What keeps you motivated when you feel like your story isn't good enough?

[liann]

For me, it's usually the thought that I am only going to improve as time goes on. I do get the usual desire to revamp everything but I just brush it off lol.

[joannekwan]

The main thing to keep in mind is if you like it yourself. That's why a lot of people's mantras are to create for yourself first and foremost.

But with that aside, one particular reason I like to keep my stories relatively short is that I want to see it to its end. Another story completed, another notch in my belt. I can be proud of that at least. It was a stepping stone forward, experience gained, you know better for next time.
And if the story wasn't particularly successful during its run, no terrible loss, I can start another story and try again.

[liann]

Yeah sometimes, despite liking it myself, I do get a bit of self doubting. But nothing too serious! I think the unhealthiest way to cope with it is comparing myself with other people's works.

[nostalgicroxas]

crying.

Or rather, imagining a bit farther down the line.

So each night before I go to bed, or on long carrides (my commute to work is 1hr one way) I usually imagine the next scene and the one after that for my writing project. ie: will just hit his head and is now bleeding. well crap who responds, who calls the doc, who tries to bandage him and do they move him, is he unconcious? And I figure out that bit.

It's what keeps the story perpetually fresh for me. When I get thinking that it isn't good enough I let myself be sad and cry and just accept those emotions. I personally believe it's important to accept that sometimes you feel like your stuff is crap, and sometimes you put out crap, but it won't always be like that. Writing is harder to show it, but drawing does easily.

What I do when the "daily" scene by scene stuff doesn't work (and I mean I can mull over the same scene for like 4 days or 4 weeks depending on my writing mood). I change up the avenue and allow myself weird thoughts. And then I record it somehow. Either as a sentence for later ideas, or as a more formulated idea, or as a short.

I personally love the idea of 663 jellyfish children for Will and Crow. It's the most random thing in their world to happen. And that's saying something considering they have magic and parallel worlds and all that.
And if it's a short, sometimes it's REALLY short and sometimes it's a few pages. And sometimes it's not going to be something that will end up taking place. ie Crow and Will have a convo about will finding all these shampoo bottles in Crow's shower cause they're cleaning out his shower once. that scene must've been written in like 2013 and it still hasn't been put to use.

[liann]

Same with the whole imagining things before I sleep lol. But do you ever feel scared that one day you'll get bored of it?

[joannekwan]

It's not uncommon to get bored with a story, particularly if you came up with it years ago. We grow and change as people and that often means our interests do too.

If you do get bored, and want to drop the story, go ahead. Unless you're under contract to continue on with it, you may do as you please. Or at least put it on indefinite hiatus. But if you are rather close to completing it, might as well see it to its end.

[nostalgicroxas]

casually slides in a NaNo project from a year or so ago where I made Will and Crow college students and made Crow obsessed with plants and their entire story is different but they're still dorks
And yes I fear that. But at this rate, it's... kind of hard to imagine? I started their story in 2011. I will "reward" myself by commissioning someone for a price I can afford to do couple art of them. Last year or spring ish I had Neizfer tapas link draw a sexy art of them with just a few words to inspire her, and just this month I was able to order a commission (posted in another thread). Being able to "see" them since I do novels, is really important. One of my commissions specifically I got a couple of years ago now is them kissing from a scene I wrote, so the artist had less creative ability, but she didn't mind and did a wonderful job.
But, one thing I've always said about NTN, is that the story technically finished in ch39 ish hahahaha Like that stuff that was supposed to be the "ending" all happens in the first 39 chapters. After that, everything else, is just built off what I had created- a giant world, a bunch of fun characters, and stuff to still resolve. I'm not writing currently with no goal in mind, I still have stuff to resolve and clean up. that's one thing I had to realize this time last year because I was starting to fear the 300k word mark was "too big". After talking with my friends and realizing that I had clear bullet points of plots to close up, it's okay that it takes more than 300k words. Cause again, if someone wants to dip out at ch39, they can. They'll just be missing out.

[Mari]

Nice comments, taking a break, friends asking on their own for updates...Like that confirms for me they actually like it. I'm so self-conscious it's hard for me to be confident in the story to begin with.

