What inspired you to create a comic/novel. How did the idea come to you?

[Beppobear]

I wanna know what it was, when, where, how, why your story came to be!

What did you see to have made you think of your story?

Who are your characters inspired from? Real peeps?

What were you doing?

How long did it take you before you actually wrote it down and got down to actually working on the idea and then publishing it?

Then PROMO it! I'm looking for funny, interesting, confusing explanations.

Here's mine:

I was reading a manga about a boy who went to an alternate universe where he and his rival were actually boyfriends. When he came back and found that they weren't, he cried.

I really liked the idea of someone stubborn learning how being loved by the person they hate feels like and then waking up and realizing that no, they don't actually love you and care for you in this world. (NO SPOILERS FROM MY WEB-NOVEL)

My ideas ended up turning a bit sad even though it was supposed to be innocent and fluffy. Then I got too deep and cried. And now its all planned out and completely turned into something angsty and depressing.

My characters are actually mixes of some of my favorite characters from different animes...

When creating Kousuke Olsen, I imagined a pompous and egoistical volleyball king. Hmmm I wonder who that could be... (Oikawa Tooru from Haikyuu). The rest of Kousuke is mixed with parts of myself or improvised.

I had a much harder time creating and envisioning Jayden. He was going to be someone like Kuroo Testurou (Haikyuu) but I found myself writing him all stoic and chill like Miya Osamu (Haikyuu) or Han Daewi (God of Highschool). I still kind of struggle with portraying him, afraid I'm making him seem boring or making him an uninteresting character. I love him a lot though.

I also wanted to tell the story through Kousuke (still in 3rd person). I felt I would've enjoyed writing in his POV more since he's based off myself but then I found that the story would've been more interesting if it began in Jayden's POV. So the story changed from being about a boy who has to face the truth about his relationship with his rival, to a story about how one's rival changed dramatically and how he realizes he wants to help him. It's a hybrid story from two POVs.

In the end, I like how it ended up. I just wish I finished writing it before I began to publish. Got too excited for my first time writing anything and sharing it. Anyways, here it is!

Past Life Lovers | Tapas

Now it's your turn! Tell me how your story came to be! And don't spoil it for your potential readers!!

[21stCenturyHero]

My obsession with a "sunless world" probably started before I even could read.

I think it was way back in... 2006? I was just a wee lad in catholic school who spent way too much time back then telling urban legends and trying to prove himself as "one of the guys". I remember when the world went black and I stared at the sun through camera film with my best friend at the time, a boy named Pedro who I was in love with.

Later, we watched an anime about a sunless world together. I think it was called Tegami Bachi?

I started writing in 2008. My mom loved poems, so I would write them for her. There were two bits of television that absolutely haunted me at the time: 2004's "The Phantom of the Opera" film and the 2002 Brazilian telenovela "O Beijo do Vampiro". Something about them absolutely scared me, and the memory of them would be carried over to what I wrote.

It was also the high of the Twilight craze. I never read Twilight but my sister did, and of course that my very first original characters were vampires.

I think it was this time I watched the Narnia film, and wanting more, utterly devoured the books. I can't explain why, but they did two things 1) made me stop going to church and 2) completely entranced me with the idea of magic. It wasn't cute, fluffy magic like in Harry Potter -- rather, it was something evil and ancient, and it stuck with me.

I learned with time I was incredibly put off with the racism in the likes of Narnia and Harry Potter, and as a brown latino boy, I could never belong to these worlds. That, plus the generational trauma inherited from my parents and grandparents, made me slowly gravitate towards the idea of a "Brazilian fantasy", inspired by Tolkien and Monteiro Lobato both.

My taste for my own culture also got me strangely fascinated by our own version of werewolves, lobisomens. Rather than turning into wolves, they're more... monstrous. Strange, distorted things that turn every Friday night at the crossroads, and run through parishes chasing their lost humanity, only to repeat it again and again until they lost their minds or died.

All this combined to a rather... unique? Vision. Of mages who turn into vampirical monsters that barely resemble humans, a decaying world without sunlight. I am a scared cat, but always had a taste for the macabre. However, it wasn't until the coup of 2016 I started being more and more inspired by tales of dictatorship and political anxiety, ultimately creating my sunless dystopia.

