Wanting to do everything! But can't

Tentakustar 2017-02-23 08:14:20 UTC #1

So I know everyone has more than one project idea that they have in their mind that they would love to put out there and just create it! The problem lies when you have sooo many project ideas. ideas you love and would love to share... but you know deeply that there just isn't a way that you'll be able to do all of them. And... honestly that really, really bothers me. maybe more than it should. I literately get depressed by the idea of it. and it's because they are all ideas I love deeply. so just thinking that there might not every be a chance to get to them all really breaks my heart. Maybe all this sounds silly. But I care so much for these story ideas that it's hard to except that I might have to let them go if I don't ever get the chance. I WANT to have the chance! I want to get to everything. but deep inside, I know that there's no way. I keep refusing that idea that it's impossible to get to everything. maybe im just being to naive..?

I don't know how others feel. but this is something that legit bothers me a lot! and I guess I just don't know how to deal with it.

AnnaLandin 2017-02-23 08:30:06 UTC #2

I have this fear as well! SO many comics, so little time.

... but the truth of it is you can only do so many things at once, and the only way to get them done is to, well, do the thing. Pick one project - or two - and focus on them. Get them done. When they're done, pick another one. Get it done - and then repeat as many times as you need to to get through the list.

One step and then another, over and over until you're done.

One thing that I've discovered while doing this is that eventually, your mind moves on. Enough time spent focusing on one project, and enough time passing, means eventually you fall out of love with some of the ideas you had - or maybe you grow up a little, and can see the flaws in them - and you let go. You find new ideas, better ideas, and focus on those instead. Because the truth is that a lot of these ideas you have? They're probably bad ones. Most of my ideas are mediocre at best. Letting go and moving on is sometimes the best thing you can do.

It is impossible to do every single thing that comes to mind - but it is possible to do some of the things, so do some of them.

Tentakustar 2017-02-23 10:01:39 UTC #3

this part right here. this is something I need to ingrain in my mind. needing to be okay that I'm working on something now. the thing is though about some of these other ideas I have, I genuinely really think they are still good ideas. I still consider them as 'recent' since the latest idea I have started in 2011. funny enough the ideas I thought about that are before 2011. I gladly gave up on those since I know they are probably not very good.

I think the issue is I know is the current comics i'm working on right now may take a long time to finish. And that's what may be causing this stressful feeling. it's not knowing how long I'll be working on them all though I predicted 3-4 years. I feel it might take longer than that.

I've been working on one webcomic for 2 years now and another for about a year!
But then you said this. this is something I think I should really REALLY keep in mind. I think what may need to happen maybe. is that I need to stop coming up with more story ideas. i think when that happens these current ideas I have get pushed backed. (im sorta just speaking whatever comes to my mind at this point sorry). the problem is when I get an idea I keep furthering that idea and that pushes the others back i think. this seems to be happening since I've been working on these 2 current projects. the think is, do you think it's a good idea to cut off my ideas like that?

AnnaLandin 2017-02-23 10:18:18 UTC #4

I'm right in the middle of a massive project of my own - I estimate that my current webcomic is going to take a total of 5-6 years to complete, and I'm only 2 years into it. Comics take time. It's the nature of the medium. You can find ways to speed up your work-process, but it's still going to take a lot of time.

Get used to the idea. It probably will take longer than you predicted, because you can't know if something else will get in the way, if your life situation will change, if you get sick, etc., etc.

I handle that strange bundle of restlessness, stress and boredom (working on any big project you will at some point get bored; it's just what happens) by doing other smaller projects on the side - oneshot comics, illustration projects, etc. Things that don't have the same hard deadlines and regular update schedule as my main project, but are still enough to let my brain play with the other ideas from time to time.

If you figure out how to stop your brain from doing that, please let me know! XD But jokes aside - yes, it is sometimes a good idea to try to stop your brain from going "what if I did x?" and just focus on the stuff you have. Instead of endlessly inventing new characters and worlds, try to pour that cretivity into the projects and ideas you already have!

When I'm in the middle of something, and a new idea pops up and demands attention, I write down some brief notes about it, maybe doodle one or two character designs, and then I stop. Just a short description and a few frills, and nothing more.

It's like putting a little mental sticky-note on that idea with the words DO THIS LATER on it. It means that a.) I satisfy the oooh-shiny-new-idea!-urge without actually launching a whole new project, and b.) it lets me actually have a useful record of my ideas, for when I actually have the time to do something with them.