[lacoticus]

What my story will become, is what keeps bringing me back. I have thought many times about quitting and i'm only 7 chapters in, it's quite time consuming to draw comics, but i know what i want to achieve with my story so i must continue.

[yansusu]

I try to think about all the awesome things I've planned for future chapters and then remind myself that I can still go and rewrite the older ones to turn them into something fabulous

[Iris-Grimoire]

Writing ahead of time so I can take a break and just focus on the page process, memes, and consuming other media to keep the mind fresh with ideas or at least a lingering thought of 'this comic did X and I liked it, my comic also has X so I feel a bit valid for having it'. As long as it's not suffering and still feels fun at the end of the week, you're good; it's ok to get bored with your characters, story, or just feel sick of the genre for some time but it can't get actually unbearable even after you took your eyes away from it for a while.

[imiogri]

Just like many others mentioned, the future. Right now I'm trying to not get myself stuck on how much I dislike the way my story starts and instead focus on making the future much much better. I'm in fact even rebooting my comic in a way to help myself let go of the things I don't like. The past was still a lesson learned, the reboot's story wouldn't be as polished if I hadn't gone through the old one.

[Sosofellow]

These answers are for when the motivation does come after self-doubt (anxiety and depression make a killer tag team). Two answers and the first one is absolutely not the healthiest: anger.

Watching or reading good art motivates me to no end. But when I watch or read something that was published or distributed professionally and it is hot buttery garbage, there aren't many things that fire me up more than being so pissed off that someone thought that was good enough to push out the door, usually for money. I want to make something better while at the same time having some small sense of confidence/motivation that not all things even professionals make are necessarily going to be good.

The other, healthier answer is in a way, the future, but not restricted to the story. The future as in "finished, not perfect." To finish something is one of the hardest things to do in the art world, and so that's the aim - to just get it done. I can tweak it however much I want to later, I just want it out of my head and onto paper/canvas/internet. Also the thought that this finished something, irrelevant of quality, helps me improve and it also shows others (including myself) that I can, in fact, finish what I start.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I try to make works that support or encourage others. When I stop working on my project I realize I'm choosing to not offer support and encouragement others.

[Maps]

I honestly take breaks to think. I know that I get inspired a lot by music or reading, so I’ll listen to music or read and wait for myself to come up with something I feel proud of.
I have written chapters I posted and felt down about. Like they aren’t good enough or that they’re repetitive. Or that I’m at a standstill in my story.
But like @nostalgicroxas said, it always helps to look farther down the line and figure out excited ways to connect your plot points. That’s currently what I’m doing!
I’ve also realized that outlining my chapters has helped a ton! I’ve made a list of chapters, titled them, and summarized what I’d like to happen in those chapters. It really helped with my motivation.

[Penni]

The fact that if I don't like it I can change it.

It's all part of the learning process and I feel like the more I learn, the better I get. Sometimes it can be frustrating when you get stuck but ultimately, it's worth it

[GamerPrincessXI]

I'd ask for help from my S.O. or random people on the forum. Occasionally make new threads, forget that they're open and take advice, seriously. I have a habit of rewriting posts and/or editing my posts on here a lot. Also, music helps a lot.

[vothnthorvaldson]

Because I'm not only an amateur, but also a beginner, I don't feel a lot of pressure to perform.

So, when I feel it's not good enough (and honestly, it's almost always the case, only, not very badly so), I spend some time thinking of what is wrong and how I could improve. When I feel I'm blocked by lack of skills, I work on the most blatantly poor skill; when I feel I'm getting lost in my story, I make a few mindmaps to get a better global understanding of what I'm doing.

So, in summary, if I find it's not good enough, I work on the most problematic areas, but without putting pressure on myself for results.

[keii4ii]

I listen to other people gush about their favorite unpopular stories. It gives me hope to know that even if a story fails to gain traction, someone out there might love it. To know that my own favorite stories aren't necessarily the most masterful ones. They just hit the right notes for me.

Relevant:

[liann]

This is honestly so inspiring. I also think about this from time to time. That maybe I won't achieve great fame but it still might resonate with some people who have read it. I think that I can consider that success too.