What is something you learned working on your most recent story, share it here and don't forget to post a link to the story

Leyelle 2023-12-29 20:12:08 UTC #1

I didn't realize until this story that I didn't give enough descriptions of the characters and what they were doing, though I spent a lot of time describing scenes, so that was something I had to do more of. The thing is I always see the scenes so clearly in my mind that I forget sometimes that nobody else can, I also am more used to writing scripts for shows, audio dramas, etc, so while I'm great at dialog, I didn't actually need to describe what they were doing for anything more than actor/illustrator cues. But fortunately, I've gotten a lot better at that.

Art by Mariel Leister

2DLenzy 2023-12-29 22:12:55 UTC #2

Don't wait after working almost four years and 40 eps to publish and then ask for feedback, cause ya won't feel like redoing your mistakes - (font/text size, and "meh" art)
Only listen to haters if they give sound reasons why they hate you work, then prove them wrong.
Don't kys trying to get eps out on a schedule. Skipping a week won't hurt anyone.
Do engage with fans/people in general, learn to shake off embarrassing moments
Do share more than some description and art. Share a bit of YOU too!
"Your first story shouldn't be your baby", they all say, but it should be your most favorite adopted child. That love goes much deeper. Cherish the good and bad from it.
The story won't get better until you do. Take care of your self and the story will reflect it (Have depression, but got help, now my sense of humor's finally showing--maybe too much, lol)
Forget the profound crap I just said, I just had a deep nap.
Drawing the same characters 60 times in a row can wear on your soul. Make sure your chars are simple/fun to draw. Don't over-complicate designs, unless there's one char you don't mind drawing over and over. Gallus, I'm so tired of drawing you!
Pushing your efforts little by little can make effort easier, if that makes any sense...
Chunky Chickens Chug Chili, Cheat at Checkers, and Challenge Church

KevinReijnders 2023-12-29 22:30:56 UTC #3

One thing I learned, you can't write a love story while going through heartbreak yourself haha.
No matter how logical you try to approach it, no matter how you break it down into theory, it doesn't work.

It was a few months after my girlfriend had broken up with me, and I tried my hand at writing chapter 4's script. But I couldn't pour my all into it, not when the thing that needed to be poured was still broken.
But I got over it, worked through it while focussing on finishing production of chapter 2, and I'm happy to report I managed to write a 1st draft of chapter 4

So the take away here? Don't try to distract yourself from a personal struggle, by writing about what you're struggling with. It will only make you suffer or your work.

Leyelle 2023-12-30 01:05:51 UTC #4

I've found that writing is often a medium for me to express what I'm going through, though not to distract myself from it, though I've never tried to write a romance during a breakup, hope you're doing better now

Leyelle 2023-12-30 01:13:24 UTC #5

True, I feel your deep moment, my stories were pretty depressing for a while, but we're doing better now, though admittedly with an odd sense of humor.

warden 2023-12-30 01:18:16 UTC #6

I think it’s the journey to creating a series is a long and complicated one, with a lot to learn along the way. I’m still figuring out how to create a webcomic and how I can truly portray my story to the best of my abilities, and as my art style & knowledge grows every day basically , I realize that there’s still much to take in and apply to consistently make it better & I have to be up to the task to do that 🫡. Also the concept of quantity over quality which I think my series suffered from even this early on unfortunately .

Summary: Former, infamous criminal Kira Taylors life turns upside down when a forced agreement with the police puts her up to the task of solving a huge phenomenon that's slowly corrupting people on an island. Now, it’s a race against time as she tries to find her way out, and a way to the ‘man that made her lose everything.’

Prologue Link: http://m.tapas.io/episode/2997666

Leyelle 2023-12-30 01:36:24 UTC #7

Same, as you get better it's so easy to want to go back and redo everything, and it's really hard to retain a high standard of quality, especially when you post often

KevinReijnders 2023-12-30 08:09:30 UTC #8

There's definitely a certain catharsis in writing about your troubles. But for me do that, I need to have processed those feelings first before I can actually use them creatively.

I am doing a lot better. It's been over a year and a half now and like I said I managed to sit down and write the chapter

NetherSlayer 2023-12-30 08:21:56 UTC #9

Number one for me: write now. Just write. Doesn't matter what, or for who; if you don't write now, you won't get any better, and once you start writing, you'll get more ideas and think of things you'll want to write in the future.

The next thing I've learned is, if you want people to read your work, you have to put it out there for people to read! Publishing somewhere like here or Wattpad is a great start, and then of course is advertising like with these forums, or telling friends/family you'd like their support too, if you don't mind them reading your stories.