It's easier to get those noisy ideas to shut up if you've actually written them down. Even just a basic list will do.

hushicho 2017-02-23 11:32:04 UTC #5

I get this all the time myself, and sometimes it ends up freezing me into indecision.

I find that it's often helpful to consider the viability of things when they nag at me. If a concept occurs to me, and I feel an impulse to work on that, I have to think about whether or not it could really work as a series or even a story. Am I going to be this enthusiastic about it next week, or even tomorrow? It's a good idea, as was mentioned earlier, to make some notes and sketches and come back to it later. It's going to be important to be able to have enough enthusiasm a long while down the line if you intend to make an ongoing series!

You can always work on something on the side while concentrating on a main project. Sometimes this is the best idea, to do that and use it for practice, if nothing else. If you end up completing a story or doing enough to post, that's great! If not, you at least had the practice of working on it, and it likely will have helped you to develop your skills.

mariusthered 2017-02-23 12:29:09 UTC #6

i know how this is.

I have characters in my comic that should have had there own story lines by now, but they have been pushed aside and just background characters.
As for other projects, what i do is get a note book and note the project in that book, that way i can shelve it and come back to it when i have new ideas and work on it when the time is right.

I also have a notice board near my pc to jot down story lines ideas to be weaved in where suitable.

shazzbaa 2017-02-23 14:13:15 UTC #7

Finishing something can make a huge difference to your mindset, honestly. I keep thinking of when Gigi D.G. did the shorter, simpler comic Lady of the Shard (which was released all at once) on the side, in the middle of the six-years-and-counting Cucumber Quest, and talked about how much better she felt afterwards, being able to say that she had finished at least one thing, and how finishing LotS had made CQ feel like less of a burden, because now, she had another comic under her belt already.

Basically, being able to feel like her long work wasn't holding her back. So the idea of making a smaller and more contained work, in a style you can finish quickly, might be something to consider!

As for me, well, a wise man once said, "You don't finish something as long as Homestuck by thinking about what you're going to do once you finish Homestuck." I have a lot of ideas that I want to do, but I don't really.... think about how I'm gonna do them all because I know that by the time I finish RW, many of them will pass their expiration date and I won't be in love with them anymore. I see all ideas like this, where they won't last forever, so when I have new ideas it's not "yet another thing I must find time to do," but more like a rabbit having 50 babies because she knows most of them aren't going to survive.

I let myself have fun with and doodle new ideas, even in some cases ponder plotlines for them, but I have no illusion that this is for-sure a thing I'll make someday -- not because I fear I'll run out of time, but because I might fall out of love with the idea before I ever get to it. But if that happens, it was still fun, designing it was really good practice, and putting the story idea into words allowed me to exorcise something that I was feeling at the time. Not everything has to be transformed into a finished product in order to be valuable.

Gaspode12 2017-02-23 15:37:47 UTC #8

This is a big problem for me too. I have so many ideas for novels, artwork and comics, new ones every week. I always make a note of a good idea, so that maybe I can come back to it if I find the time. And finding the time is the real crux of the issue for me! These projects are what I want to be spending my time on, and anything that stops me doing so (like full time jobs for example 😂) really really irritates me! The projects I want to be my main focus become side projects fitted in among my other responsibilities and suffer quality wise as a consequence. It's so frustrating! I guess it's all just part of being a responsible grown up 😉 But it is very hard to deal with at times.

mariusthered 2017-02-23 16:33:03 UTC #9

that just make you get old, sod it stay young at heat

Shanny8 2017-02-23 16:49:15 UTC #10

Yup. You just need to pick at least one project right now and get started on it. When you're far ahead enough and you may have free time.opportunity to work on a 2nd project, then do that...OR make sure that your projects have an ending, and that way you can schedule your production efficiently.

DMBrigman 2017-02-23 16:57:28 UTC #11

I have a bunch of ideas as well, and I understand exactly how you feel. There are a lot of great suggestions in this thread so far. I would say, make sure to keep a journal of all your ideas, every time your mind wanders and you add some details to your plot write it down. I have actually incorporated some "separate" story ideas into the comic I am working on now. So now I can share the character without waiting to launch a separate series.

I do think @shazzbaa advice about doing some shorter comics is a great idea. I have managed to carve out some time to do so smaller projects and it does help mentally to have "finished" work. Perhaps you can think about doing a one shot, 2 to 5 page comic featuring your stories. After all, not everything has to be a long drawn out epic. That might satisfy your itch, and is always a good way to practice storytelling skills.

