of chronic existential crisis

[Azifri]

I voted once a month, but it can be more than once a day sometimes. I mean, the story is written from start to finish, but I know the comic isn't structured in a traditional way, so very likely people are going to find it weird. I do like the story and I have no doubts about it, but sometimes I feel bad sharing it and thinking that people will feel disappointed about it because of slow progression (it's focused primarily on the characters), plotline jumps, lack of a main conflict (for now), etc. I also know it's a long story and it would benefit from longer updates, but unfortunately, it's not possible at the moment.

[indagold]

My comics gonna end in a few days... not sure if at this point there's any confidence to have been lost... I need a regret meter instead.

[Maps]

My story was pretty set in stone, but as things have changed I tend to question parts of my original plot line: What message it’s sending, if it makes my characters look awful, will I be crucified? I’m probably at the biggest turning point in my story so I’ve been MIA and trying to figure out if I should remain true to my original idea or switch things up.

[Iris-Grimoire]

Impostor syndrome hits me like two, three times a month, less if I'm full of good vibes because of IRL stuff. I LOVE critique, I LOVE getting my stuff corrected or finding a problem to fix on my own, but in the back of my mind it always crawls an ugly side telling me they're going easy on me and the low numbers and few subs show that Splitting Image must be really bad and niche. Is it right? Probably not. Is it entirely wrong? Probably not either. But as many a theraphy session had to put into my head, it doesn't matter while I still have fun and time to do it. And if I do wrong today, I can fix it tomorrow, it's never the last chance.

[sarahmassey998]

I picked once a week as a good average. I've noticed that Tapas readership goes up and down so either you get 30 views a day or none at all. There's also the matter of finding time to write when you're not a full time writer; I feel like I'm winging it half the time. After the brief moment of panic you remind yourself that writing is what you love and gets you through the day. Sometimes if feels like you're not a real artists unless you feel like your work is garbage 50% of the time.

[lwflouisa]

Nanowrimo is the worst season for me for losing confidence.

[Conrad_Os]

every Tuesday, the day after I post when the views drop back to zero

[amortelito]

Ahhh yes!! Characters development is way more interesting to me, but I know that there are far too many comic online that offer a faster "payoff".

I feel like many comics that get popular quickly have a very powerful initial hook. Like a premise that is easy to digest: "She is a writer in love with her neighbor, but he is in reality a vampire Hitman who hates books!".
"She wants to become a successful mangaka but she lost her arms in a accident, what would she do now?"
" He has a curse and turns into a toad and only the kiss of a princess will save him, but he only wants to kiss boys"
You already know what it is about and readers kind of can predict if they will like it based on the premise+genre+art.
But slow burn or world bulging makes so many people are more afraid of inventing their time and hopes on something that might not be what they imagined. If I changed anything I woul like to make the first chapter a bit more engaging.

BTW your comic is great and I will never stop reading.

[Shanny8]

The truth? NEVER.

I've been kind of depressed coz my own art abilities have been under duress for the past year, but I've never doubted my story. In fact, it's been my story that gives me strength to press on- I want to see it to the end; I want to see it play out like I've intended it to and for others to consume my story as I've intended.

[Kiweevil]

I lose confidence in my delivery of the story everyday. I don't have the time to put in the blood, sweat, and tears that I want to put into my story, at least as far as illustration goes. My days are limited, especially being as unhealthy and weak as I am. I should have died already.

I have a lot of confidence in my story itself. It's bizarre but charming, and the setting is very unique. The characters are very thoroughly developed and I've made sure to fill every plothole I can possibly generate. Not to mention, the lore is deep but not too overly complicated, giving secondary stories to every main story so things don't get too stale or mild. There's mystery around every corner.

That being said, putting so much effort into the story itself made me want to put equally as much effort into the illustrations and paneling. But that isn't realistic, because if I did that I would die before my story was complete. And it's not worth it. So I settle. People still think my art is good....they comment on it a lot. But deep down I know that I am better and I feel like I am conning my readers.

[MrTwennysebben]

I think since my audience is so small and because this isn't the comic I originally wanted to do it's freed me up to not be too concerned about my story. The comic I actually want to do and have wanted to do for over a decade is a steampunk comedy with some irreverent Lovecraftian elements thrown in, but when I polled my social media peeps they all wanted my dumb comic about working in a pizzeria. That comic didn't even HAVE a story when I started, which has actually worked out in my favor. It's been a fun exercise: create some characters, establish a setting, get bored with the "let's whine about customers" shtick, and now QUICK! Make them do something else! What kind of stupid crap can you come up with? You were raised on Monty Python and Ren & Stimpy and you love Invader Zim, how can you take this very real premise of "working in food service" and throw it down the deepest, most absurd rabbit hole you can think of?Howzabout let's tease this idea that the giant, malevolent soda machine in the massive, dangerous basement/fallout shelter you put in one of the earlier episodes as a joke has somehow gained sentience, broken free and is now stalking one of the main characters? GREAT! Do it! Who cares? It's dumb and it's fun! What other dumb stuff can you imagine for these hapless kids who live in your head after this killer soft drink dispenser arc resolves? Oh, you better believe I have story arcs in mind now. They're gonna get weirder. It's gonna be fun. Because if each episode isn't even going to break 20 "likes" every week then SOMEONE has to enjoy it so it may as well be me.

[DualDragons]

Whenever i see a thread with "what things do you hate in stories" and someone mentions a element that just so happens to be in my series

[FenneFox]

I'd say for me it usually increases exponentially over time. While usually the general idea of the story is something I don't lose confidence in, after I get around to writing it, I gradually dislike how I wrote it more and more frequently.