What is the Meaning of Your Work?

I don't think there HAS to be a moral or a point to a work. I'm sure there are great stories out there that don't really have any morals or points but they're still great. For example, The Big Lebowski is pretty much just a comedy movie that doesn't exist to teach you any lessons; it just exists to make you laugh and it does a good job of it.

For my own stories, I tend to like to put things in it things that worry or bother me personally. I once wrote a character who was really terrified of the future because it's something that I worry about, too. At the end, he faced the thing that terrified him in his future and he got to move on with his life. I usually prefer stories like this where a writer communicates their own doubts or insecurities about something because it makes the story feel more genuine and real.

But not all stories have to be deep or have a message as I said earlier. Disney movies are usually pretty simple and in my opinion pretty flat, but they're still incredibly enjoyable despite their very simple messages and the viewer can still get something rich out of them.

My personal philosophy:

(I'm not religious though)

Ideally I am able to joyfully keep working even while knowing there is no real meaning behind it. But that's easier said than done, so sometimes I still struggle with the existential crisis thing.

At the same time, I do want to create things that genuinely benefit people. And I've thought about this a lot, to be honest. What kind of art or story can benefit people the most?

Is it enough for something to simply be beautiful? Frankly, art and stories are so cheap nowadays - by that I mean there is so much of it that I wonder if people have become somewhat desensitized due to sheer overexposure. As an artist, it's nice to believe that the thing I spend hours creating will really inspire someone, but most of the time someone will look at it for a few seconds, hopefully crack a smile, and then move along as if nothing happened. If that's the best that I can do, so be it, but I have to wonder if that's really it, you know?

I also don't want to tell stories just for the sake of entertainment or as a device for escapism. Firstly, because so much of that already exists that it seems redundant to make one more story like that when there are already millions of others that can fulfill basically the same need. Secondly, because I think escapism isn't the best way to deal with life. Rather than making something comfortable that helps people forget about their problems, I'd like to make something that inspires people to face their problems - that changes their actions in real life. But how to do that - I'm not sure at all...

TL;DR I want to make people's lives better beyond just providing entertainment but have no idea what I'm doing.

Meanwhile I just keep practicing so that if/whenever I figure it out, my lack of skill won't hold me back.

Thoughtfulness, meaningfullness and impact can manifest in many ways. Not only with serious or deep topics.

A lighthearted story can help a person to rest their mind after a long day. People can bond over watching a comedy. If a story wakes up the interest of people and fulfill its purpose (it could be many things, to entertain, to make people think, escapism, to teach a life lesson, etc...), then that story is meaningfull for them.

Thoughtfullness depend more on how deeply was thought. Even the most absurd and silly work can be brilliant master piece if it`s properly executed.

As many people already said, tell the story you want to tell, you have higher chances of being meaningfull if you follow the message from your heart.

This is a story with lots of fantastical elements and magic system and angels, but in the end its not about any of that. To put it as simply as I can; It's about flawed people trying to hold onto the better parts of themselves. Dunno if it comes across, not yet at least since I barely began to scratch the surface.

Well, of course it will depend of the lesson, but some lessons like "don`t steal" are a good thing to teach to kids. Even if it is considered common sense, because kids are learning about the world.

Well... as far as I know, in some cultures stealing considered like something which is ok.
For example, if I'm not mistaken, in ancient Sparta boys were kept on hungry ration. It was expected that they would supplement their diet by stealing food. If someone catch boy when he was stealing, he was punished, but not for stealing itself, rather for the fact that he was catched.
That's how they tried to teach them to support themself by all means or being stealthy or whatever.

Just imagine the hypothetical situation:
1. You have taught boy not to steal
2. He accidentally walk into the space-time anomaly and appeared in ancient Sparta!..
3. ..and died from starving because he was taught not to steal.

Was it good for him eventually to be taught that way?!! Poor boy!!!

"remember kids, stealing is bad, unless a space-time anomaly happens and you are transported to ancient Sparta, in that case stealing is neccesary because in ancient Sparta, only the ruthless survives"

I'm a death of the author kinda person. Whatever meaning I may or may not have put into it, it doesn't matter as much as what the reader takes from it. I didn't pick a meaning or theme, I just wanted to tell a story about interesting characters and interesting plots. But as the characters got their arcs, that's where some meaning turned up. If I had to say what themes I saw, it things like at one point does a sentient creation have rights over its own existence, overcoming guilt and some nature vs nurture. But it's not the sorta thing where a character is going to turn to the camera and go "remember to always be kind". People will take whatever they want from it.

And sometimes it's nice not to have a meaning too. Kids media often has a heavy handed moral, but just as often I watch/read something I could care less what the moral/meaning is, I'm enjoying it on its surface level. There's an anime called Selector WIXOSS, it was a great psychological piece, but certain areas of the fans will take great pleasure telling you how it's an analogy for God and Satan and the complexity of gambling and addiction as motives for the main character and tell me I obviously didn't understand a lot of the show if I missed these things.I enjoyed the show without having to find some deep metaphor and hidden layers to the narrative.

Personally I believe in creation for the sake of creation. It doesn’t have to have some big meaning behind it. I’ve found that even if you don’t have a meaning in mind, you’ll include something subconsciously anyway.

That and it’s the readers who find meaning in the work.

Sure you can have an intention behind it, but that doesn’t mean everyone will take it as intended. Some may even see the exact opposite of what you intended.

Instead of focusing on some grand meaning, I focus more on themes. For instance, tho this is spoilery for my comic, forgiveness is a theme but not in the way you might expect. The way I intend to show forgiveness is for the sake of the one doing the forgiving, not the one who gets forgiven.