I am keeping myself motivated with my current project because I know each chapter I draw is getting closer to me finishing, but most importantly getting better. Then, when I finish I will be a fabulous artist and storyteller and do something great with my next project!

Lindsette 2017-02-24 07:31:55 UTC #12

I have about 3 projects right now that I am working on. One of them is my comic and the other two are books.
And I found that if I work on just one project at a time I become so enamored with it I end up loosing steam by the time I really get started on it. And in the past I have had a problem with project hopping, not really focusing on one for more than a month. So what I do now is set up a schedule.
For my comic, I make a page or two a week. And for my books, I pick which one I have more planned out, and write it when I can. But! If I have an idea for another project/ idea for my other book I write it down and put it in a folder with all my other thoughts. When I'm finished with my main comic, I will be working on my main book while occasionally writing down ideas for the future.

As long as you write the full ideas down, you can look at them at a later time and decide if it has potential. I think working on two or three projects can be beneficial, especially since you clear your mind and view it with fresh eyes. But working on too many and you'll have the problem of not finishing anything.

hushicho 2017-02-24 10:28:14 UTC #13

It can also be a good idea to let yourself take breaks from your main project. As I mentioned before, I fully recommend working on other things than just your main focus, at the same time as you're working on that. We all have ideas, and some of them might even be viable for a story or a series in future. You'll always learn something from the practice that doing regular art will require. Even if you end up finishing or posting exactly none of your side projects, they'll at least have helped you to develop your style and skill!

When you allow yourself to take a break from the singular story you're working on, you give yourself a bit of relief from it, and it can also be very helpful in avoiding burnout. Working only on one thing for years at a time is something very few people can do without starting to become tired of it, or even resentful of it. Your mileage may vary, of course, but most creators I know always have themselves working on multiple things at a time. Sometimes people put down their main story to do some side stuff. Even if it's side stories from the same series, there's a need for relief. Stretching!

Sometimes, too, if you just do a project that you know you can be experimental and wild and daring with...you might learn something new. There's often a restraint when working on your main project, a sort of feeling like you don't want to be too wild, because you can't afford to rock your own boat. When you're doing a side project casually and can take more risks, it can really be refreshing. Even if nothing ever comes of it, you've spent time in a good way and helped yourself to unwind a bit.

isabelleArne 2017-02-24 14:41:03 UTC #14

Agreed, sometimes just finishing something, event small is so rewarding, and if you are focused on one project doesn't mean you cannot store other projects on the side that you may or may not do. I have notebooks filled with plotlines and one line stories that would totally deserve the time to be developped. But you are only one person and there is only 24hours in a day !

So I guess feeling sad or overwhelmed by all the project that " could" happen is ok but I also think it's no use to stress too much on this. In the end what will matter are the project that "are".

And once these are finished, on to the next one ! One at a time, one at a time.

AlkseeyaKC 2017-02-24 14:56:16 UTC #15

I feel EXACTLY the same way. I also get depressed that I don't have time to do more comics. If I could just drop everything, I would have like 4 comics going on. I hope to get them out of my head some day.

joannekwan 2017-02-24 18:16:59 UTC #16

I can definitely sympathize, but I know that most of my story ideas eventually "fizzle out".
Like how Anna said, after a few months or years the story might not appeal to me anymore. I find the flaws, I see the potential problems in making it a comic, I'm just not as jazzed about it anymore. And that's all right, I know I'm growing as an artist and writer, I know I'm gonna come up with a plethora of ideas and I know some are trash.

That's why it always jostles me when I hear creators saying their current story is something they've developed since they were like 14. Looking back at my work from when I was 14, well I think they're silly. I can't take them seriously and I would rather work on better stuff I've come up with now. It's even happening to a really large, grand project I devised in college, it's supposed to be a four volume epic. I envisioned it as my magnum opus and now looking at it there are a lot of plot holes and things that don't sit well with me. I still love it, and if I ever get the inspiration to work on it again I will, but for now it stands as a nice reminder of who I was when I conceived it.

It's perfectly fine to have ideas that never see the light of day, and I've come to accept that. At the very least you have some cool characters you can throw into an illustration or practice stuff with.

Tentakustar 2017-03-10 01:41:39 UTC #17

oh my gosh! this here sounds like a great idea! I do have a oneshot I'm working on but the amount of work I have on it is torture sometimes lol. And because of that, it's taking way too long to make! so I'll definitely keep this in mind when making things I just want to finish! also sorry for the later reply! I just got super busy! ;; also don't have time to reply to everyone else.;;