And finally, know that your work 1. won't appeal to everyone and 2. all because it does appeal to some people doesn't mean you can't do better. And that's alright. Everyone has to start somewhere, in whatever they do, and with writing, maybe that means writing a cringe fanfiction novel about a game they played as a teenager.
Speaking of...

ralyash 2023-12-30 13:21:47 UTC #10

(@2DLenzy I tossed you a sub~ Also, I feel your list on many levels XD)

I learned mostly things about myself and my writing habits while writing my most recent story. Small things like words I overuse or structures I habitually fall back on.
I still have a hard time letting go of the fact that I won't make everyone happy. I still have a hard time accepting that I can't just DO WHAT I WANT with both language and storytelling. I still hate the marketing hat I have to wear to get anywhere.
But also, I've found it's great to have a community with similar interests to discuss writing with. Things like asking for feedback or others' opinions when I have doubts is historically very difficult for me. I also learned that if I put my mind to it, I can get a LOT of stuff done XD. Writing is always a fun ride XD.

rainwang 2023-12-30 13:33:55 UTC #11

Hi there!! :))

Chasing Grief is a story about a woman who lost her love and is trying to deal with her feelings of loss and grief. She does this by going through life, death, and everything in between to get answers to her questions, and maybe reconcile with her heart. This story is in poetry form, so it is full of imagery, emotions, and feelings :))

One thing I learned while working on this is I tend to ramble on about a topic in a chapter when I'm really into it. The second part of my story is 7 episodes long, but initially it was so much more than that. Good thing I tried to shorten it because I thought the readers would grow tired of reading so much about one or two things only, rather than legitimately progressing in the story. I'm also glad that I did shorten it and compressed it in a few chapters only that can describe the world and history I wanted to describe.

Leyelle 2023-12-31 12:31:25 UTC #12

aye, I really agree with that, I struggle so much with this maybe imposter syndrome...? that I'm not good enough for my own ideas so I never write them...gotta force myself to ACTUALLY write them because like it or not, nobody else can create my ideas for me

Leyelle 2023-12-31 12:33:03 UTC #13

I love this, it sounds like an inspirational post. Yeah, i've been wanting to build a writing community for some time now, maybe make a club for passionate authors, it's so nice to have other people in the same lane as you to talk to

@rainwang

I think i do the same thing, my brother has to remind me to make the story actually go somewhere

R.n.P 2023-12-31 17:57:10 UTC #14

Sometimes its best to take it slow and let your comic grow naturally rather than forcing it with sub for sub systems, as long as the story is good and you have faith, just keep working hard and as time goes by you'll get loyal readers,

Leyelle 2023-12-31 18:02:22 UTC #15

I agree, marketing is good, but don't try to force it, my story just now started growing thanks to marketing, but i never do sub for sub

Leyelle 2024-01-07 13:54:36 UTC #16

This isn't my most recent, but it came out in December. I would say writing this I learned how important it is to give a lot of details when you working with a team, and also to practice patience, politeness, and to not be afraid to ask questions, even when people don't seem to want to answer them. Also how important it is to work with people who share your vision. (there's a lot more but I won't go on.)

Leyelle 2024-01-26 03:36:09 UTC #17

don't panic about trying to add filler to your story. The more you write your characters, the more you'll discover questions you want to answer/don't have answers for, and you build on those. You'll realize you want to give more detail to traits you add to their characters in passing for depth that really have a complicated backstory to them.

Example: i was worried that my novel would be too short, but as I wrote, i realized there were several more BOOKS worth of story to go into with these characters. what's up with Alicia's childhood? what's up with Kattar's dad and his mom's glamorous but actually toxic goddess-complex? xyz. It was a lot more than could fit into one book, hence: "Sun with a paper crown."

Leyelle 2024-02-21 02:40:47 UTC #18

There are so many things, i'll start with one at a time.

when working with an old idea you want to rewrite, sometimes you need to just break the plot down to it's core elements so you can figure out what to keep and what to throw away. The plot to "Hushabye Prince" was still a story I wanted to tell, but so many characters and scenes and pieces of conflict had to be dropped, characters discarded or overhauled, new characters added, and more, before it would become useable. A good idea is not defined by the draft but by the concept at it's core. Still, that sometimes mean tearing the draft to shreds so you can just get back to the core again.

Kalebell 2024-02-22 04:13:02 UTC #19

I learned that it's fine to edit your story in a different way so that it can fit as a longer series.

Leyelle 2024-03-14 19:42:37 UTC #20

Don't freak out. Developing character's isn't as hard as it feels when you just sit down and tell yourself 'flesh out a character' there is so much inspiration in the world, every character can just be bits and pieces of everything you or people you know or know of like or dislike.