Also friendship. Valuing life. Creativity. Individualism. Learning to rely on yourself. But meaning? Well I suppose it has sort of a meeting but saying it would ruin the whole thing.

I guess one thing is I negatively show those that think they have the authority to make absolute moral judgments. Or like thinking you know what’s best for everyone. Because that rejects the very idea of the individual. Everyone is different ergo they don’t need to be treated all the same.

If I had to boil it down to a single meaning it would be the value of Individualism and the evils of Collectiveism. But I’m certain some people will get the opposite meaning out of it somehow.

But is that the meaning? Idk. I mostly just want to tell an interesting story.

I also enjoy escapism but also works that encourages facing reality. There’s a time and place for escapism, it can help people learn to face their problems in ways that are not immediately obvious. You just never know what’s going to strike the right cord in people.

Which is exactly why I believe in creating for the sake of it. Insert a meaning or don’t, the sheer act of creation itself holds meaning. Make it meaningless, meaningless crap can be inspiring as well. Hell, one thing I found meaning is PASWG which was literally about raunchy angels and was created when completely drunk. It’s stupid, fun, has a good plot, but does it mean anything? Not really. It’s about a couple of slutty, bitchy, gluttonous fallen angels who ultimately don’t learn any lessons. But I found meaning in it.

So I wouldn’t stress to hard about meaning.

you can be didactic if you do it subtly and avoiding being preachy. But i agree that some messages can be handled better.

@DiegoPalacios Totally! I just feel that it's so easy to land on the preachy side. However, non-preachy messages are totally great. Especially if they're philosophical. (Ie. read anything by Vonnegut, Kobo Abe, Camus). Those listed authors have very pointed messages they are telling without being overtly preachy. For the most part, it comes off great

PS. I also sort of have a thing against the Narnia series for how blatantly it wears its message.

I don't really have a meaning to my work. I just make what I want because my brain does it and I think it's cool.

Some people have gotten super deep meanings out of my work that just baffles me. Like I made that up while I was in the shower not when I was discriminated against or felt sad.

I think it's cool that different meanings can be derived from the same work may it be writing or paintings or comics. I think it's helpful if people get offended that you don't have to reply in the sense that you can't control their opinion or interpretation so not to take it personally.

In terms of existential crisis, you can't control interpretation . . . you can try, but everyone is touched differently so it will backfire. Just make stuff as long as you enjoy it. In terms of impact some pieces will hit and others will be less popular but being an artist is riding those waves and knowing that will happen.

there is meaning to my comic but i would rather leave it up to be decoded by those interested,and i do intentionally leave hints to the bigger story

The question in the title was worded in second person, so yep, old Scott Zaboem is going to make this about himself again.

In my Alien Fiction, there is a degree of parody happening even though I haven't been clear enough about what subject I am satirizing. I borrow heavily from Voltaire who mercilessly tore into hos target with biting satire on each and every stinking page of his entire novel. I didn't go that hard core. Honestly, the plot of the books is not the reason for writing them...

I released my Alien Fiction stories with Creative Commons licenses. I set out to create a body of material that anyone else can use afterward their own purposes. Was I successful? I haven't seen evidence of anyone else using it, but that might happen one hundred years after I am gone.

In the meantime, I can spin a moderately entertaining story of goofy comedy for the enjoyment of a few suckers who are tricked into reading it.

My other book, Soulless Saint, was created to promote a certain lesser-known roleplaying game. For that purpose, it was a complete failure.

One out of two ain't terrible.

I believe both sides are perfectly valid. Some things exist just to be there, and other creations have a planed purpose. It is like people, some people just live the moment, they were "born to be alive" and they don't contemplate just are spontaneous. And other people want to find a meaning of everything and make a specific message clear. Both are meaningful in their own way.

The point of my work is to bring it to existence because it makes me happy and hopefully will make others happy. My current comic is actually very oriented towards questioning existence and how can you become meaningful to this world. If I had to define a goal it would be to cause emotions in the readers, I don't want to educate, or show them right from wrong, just want them to laugh, cry, worry, be emotional.

I think art about serious stuff is kinda bullshit:/
Do people really think about that stuff on the daily? Really? Well if so I don’t think I would really care to hang out with someone who’s only interest is sappy or political bullshit.
And sometimes people will make art just to seem “deep” when they actually put no real thought into it and just want the likes. Think about that the next time you see one of those pieces, because being “meaningful” sells.

The meaning of my work (well maybe not from most of my work up until this point since I don’t do many finished pieces:3 however I’m starting to move into doing some of the stuff I really want to do) the meaning of my work is to show what I think makes men beautiful, particularly American men. More specifically, I want to show how cute they are in a very comedic way. I want to mix Gil Elvgren (he’s the dude who did all the old-school pip-ups from the 40s and 50s) with Norman Rockwell (more spirit than in their style, though I think both their styles are absolutely gorgeous!), except with thick sexy dudes. I love the flare of comedy both artists have in their paintings; and you can tell they are both painting subjects they really like/admire. Btw both these artists were super commercial, and yet their paintings are teeming with life and you can see in their paintings just how much they enjoyed their work.

So yeah, in short. No art doesn’t have to have some big deep sappy meaning for it to have life and make people feel emotions. Just do what makes you happy, it could even just be happy little trees:3

I mean not every story has to has super deep or super important themes. Even an examination of a simple everyday life can be enthralling in it's own way.
Sometimes a theme just pops up accidentally as you go along your story just because that just happens sometimes.