Why do you keep going?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Long story short, in christian religions at least, it means you are judging yourself. The judge is there and present, but it is an inward acknowledgement and acceptance of the decisions you made in your own life.

*Been Catholic for 2 decades and has never heard of this * o_O

If anything, I would assume it has different connotations in other religions, because usually when I hear Christians say things along the lines of 'you'll answer for this on judgement day' or something, they are talking about things with clear moral alignments and consequences...usually negative ones.

And that was the point of my question: if there is no immoral answer to give, there is no reason for a heavenly judge to ask this of you (they might as well ask what your favorite color is...not that I'd be opposed to that).
And if there is an immoral answer, I'd be interested to know what it is.

[Bokyongyo]

“Perhaps a select few read your work and enjoy them”

Pretty much that. If even one person out there likes something I create then it’s more than enough for me to have worked on it. Plus with how many stories, characters I have in my head, I can’t imagine not having a outlet to fulfill that need to tell those stories. Would drive anyone mad.

[arxianfall]

"Mom found out I was going to peace out."

[rajillustration]

*Been Catholic for 2 decades and has never heard of this * o_O

I mean there are as many different types of Christians as sands in the sea, so don't worry about it.

But like I wouldn't say it's an immoral question, but a lot of people feel like failures when their projects don't turn out and really, really carry that blame and shame when there shouldn't be any attached, youknow?

[PapaDom]

"I liked doing it, sir."

What I do and spend my free time on should only be my concern. And even if I get acknowledged after death isn't important anyway. I mean, what does it bring me to have a huge fanbase while being dead? I just agree with most responses here that working for yourself is the most important thing.

[SleepingPoppy]

I never went into comics with a specific level of fame as the goal. It's much more of a sense of "Let's see where it goes? How far can I get?"

Not to say the amount of attention I get on a story wouldn't effect my approach and motivation, it would, it does. There's a big difference between ten readers and zero comments, and 1000 readers, and a handful of regular commenters. The more attention and interaction you get, the more fun it is to share, the more motivating it is to keep going.

But at the end of the day I make comics because it's fun and exciting. I want to feel like I'm moving forward, growing, but I don't have a need for a specific level of popularity or acclaim to make any of it worth while.

[WistyWrites]

Here’s how I would put it: I started because I loved the idea, my characters, the plot—I kept going because even though I have very little supporters, little is better than none.

Even if I had only one supporter that truly loved my work, I’d keep going for them. I don’t quit because people don’t like it. I’d quit because I don’t like the plot anymore, or I feel unmotivated—and even then, if I’m already chapters in, and I have some readers, I’ll keep going for them.

Really, it’s not a question of why, but how. How do you keep motivated, inspired, and interested? And even then, does the question really need to be answered?

[Shanny8]

Why do ANYTHING, knowing you're going to die one day and most likely wont be famous?

You do it coz either you're compelled to create, because you're gonna try your hardest to see it through to the end, or you actually like creating comics/stories.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

Now you stand before a heavenly judge, and the judge questions you: "Knowing all that, why did you continue working on it?"

Answer: "Because trusted you guys to see that the people who needed to see it, saw it."

EDIT: Think about it from the other end of the pipe... why did nameless, faceless, fameless and forgotten people in generations before us do what they did? I guess you either carry on with your life or you don't. If you don't you kinda set up a self-fulfilling prophesy that you'll remain unremembered, even by historians.

[Oto_Kouda]

Honestly, I think I'm just addicted to creating stuff.

[carloswebcomic]

Don't ask me. I've just given up on my comic.
Not sure if I'll ever do another comic again, or do art for that matter.

[dominioncomix]

Because nothing matters besides being good to the people around you, so i may as well spend what little time i have on earth drawing fun stuff.

[darthmongoose]

Well, according to my parents, I started drawing before I started walking or talking. For me, drawing is just a thing my body does, like breathing. I'd never stop drawing, and I don't even show everything I draw to people as it is. I don't just draw for other people at the end of the day, and when I was working full time as an illustrator, only drawing things other people asked for for money, I was pretty miserable. Stopping drawing would be like stopping talking for me, nobody only speaks when people are paying them, right?

The drawings I do for money aren't generally as emotionally satisfying as telling my own stories. Obviously my dream would be to draw my own story for money, but that's a big goal that takes a lot of groundwork so I have to be patient as I get all that done ready to pitch. In the meantime, I have steady audience growth and the opportunity to learn from mistakes while I have fun writing and drawing a comic I really care about while my part time job pays the bills. I'm just like.... do I need to stop? No? Okay I might as well continue.

[monotone_ink]

See you in the next update

[carloswebcomic]

See you in the next update

???
What do you mean?

[lomcia]

"Knowing all that, why did you continue working on it?"

Because I love it. It's so simple.

[AwesomeSoFar]

honestly, getting recognized and famous is so hard to come by, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone that's doing this to get famous goes insane and quits before they get there.

and I may not have enough experience to back up these words yet, but I'll tell you what -
I'm doing this because I think it'll make me happy. and that's the only reason I'm ever gonna need.

[KJBatson]

Keeps me going is that I've always really really loved this novel and my characters. I always intended to go back and rewrite it someday. But I never did and then I got older and I became a parent. I lost myself. I got terrible postpartum depression.

I got therapy for us and my therapist talked to me about how I wasn't just a mom still. I was still another person with wants needs and hobbies. Before this I might have written 2 or 3 chapters a year.

I had found tapas during lockdown and read some comics and novels. And I decided that I was going to do a weekly webnovel for my own mental health and finally finish the story the way it deserved to be. So while I did have to take a brief Hiatus because we were moving I have kept at it. Every Tuesday. Or every Tuesday and Friday if I have some extra time to do another chapter. So this is how I kept going

[Puck]

I sometimes asked myself why I keep playing music.
People who create comics can´t even imagine how it is to make rock´n´roll music.
There are people out there who literally hate me, they see me as their enemy.
I have been beaten up many times, got threats, people throw things at you,
spit on you, fight with you on stage and so on. I have been to hospital many
times, I got scars in my face and on my body from fights.
I create because I create, it´s like breathing to me. I draw, write and play music
and all kind of creations.
It´s cool for me when one person reads my comic and loves it.
One time I sat in a café with a girl and they were playing a song of a band
I was in. She didn´t know I was in the band, she said "I love this song,
it helps me make it through the day", that sentence gave me energy for
at least one year

[Caro]

I’ve drawn comics since apparently i knew what comics were. And for years I drew pages and pages of comics without ever even posting them online. I do make my living off of my work currently but if that were to dry up and disappear tomorrow I just don’t think I could stop. I doodle in comics format before I doodle in any other way its just what my hands go for before my brain can catch up.