What do you do to give yourself a deadline and make it mean something?

[JoshRaed]

I'm considering simply destroying my progress I don't meet the deadline. But that might be a bad idea. Before I would set the page to publish whether it was finished or not, so I'd have to finish it within the week. Then I consistently failed at that.

So what methods do you use?

[aqua03]

Homeslice, if you’re so worried about not being able to finish your comic in a timely manner, then like…. Make a video game or something else that would have your full story from the get go.

[igneriss]

Well... for me, the satisfaction of being able to finish a page on time is way more motivating than punishing myself for not being able to meet the deadline. I guess it's a mindset thing? Because the first one is more of 'I can do it! Let's try to do it!' and the second one kinda already assumes failure.

I worked hard to have some buffer, so now I let myself not meet 'deadlines' I set. There are days that I don't draw at all and that's okay. Even drawing half of a character is still closer to the goal, that's okay.

But I also ask myself few 'why's' Why couldn't I meet the deadline? Was I busy with real life or too tired after my fulltime job? Then that's okay, I needed rest. Was it something else and I just couldn't get myself to drawing? Then why? For example, recently I couldn't get myself to draw last 15 pages of a chapter. I was procrastinating it way too long and after thinking about it, it was because I was quite overwhelmed with amount of characters in the scene. What helped was telling myself 'okay, today I'm drawing character X'. And I just drew that one character whenever they appeared on those 15 pages. And next day another one. And so on, and it was way easier than drawing page by page.
I find that thinking about the 'why' makes it easier to let go of the stress, accept that the deadline won't be met, or to find a solution that can help with meeting it c:

[Legendofgenii]

I only worry about deadlines if money is involved (work & commissions etc).

If deadlines stress you out, don’t have any.

Take all the time you need, and enjoy learning how to draw and make comics.

[Katzalcoatl]

I create a grantt chart for any and all projects. I have knowledge in project managing.

I never miss a deadline because I set buffers for each part of the project.

The main reason I haven't released my novels to the public is because I am still missing certain things that will increase the chances of being successful. Many things are minor details that most people would overlook. But preparations have been well over a year now (yup everything is still within calculations).
Just goes to show you that we all have different ways to prepare.

I had at earliest planned to release my novel around a month and a half ago. My planned deadline buffer still gives me room for 6 more months. Obviously I want to release it in the earliest time possible.

Why do I have such a huge buffer? I am taking novel writing seriously and taking it like a business. All business have loses at the start and they all take huge amount of time to even take them to the public. That said, I am not advicing you to treat things like a business we all have different reasons for wanting to do art.

I will still advice you to create a grantt chart to help follow your own schedule and planning for buffer time.

[GodbreakerComic]

Like my series info says: "New updates when they're ready."

Is that the best way to do things? I dunno. But at least for me if something becomes too stressful my ADHD is like naaaah we're not doing this today.

At the end of the day if you don't enjoy it, then what's the point? I think its best to meet a set of personal standards instead of a timed deadline. If your work takes a little longer, but is something you're proud of the quality will show.

[BoomerZ]

When I started my wecomic I decided on a weekly update. This allowed my story to be told in a timely manner. The thing that makes me finish it weekly is I enjoy doing it. I set the size of the episodes at around 30ish panels, therefore I know I can finish it. I also have a buffer per week. Usually takes only 5 days to do what I do so that leaves 2 in case something happens. No one is going to force you to finish on time. If it's a paying customer, they just won't use you again. If it's an ongoing story, the audience will forget you and leave. It's really up to you just sitting down and getting it done. Another thing to keep in mind is: ok is not the enemy of perfect. Do what you can to make it good and move on. Find ways to make it good while keeping it simple. Know your limitations. If it takes days to do a panel, simplify it. Streamline the process to produce more. This is comics, not fine art.

[RedLenai]

What I do is simple:

• Put realistic deadlines based on what I have to do
• Don't get distracted (Tablet & phone are off. Social media, forum and any other website that is not Trello is forbidden and only visited during breaks and sticking to those breaks)
• Set timers, pomodoros or a playlist and through the time of it's duration, I solely work

Destroying everything you made whenever you don't finish a deadline is idiotic and childish, basically you're only going back to zero, all progress is lost. Have realistic goals and deadlines based on what you can do with your current abilities instead of pretending trying to be someone that has an habit out of this already.

[JoshRaed]

When you talk like this it feels condescending. I don't think that's what you intended but that's how it sounds. It feels less like advice and more like you're just annoyed with me for asking the question at all.

[aqua03]

Honestly, I'm not trying to come off as condescending when I say this. I've honestly been in a similar situation to you in regards to worrying and constantly asking questions to other people i viewed as far more "experienced" than I was and it honestly reaches a point to where it stops being about advice and more like you're coming up with excuses to procrastinate more it seems.

And given that you've often talked so much about worrying if you'd be able to create a full comic in a timely manner, as someone who has been exploring which media would be the best for his own stories, I was just throwing out different ideas that might be better avenues to pursue apart from comics. (Video games, a film, radio plays, novels, interpretive dance, etc.)

There just comes a time where you just finally have to accept that you're not gonna make the best product and that there will ALWAYS be unknowns no matter how much you prep and just.... Dive off the diving board and into the pool.

[JoshRaed]

We've had this conversation before. You always say to do this thing and I always say I'm doing it already and that I am not waiting on people to reply to me in the forums to make my comic, I'm just making it either way. Why do you never believe me?