This is "The Throne of the Gods."
This and so much more.

The Throne of the Gods | Tapas

[jmccubbins]

I remember how mine started. Undertale. I started to come up with my own ideas in what a character that would fit in the world would look like. Until one day i read some other novel it was the dark lord of Derklahome and I don't know what it was but right after reading it my ten year old self looked to my older sister and i said,
"I want to make a novel."
Thus it began spending hours each day before bead in figuring out what kind of story I would craft. Then i watched matrix and i was really inspired by that. From there I organized my ideas my long arching plot and began to write. I'm self taught in how to story write. I just fallowed this really old English book in how to do it. But I was ten when I started and now about seven years later i have all of book one written, basis of book 2 written and book three outlined.
My story is in third person and has ben re written three times and now working on book 2!
Hope you enjoy!

The blood wars | Tapas

[Fuzzyman818]

I think my idea stems way back around middle school, where I was introduced to the comic strip, Spy vs Spy, from Mad tv. They used to have little cartoons that ran between skits. That got me interested because it followed the typical slapstick humor, but with a more violent feel to it. Then I got the complete casebook for my 15th birthday and I read about the creator, Antonio Prohías and what he went through to end up in Mad Magazine. So it's an overall homage to him but I tend to feel like it has more to do with America's foreign policy for the last 50 years. From Korea to Vietnam to even Afghanistan, we've spent more money and lives to "help" people that really didn't need our help to begin with. They're also wars without a clear goal set in mind. So I feel like capture the flag is here to point out the absolute pointlessness and futile waste of war.

Capture the Flag | Tapas

[IamKeeks]

Our Sanctuary | Tapas

The Origins

Mora was actually created for another story I was writing. As I was writing the story, I realized that I didn't really know enough about her to make her an interesting character, so I decided to delve into her past.

I began to figure out who she was and how she came to be who she was. It seemed like an interesting enough story in its own right, so I decided to write this story first. (Textbook procrastination)

Here's an image of the original story:

I was using the open source "paint.net" software. I was about 30 or 40 pages in when, I decided to really go for it and bought Clipstudio Pro. The quality of the workjumped so exponentially that I couldn't continue the story from where I'd left off.

I actually went straight from conceptualizing into publishing because, I was trying to break this pattern of procrastination that I've been in for decades. I'm hoping to rerelease a finalized draft of it one day. As well as the "sequel" in which Mora was originally created.

The other characters developed around her, as I dove into her past.

Visually: She's got my prefered style of hair (effortless pony). I'm really lazy, so her clothing is as simple as possible.

Personality-wise: I intended for her to be a direct foil of "Red" (pictured above). I do research on the enneagram and 16 personalities to help with character development. As of right now, Mora appears to be a 6 on the enneagram, but I'm not 100% sure.

Story-wise: The way this story progresses and ends is restricted by who and where I want Mora to be at the beginning of the next one.

I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.

[IamKeeks]

I love it when stories inspire stories!

[LunarScyphozoa]

I read Greek myths for an hour straight and woke up at night, scribbled some concept art, and did a lot of re evaluation on the story

[joannekwan]

When I created my novel's concept, there were a lot of gentleman monster boyfriends in various media that I noticed.

I wanted to make a bastard.

You know, something that was a bit more monstrous that didn't abide by human customs and that kicked politeness out the door.

For his partner, I also wanted someone that wasn't all pure and innocent like so many 'beast and beauty' human girls. So I started with her as a social outcast that—frankly speaking—grows to love sex and isn't terribly abashed by anything.

I wrote down some initial ideas, played around with some sketches and snippets of dialogue, but I didn't nail down the core plot until almost a year later. Once I got the plot down though, it took about a year and a half to write the whole novel.

Secunda | Tapas

[Beppobear]

@21stCenturyHero

Wow! There's a lot that went into it! You must've spent a lot of time thinking about it? It sounds like you made the world the novel is set in too! I tried a little project with world building and gee, it was fun but so much to think about! Like what details are important and which aren't? I get it but the fact that the inspiration for your novel dated back to when I was only still a toddler? Amazing! I'm looking forward to what you write!

