What do you do when everyone is better at writing your story than you are it seems?

aqua03 2020-11-02 01:20:17 UTC #1

sometimes as i've been working on Drachenseele and has been working on it, I've realized something:

Everyone who helps me seems to be better at writing my story than I am.

now please don't take that as me being ungrateful, I love all the feedback, help, and encouragement I get and i'm so happy to find a community as willing to go out of their way to help their fellow creators. It's just that sometimes when I see peoples' feedback, help, and ideas for Drachenseele whenever I need the advice just makes me say "Dang, that's way better than anything I probably could have come up with for my stuff." when I see it.

Not helped by my apparent "slowness" when it comes to solidifying and fleshing out ideas. Often times taking me weeks, if not months, to come up with good solutions to my creative problems or crystallize my ideas for Drachenseele in a way that I like and that works, (and even then, said solutions are usually something I had already came up with and established months ago, just barely more solid and refined in that regard.) Whereas the people that help me can come up with extensive and really well thought out feedback and creative solutions for my work in just a few minutes, hours, or days compared to my weeks and weeks it seems.

What does that say about me? Is it my perfectionism regarding the Dragoons? is it something else entirely? am I just not cut out for something like this? Am I impatient or something else entirely? or am I just a flat out bad writer when it comes to fantasy stuff and proper worldbuilding and serialized storytelling? should i just throw in the towel for Drachenseele and move onto a different project altogether?

thanks again for all the help, support, and encouragement you have given me regarding Drachenseele. it really means a lot to me to have friends like you guys around to help.

KRWright 2020-11-02 01:29:49 UTC #2

You are learning. The people who answer your questions are almost all still learning too. They might be further ahead in their journeys, and so able to offer advice to you, but at the end of the day, only you can tell the Drachenseele story. It is yours, whether you flesh out the ideas fast or slow, whether you ask for loads of advice or none, whether you struggle with world-building or serialisation or don't.

You are this story's creator, it's cheerleader, it's biggest fan, and ultimately the one who decides its fate.

Don't let imposter syndrome take over. You got this, in your own time, at your own pace. I believe in you. Keep going.

rajillustration 2020-11-02 01:45:37 UTC #3

I once saw a really cool venn diagram (I don't have photoshop open or I'd just draw it so bear with my description) where it had a big circle within an ittttttty bitty circle and the itty bitty circle was "things you think that artist is perfect at" and the big circle was "all the things you have no idea that they're just completely guessing about."

But the thing about life is that there will always be people better than you, especially in art. You will never be the best in your class. That doesn't exist. Because every artist and writer has strengths and weaknesses, and you only see their strengths. They hide their weaknesses. This gives the impression that they're better at literally everything--but the truth is...probably not everything, they're just better at that particular thing you're not so good at, so we get fixated on the thing we're not good at, instead of focusing on the things we do all right.

Like I'm good at painting, for instance...not sooo good at making the types of webcomics that rank up numbers on Tapas, haha. That's why these brainstorming forums are helpful, because while maybe not all the advice is what I'll follow, there's also advice that is pretty OK. I can let it make me upset, or I can see it as a learning experience and grow from it, because Tapas is just one place, and I'll make other comics, and this isn't where I make money, it's fine.

But if you feel like "uh I'm getting too upset by this" then...just do something else for a while. Something not art related, if you can. Having hobbies outside of art and outside of commitment--oh they cure the soul.

thel3tterm 2020-11-02 01:48:46 UTC #4

First, I agree with the above solution. We're all still learning!

Second, sometimes when you're entrenched in a project and constantly looking from it up close you may suffer from a lack of perspective. Many times I've worked on something for months only to have someone read it for the first time and immediately point out an issue I hadn't even considered! Having distance from a work can help with that. Don't be afraid to put it away for a while if you need to. Often times taking a break and coming back later can help.

Remember, you're the only one that can tell the version of this story that lives in your head. It doesn't hurt to get help, but at the end of the day you still have unique perspectives and approaches to work that no one else does, and that makes your work valuable.

Seaby 2020-11-02 01:53:29 UTC #5

I don't think that you're being impatient, and I don't think that your perfectionism is a bad thing. But I do think that you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make this story as perfect as can be right from the start.

The thing about comics is that they don't always go through stages of editing and revision. There's usually a script and a rough sketch, then the final product is revealed and whether you like it or not, you're stuck with it unless you want to go through the headache of rewriting and redrawing it.
I think you should forget about drawing it for now and complete your initial script . I think you should power through it, and whenever you're stuck go ahead and write an awful transition to get to the next scene. "And then they punched the bad guys and the world was saved" kind of awful.
It's ten times harder to know how to fix your story if it hasn't been told yet - but it's so much easier to edit something that's already completed and waiting to be played with. And with each edit you'll get better; you'll start seeing where you went wrong, what plot points should connect, how to better connect each scene, what to add and what to get rid of, because it's all already there.

If you go into it knowing that whatever you write will be trash and likely not end up in the final script, you won't experience any stress. You can be looser with your ideas, and not feel the need to rely on others. While I believe that asking others for help is beneficial and can help ease your worries, you may be suffering from too many external ideas and opinions. But once your story has its bones, you can start fleshing it out and have fun with the experience. Because the process of writing a story should be enjoyed. If you're really that close to giving up, then it can't hurt to try.