[JoshRaed]

Do you think a story can still be good if it's objectively written as a monster of the week TV show, with monsters just coming and going all the time, but it's actually a webnovel? Or will that come off as weird?

I just want to clarify that I am doing this no matter what your opinion is, and have no intention to change this plan based on anything you or anyone else has to say about it.

[NickRowler]

I'm considering simply destroying whatever I make if I don't meet the deadline and starting over

Why tho?

I can understand if you are working in an artstyle that is too time consuming and you decide to simplify your pages, but honestly that could even be done by tracing over old art.

I think setting deadlines in useful to stay on track. Sometimes you miss it but you have to keep going. A lot of creators deal with it. People may end up releasing something a week or month late because they were not done yet.

For my previous chapter, I wanted it out by Valentines day, didn't happen. But I did keep working at it and got it out by the beginning of March.

[aqua03]

I mean, I think so if you know how to keep that formula interesting.

[river121693]

If you consistently can't meet deadline, then just give yourself more time. It should put a little pressure on you to do the work, but it shouldn't stress you out.

[JoshRaed]

The thing is that I extended the deadline like 3 times now and I'm way behind on my story, when it was already going to take 4 months to release chapter 1, a chapter that would be 6 minutes long if it were in a TV show, and I am still at a point before the main character has said anything of note. I already felt wrong about it taking so long to release this story part, but now it's going to take way longer and I am nowhere close to finishing page 4.

[JoshRaed]

So what makes you keep up with the deadline in a real way, where it's a tangible thing you follow, and you actually feel the need to follow it? Like if the only reason to follow it is because I want to, it doesn't really affect me like that.

[darthmongoose]

When you first get into making comics, you need to take into account that you won't make pages as fast as you eventually will when you've built up confidence, "muscle memory" and familiarity with the program you're using and your pipeline for making pages. Even an experienced creator starting a new comic with new characters and maybe a different artstyle or format from ones they've done before will need to allow for early pages taking longer.

My first webcomics didn't look like Errant, they looked like this:

Four panels, literally just pencil, really simple, one character, barely backgrounds... and they still took me a long time and I felt really proud of them when I was sixteen.

This is why everyone is has been saying "you should make a shorter comic first". The frustration of the gap between what you want to be able to create (a big, epic story that looks great, in full colour, updates on a regular schedule and can build an audience) and what you're experiencing (struggling to make pages to that deadline, especially to the level of finish you want) is clearly hurting you, and I can understand why you feel like you want to tear it all down.

I know you have a goal in mind, to finish this comic in a certain timeframe, and I understand it's frustrating to be told "That's not possible right now", but I think you need to spend some time where your sole aim, instead of being "make a comic that updates regularly and builds an audience" should be "Get good at drawing good looking comic pages quickly." Like really focus in on that. Read all the books, watch all the tutorials, do all the drawing exercises you can, and make pages in your own time, without deadlines, but with the aim of each one being a little faster or more polished.

Think of it like running a marathon. It's true, you can enter a marathon that's coming up in a week if you don't train at all, and just set off jogging, occasionally running...mostly walking and sometimes stopping, and complete it in very slow time or get set to the medical tent... or you can wait a year to enter next year's marathon, spend the year training and then kick ass and run the whole thing in a few hours. If you put in the time training now, free from all that other stuff like deadlines and promotion, and so have that freedom to stop halfway through a page and go "...the way I'm doing this is super fiddly, does anyone on the forums know a shortcut for this?" and then be able to redo the same page, or apply that knowledge to the next one, and not need to stress over consistency, you can build your comic drawing muscles for the comic you really care about and be able to draw it how you want, and to the deadline you want.

[JoshRaed]

What could I start with? I don’t have any concepts i’m attached to that actually make for small comics.

[darthmongoose]

Well, when I've needed to make a short comic for practice in the past, I've often chosen what to draw not based on "what's a short story I have a burning need to tell!?" because honestly, same, I have little to no interest in short stories (I like meaty ensemble cast stories where you can really get into the characters too!)... but instead, "What's a thing I struggle drawing, or have never really tried to draw before?"

I come up with something that will challenge me. My natural comfort zone tends to be around action and characters in kinda modern-ish fantastical clothes, so often for short comics, I've done stuff like "It's a down-to-earth modern romance/slice of life" or "It's dark ages fantasy with appropriate costumes" or "Sci-Fi.", and I might pick what the story is about based on what I need to practice, like "I'm bad at drawing older people, let's have a story with an older person in it- I know! What if it's about a teenager and their grandparent?" or "I'm uncomfortable drawing romantic scenes, I'm going to make a comic where the main focal point of the story is a romantic scene."

Or for competitions, I might choose what I draw based on "What can I bring that's unique?" So when I was a finalist in the Rising Stars of Manga back in like...06? (I think...), I chose to set my story in a Lake District landscape, because I knew I'd probably be the only entrant from Cumbria and it'd stand out. I wanted to draw monster fights, because I knew drawing action is one of my stand-out areas compared to other artists, and so I came up with Fell, a story about people who go up a fellside, cleaning up monsters left like litter by tourists leaving all their emotional baggage around, and it grew from there.

So try thinking less about "What is an amazing story" and more "What do I want to try drawing?" be it "what do I want to show off that I'm good at?" or "What do I want to get better at?"