• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

  • Contact
  • About
  • Faqs
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Comics Crash Course
  • Blog
  • Videos

inner critic

Dealing with Artistic Impasse

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

If you struggle to get any creative work done at all, it could mean a number of things. If it feels like the well is dry, maybe you need to fill it up. Seek inspiration in other art forms or simply allow yourself some time off. If you’re feeling completely burned out it could even be a sign of depression, but most likely it stems from some kind of fear.

The fear of failure, the fear of finishing. When a work is finished and put out into the world it can feel like a loss of control and setting yourself up for criticism. It can be hard to live up to the expectations of the audience as well as your own.

If you’re not able to “dance with that fear”, as Seth Godin put’s it, you are dead in the water. It could help to trick yourself into thinking of the work as a jam session rather than a large scale concert where nothing must go wrong. We talked about this idea earlier, but the fear of the blank page is real and tangible. You need to splash some paint on that canvas, put yourself in a situation where you don’t freeze up. I still have a ton of doubts about whatever I am creating. Experience has taught me to push through those doubts and distracting my monkey brain in the process. Just putting on a pair of headphones and doing one task at a time, going for progress not perfection.

When I was working on my graphic novel STILETTO, I made a rule for myself; I was not allowed to redraw or make significant corrections until after I had finished all 120 pages of artwork. I made mental notes whenever I was dissatisfied with a panel, promising myself I would fix it later. But guess what? When looking at the book as a whole, redrawing those panels didn’t feel so important any more. I ended up redrawing maybe a handful of panels, all because of continuity or for clearer storytelling, not because I didn’t like the art. I was able to keep myself from getting derailed by postponing judgment. It also saved me a ton of work.

Attempts to cheat your own brain like that don’t always work. If you feel you lack ideas or lack the drive to create, go do something else. I always used to think of my creativity as a bonfire that had to be kept burning. I was afraid the fire would die out if I left it alone for too long. Now I feel like walking away from it for a day, a week or even a month is the best way to get a bigger fire burning. Seeing new places, getting new experiences and learning something new are almost surefire ways of getting out of a creative funk.

On a day-to-day basis I also try to use the approach of getting a different perspective. I bring my notebook on a walk along the lakes or to a cafe. I flip my drawings over on the light box, look at the mirrored image and immediately spot mistakes I was blind to before. I print out my manuscript and go sit in another chair or in the kitchen rather than stare at the computer screen. Going back and forth between digital and analogue as well as changing scenes can help you get out of whatever rut you’re stuck in.


This post is an excerpt from my book SOLO – Survival Guide for Creative Freelancers – Get in now on Amazon.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: art, burnout, criticism, fear of failure, freelance life, inner critic, procrastination, self-doubt, self-employed, SOLO, workflow, writer's block

Writing the first draft

by Palle Schmidt 2 Comments

plan your story with post-its
Using post-it notes or index cards can be very helpful in planning your story

When you’re writing your script, it’s important to take the pressure off and ban your inner critic from meddling.

Writing a script for my comics was the lesson that took my process to the next level. And after I learned to write a script, the next most important lesson was to think of my script in terms of drafts. After all, if it’s a first draft, you don’t have to be Alan Moore right from the go!

Here are some pointers for getting that first draft done:

  • Empty your head as fast as you can. Get it on paper, beginning, middle and end. You can always change the particulars later.
  • Perfection is not what you’re going for. It’s a first draft and it will be edited later! Don’t worry about grammar or mull over character names or location description, just get the story beats down.
  • Resist the urge to show your writing to anyone before the first draft is finished. Stephen King talks about writing with the door closed or door open in his book On Writing (which I can highly recommend). This means the first draft is yours and yours alone. If you have people critizing or asking the wrong questions it can totally derail your process. Write your first draft with the door closed.
  • Think through scenes before you sit down to write them. Take notes or just run through the scene in your head. The good thing is you can do this anywhere, anytime. And it makes the actual writing SO much easier.
  • Break it down into manageable parts if you feel looking at your entire story is overwhelming. 1st act, 2nd act, 3rd, act, individual scenes. Decide how many scenes is necessary to get from point A to point B and deal with each scene as its own little story, with beginning, middle and end.
  • Always be moving forward. Force yourself to get to the end before you go back and change things in what you’ve already written. Take notes of what you want to change but save the editing for the second draft.
  • Know the ending before you write the beginning. No, you don’t need to know the particulars but have an idea, a destination. At least know if it ends on a happy note or if it’s a tragic journey you’re setting out on.
  • Bonus tip: When you DO get to the end and write that the way it’s supposed to be, go back and rewrite the beginning so you can put in little clues about the ending!

Now, as I say in episode 2 of the tutorial videos, it’s time to put your script in a drawer and forget about it!

Related video: Writing your script

 

 

 

Filed Under: News, Pro Tips Tagged With: Alan Moore, comics, creativity, critique, editing, first draft, how to, idea generation, index cards, inner critic, mind hacks, planning, productivity, Stephen King, storytelling, workflow, Writing, writing for comics

Primary Sidebar

Hours of Premium Content

ComicsCrashCourse

Try the FREE 7-day Comics Course

Creator Profiles

Interviews with Creators

The CFB Podcasts

Find them here.

Comic Creators eBook

The Comic Creators eBook

Footer

Check out more resources

Bundles of quality content available, check how to write comics and how to make your comic book artwork look great or find tips and tricks on the blog.

Latest from the blog

  • Video: How to get Story Ideas
  • Video: The Benefit of Being a Nobody
  • Video: Why Creatives Hear Voices
  • Digital Tools for 2021
  • The Most Badass Tools for Inking Comics
  • Why Creative Restrictions are Good for You!
  • How to Write a Great Story – and Stick the Landing

Contact us

If you have questions or issues please contact us.

Official mail: mail(at)comicsforbeginners.com

Feel free to connect on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Copyright © 2023 · ComicsForBeginners by Palle Schmidt Log in