(This is based off of my experience with writing and planning comics! It's not the best way™ to write every story, but I hope it helps you out.)

liamnaughton7 2020-11-02 02:21:21 UTC #6

All the suggestions here are good but I'd like to add that I've experienced similar.
But it's always gone the other way too. I'd have a plethora of ideas and solutions when discussing my friends work but struggle with my own.

While they might have great ideas for you they may struggle on their own. Fresh eyes and all that.

It's often fun to play with other people's toys.

AmazementComics 2020-11-02 02:34:34 UTC #7

Take their ideas and build from there. Think about Hollywood movies that take 10-15 years of revising old scripts from multiple different screenwriters before they're lifted off the ground and start shooting the actual film. Accept help if you need it, but I would say perfectionism is holding you back.

If my experience here at Tapas has taught me anything, it's that people go through trial and error to the 8th power to get their comic done the way they always imagined it. Let's say inadequacy IS holding you back. Why not get a close friend or editor to help you with your series? You think it's "slowness", but I call it a starting point. It's a matter of perspective. Writing comics is a tough, but awesome business. Don't doubt yourself anymore than you are now. You may realize your creativity is better than expected. After all, what have you got to lose by putting out your comic? It's a starting point, not a defining moment.

Take as much time as you need, but the idea is not to wait forever, because that is a sure fire way to disappointment. Never putting your comic series out there because you thought you were terribly bad at the writing. You need to have a leap of faith. That's all it is.

Peace...

aqua03 2020-11-03 23:51:47 UTC #8

Thanks guys. that all really means a lot to me to hear that. I'll try harder in the future to keep all that in mind going forwards as I work on my work.

Legendofgenii 2020-11-04 00:05:49 UTC #9

I was going to mention the movies too - usually lots of creatives involved there. You're like a director I guess.

aqua03 2020-11-04 00:06:35 UTC #10

Yeah, that makes sense. I'll try to keep that "director" mindset in mind more as I work.

cherrystark 2020-11-04 00:18:04 UTC #11

Everyone makes awesome points. I would also like to add that some people might review/edit their feedback 20x before hitting reply. Your words can sound a jillion times more polished once you've edited what you are going to say. We are all learning and growing together.

PaleOcra 2020-11-04 15:35:11 UTC #12

Perhaps that someone else has spent more time compared to you, that had more experience so they were able to give you good feedback. Perhaps that someone else is indeed more talented compared to you. BUT, I personally believe you should give more credit to yourself than what you think you deserve.

I used to be very stressed out when everyone else was better at me (in other aspects of life), but then, I realised, why was I so harsh on myself? They were more experienced (like 10years more experienced), so obviously they were better than me!

I also had fleeting feelings of 'disappointment' with myself when I saw those gorgeous works out there, knowing I would never reach that 'standard', but this is just the brain playing tricks on you. You keep thinking, 'I must be at the bottom of the pyramid', and 'everybody else are so good!', but you forget, you only keep looking up at the tip of the pyramid and magnified it so large. Perhaps, compared to the population, who knows, you are not as bad as you think you are.

And also, lastly, there is no harm in posting your work out there. Nobody is going to knock on your door and find you because it wasn't 'good', and you could always change username if you are so 'ashamed' of the work. It is all in your head. Just don't think so much.

darthmongoose 2020-11-04 16:32:34 UTC #13

As one of the people who's been advising you, it's important you know that while I'm more experienced than you at writing stories due to having done this for years, it doesn't mean I'm the best person at writing your story. Your story is yours, it's part of you.

I can help you sort out the technical side of things, like advise you on stuff like pacing, worldbuilding, character design... but you're the best person at nailing the tone, the feeling, the themes and just generally the heart of the story you're making.
It's a story I'd never think to make, like "this big Fantasy story with a serious kinda tone like Bionicle and a big conflict and it's about dragon-people!" I guarantee, if somebody put that in my hands the thing that they got would probably be less Bionicle and more Steven Universe or She-Ra, like it'd get all bogged down in the character interactions and philosophy, and the characters would probably be like... humans but with horns and pointy ears because I'm not really an anthro artist.... and it wouldn't necessarily be bad, but it wouldn't be a better version of your thing, it'd be my wildly different interpretation of your thing that really wasn't your thing at all and probably wouldn't appeal to the same audience! Kinda like how a lot of people didn't like The Last Jedi because they felt like that different interpretation of Star Wars didn't feel like Star Wars (I mean, I LOVED the Last Jedi, pacing issues aside, but I totally see how people who like their Star Wars a certain way would hate it).

aqua03 2020-11-04 18:55:03 UTC #14

Thanks again for all the help and advice regarding Drachenseele that you've given me over the past few months. It really means a lot to me.

Yeah, I probably should learn to accept the positives of my work and the fact that even though Drachenseele might not be perfect fro ma technical degree, it's still something that only i can do that is 100% me at the end of the day and all i can do is my best regarding my passion project, and that's the best possible outcome even if it's not a "10/10 masterpiece that brings tears to the every man, woman, child, and goldfish in the audience, brings about world peace, and somehow manages to even make gum drops actually taste like something good through its sheer perfection" that I've seemed to get in my head regarding these characters back in 2011 when I first started out.

i should just focus in telling my story and characters the best I can in only the way I can tell it and do my best doing so, because at the end of the day, all we can do is try our best in general.

Amusingly enough, characters that match that description actually do factor big into the plot later on. (Now I'm curious just what the Dragoons would look like in that style now that you mention it... )