What's Holding You Back?

[Emalie]

Time. I work all day and sometimes draw panels until the wee hours of the morning (I'm not complaining, I enjoy it, that's why I post a comic here). As I've shared on the forums, I have a buffer of my story, which has helped me a lot to continue with my project, but precisely because of the lack of time, I think I would have finished my comic and dedicated myself to writing other stories.

[kyupol]

There's this great big conspiracy by this group of people collaborating with evil non human entities from some planet in the 4th,5th, and 666th dimension that's constantly getting in my way.

They're responsible for clogging my toilet this morning... 🤬

How dare they do that to ME of all people...

[ThunderChicken]

Fixing cars 45 hours per week is a big roadblock. After spending 9 hours figuring out electrical problems in BMW's and Mercedes my mind is usually tired. Also, summer is not a good time to write because I've always got so much to do. Now that we're into fall and headed into winter I should be able to pick it back up (thankfully, before I broke my elbow I had a buffer extending into January)

[Leyelle]

Probably marketing? I'm not great at doing that. I write a lot, but getting published AND figuring out how to get people to find my work has been holding me back from actually being recognized for more of my work. Time constraints and endless burnout are also a big factor

[Cheekybee07]

For me it's having a demanding day job that saps me of mental energy in the evening to do much for myself. i'm trying to focus on discipline more than motivation though to get me to write. i also joined a writing contest so hopefully that should get me fired up.

[arcaneer99]

Greetings!

Time is a major setback for me. Whenever I have it for writing, something always interrupt the flow.

[rayrichardsauthor]

I get this. So much. When I get home, I just wanna watch my shows

[skidiggy]

Right now, I'd have to say "releasing the kraken." There's a big, horrible thing coming up in the story, and I'm fighting the urge to start it because I know it'll be difficult to get in the right headspace to inflict that kind of suffering on all involved. I keep thinking "we can push it off, it'll be good for XYZ," but that's just me avoiding conflict (narrative or otherwise).

[king-goldfish]

I have no trouble writing and finishing things, but I have a huge amount of trouble writing things other people actually want to read.

[jerico]

What do you mean by that? Like are you talking in terms of genre/tropes?

[SagaHolmgaard]

My day job is really holding me back from having the time and energy to work on my longer projects... Not just in the time it's taking up but I also always feel so rusty when I finally sit down to draw lol. Then it's hard to get into a good flow state and I just end up doodling.

[rayrichardsauthor]

Nope. More questioning what's keeping you from living your dreams. Like if your dream was to have a book published, what's stopping you from taking the steps to get a book published.

[jerico]

Oh, oops. Sorry, my reply/question was for @king-goldfish, but it didn't work

[king-goldfish]

Oh, whoops. Yes, I guess I mean in terms of genre/tropes. I mean whatever has made it difficult to find an audience lol. I think if I knew what the issue was, I wouldn't have it. The audience I do have is amazing, A+. But I struggle to attract new readers. Despite writing for many years and posting on a lot of different platforms, my writing has never drawn a lot of interest. Whether that's a fault of subpar self-promotion, subpar market knowledge, or subpar talent, I'm not sure.

@jerico Apparently hitting the reply button didn't work to make it a reply to you, either. So hoping this edit will do the trick

[ameliacovet30]

I want to say we're vibing but since it's kind of a depressing topic and all too real, I'll say... Go away

[Cass]

I'm afraid it won't be good enough. I'm also pretty busy most of the time to write it.

[toonben]

For me, it's anxiety. When I make my webcomic, I worry about the reception of my webcomic whether they like it or not and how many people read it. But I make and post my comic anyway to showcase my skills and as a form of communication.

Anxiety also holds me back from talking because I'm not the best with words.

[bolodibuja]

Right now, unfortunately it's only one word... Money!

[NickRowler]

I do get stuff out but I know I could be doing more. I think what's holding me back is that I'm just mentally broken. I am unwell in a way that I don't know if I will ever get better. I am surprised that I can get anything done tbh.

[EncryptedWriting]

School, money, talent, agencies, etc.

Ultimately with being in college and having an uncertainty about money, I can never feel confident about writing or art.