[Beppobear]

@joannekwan

I love how you took a different turn! I also love how you knew what you wanted! I was like that too except for me it was,

I want to make boys cry!

Love it though.

[Beppobear]

@IamKeeks

Wooww! I see it! The art has definitely improved! I'm glad it seems like the upgrade and purchase was worth it! I think it was! It kind of reminds me of the old eastern-Asian black ink painting styles (with the huge brushes and all that)! I admire that art style! Very beautiful! You nailed the expressions too!

[Beppobear]

@Fuzzyman818

Aw I love the message you got there! Heart-warming and very important! I'm glad you found the greater moral on which to write your story around!

[Beppobear]

Wow! So dedicated to your novel! I admire that so much! After seven years, you stuck to something and now you've achieved in completing a full book! Really! Congrats on your achievements! I hope I too will remain as fixed and in love with my novel as you in seven years or more!

[Beppobear]

@IamKeeks

Same! At first I was worried I might end up writing the same story and that made me feel hesitant to start writing but when I took a break and returned with a clear mind, I sorted a list of what I wanted out of a story and how I wanted my readers to feel. Then I fell in love with my characters and soon the story changed to suit them! I think it's always okay to feel inspired by a situation or maybe a whole plot and message, in your heart, you know that your story is different and that's what matters! It's also what authors do for each other, spread feelings and messages and motivate more people and eventually, create your own community!

[jmccubbins]

Thanks! I guess what kept me going was the thought of having read a story has made me happy and keep going through tough times just like other stories had for me. Then it would only be right to return the favor and make a novel that could inspire others. I'm always striving to do better on my writing and I hope you stay at you're novel as well! Because in truth the novels that we make today will shape the inspiration of tomorrow.

[Oto_Kouda]

This'll sound funny since I'm writing this genre but...

I don't like harems, though I used to.

Whenever I watch a harem, whether it's a girl surrounded by guys or vice versa, I always wondered:

"What goes on in their heads to think it's a good idea to fall in love with the same person as like, all these other people?!" I get the appeal, but I thought it was a little insane!

Then one day I wondered, "What if I write a story like that? What if I take a reverse harem and tell the story from the POV of a boy within the harem himself? What would he think? What would he feel?" The next thing I knew, I was writing up an entire concept!

The one narrator I had grew to two, then four. The "second male lead," the "extra harem member," the "villainess," and "the female lead's best friend." I wanted to take this genre I'd grown tired and just... turn it into something new!

On top of that, I always feel so weird whenever I see shoujo dudes go all "I'M HERE MY PRINCESS!" after teleporting like a mile to stop someone from hurting the lead, along with how I rarely meet people that act like the dudes in shoujo.

Heck, I know that just from being a guy myself. The genre's been my guilty pleasure.

Long story short: I wanted to write a reverse harem from the POV of a guy while throwing a wrench in the typical formula for the genre.

[Beppobear]

@AmeTsunami

Haha! I get that! That was me but in my case, it was queer boys...

I accidently got introduced to boy's love and I grew very fond of it very quickly. There's a certain charm to it, something like the message being 'love is free and love wins'. There's that lovely reassurance and inspiration that is only specific to boy's love stories and it never fails to warm my heart.

Eventually, I too wanted to spread that message and thus, my newest obsession! My novel! I hope this wasn't too nerdy for anyone!

[YS_og]

The sheer lack of mecha stories out there that are not the long long established Gundam or Battletech storylines got us itching to do something of our own. That got me and my buddy to start doing our own story back years ago, took ages to get actual traction on anything and now here we are trying to get it rolling for good.

[Beppobear]

Ain't that the truth! Thanks! You inspire me to keep up with it! I started writing my story FOR ME, you know? Like I didn't plan on sharing it but I loved it so much, I wanted people to love it too! But you know how it feels to start out at the bottom (every one has to in order to go up). Recently, I've been a little sad that I haven't seen much love for my story that I treasure so much, but you just reminded me that this story is for me. I don't write for anyone else, I write about characters I like and put them in situations I like. That's just me. You remind me that I love my story, thank you!

[Beppobear]

AHhhh! True! I know how you feel! It's frustrating when you can't find a good story or one that's just perfect, the solution is simple, write your own! THat's me too!