“Creation is an act of bravery” Stephen King said, or someone like that. I honestly can’t remember. But it is true, so who cares. Not me. I’m not a journalist.
In defiance of everything and everybody, some people just really need to go out an do something creative. Do a painting, write a story, make a house out of beer cans. This artistic itch, however, doesn’t always show up with the GREATEST IDEA EVAR.
It’s like wanting to be in love and not having anyone you like to do it.
This happens in every artistic field, but in the field of webcomics, it’s somehow much much worse.
Why? Because of the freedom. The more choices you have, the more paralyzed with fear you become. If you were making comics for print, you should be doing it according to some standards of format, periodicity, and market. If you’re making comics on the web, you’re on your own.
Which to a brave soul, it’s not so bad. The rest of us, however, feel somehow nervous about it. Don’t worry! It’s normal. Here are some recommendations to overcome this fear.
In a perfect world, what would you like to be doing? What would you like to have done? Are you picturing yourself with a shelf full of books that have your name, or are you more the kind that wants to participate in panels and become a webcelebrity?
You have to picture yourself succeeding to have an idea of where you’re going. When you don’t know where you’re going, all the paths are wrong. And no, I don’t know who said that either.
- What kind of comic would you like to be doing?
What are you into? What kind of TV shows, movies, and books do you like? Is there a particular author you like? What is exactly what you like about him or her? Is there any work of art you go “Man, I wish I could do something like that!” or “Wow, so-and-so is really good at this-and-that!”?
The primary thing here is, identify the elements that keep your enthusiasm up. If you have an awesome idea but the thought of developing it into something real is boring to you, then you need another idea or adapt that idea into something you like DOING.
- What are your strong points?
It’s important -although not vital- to take advantage of whatever we can, at least in the beginning. Are you a funny person? Are you good at storytelling? Can you do good dialogue? Are you good at drawing? Whatever the answer is, make a list. And at least for starters, try to focus on that. This is especially true for the absolute newbie that has never ever attempted to make a comic. Do what you do good, so you can be proud and keep at it.
- Stomp your foot on the ground.
The important thing is to make a decision. The bad thing about that blank sheet of paper is our own fear of screwing up. But it’s okay. It’s webcomics. Everybody is practically expecting you to fail. If you screw up, if your comic is not doing well, or if you get bored, you can simply stop and do something else, or not do anything for a while. You can of course, at some point, decide you’re not into this that much, and that’s okay too. In any case, it’s not the end of the world!
Also, if you don’t compromise… ideas have an expiration date. They are transparent, fragile things. Think too much about ANYTHING and no matter how good it is, it starts sounding stupid. Grab it by the tail and start swinging.
I have known WAAAAAY to many people who have a huge project that they develop for years, but they never actually do it. <— EPIC FAIL.
Listen. You have to go at your own pace. If you don’t want to announce it right away, wait till you have a month or two in the archives. If you don’t want your real friends to know you’re doing it, use a pseudonym or something. No one has to know. The important thing is to work, primarily, for yourself. Because you enjoy it.
Later, when and if you feel you have to share, you can start pimping your comic elsewhere, or giving your URL to your friends, or whatever. The important thing is to do it and upload it. The important thing is to start walking.
This shouldn’t be a problem if you’re enjoying what you’re doing. If you are not, figure out why.
If you are, beware of great expectations. Some people think they’re going to have thousands of readers in a couple of months. Nope. This kind of thing takes years.
But you’re not doing it because of that, are you? So stop checking your statistics obssessively.
