>tfw the only thing I've ever felt I've been good at is being creative
>practice writing all kinds of different stories and genres for years
>finally pick an idea that I'd like to turn into a profession
>dedicate my heart and soul to this project
>present the idea to 4chan and friends
>"That's the stupidest, most unoriginal idea ever."
I think I'm done, trying guys. I'm just gonna collect my autism bux and live the rest of my life alone now.
>>24368038
Kek, why come to 4chan with anything important? We're crabs in a bucket, anon
>>24368038
Seriously I wouldn't take anything 4Chan says to heart.
Are you kidding me man ? Don't stop, especially if you like what you do. Your thing will find its public, even it's 20 people, it was worth it. I can relate to you btw, i'm making music and i'm working on an album. Once i finish it i will probably end my shitty life though.
>>24368074
Which is why I went to my friends, but they basically told me the same thing. I'd rather not say much about my project, just because I'm so embarrassed at this point, but I felt so good about it, just to be told it's worthless.
>>24368112
I want to keep going, but I've hit a huge writer's block all of a sudden. It's like I can't even enjoy writing anymore. I feel you, man.
>>24368116
Maybe you have shitty friends. I hate to say this because I can't think of any other sites but reddit actually might give you helpful feedback
>>24368116
Do it anyway. Most of the time when i write music people tell me its just "ok, but its not like my favorite pop music lol". Sometimes you need to do what you want, mi amigo
>>24368148
What's the gist of your project?
>>24368171
>>24368154
Well, my friends actually read my stuff, so I know they're being honest. I'll try to keep going. Just need to get over the depression first.
>>24368217
Fight ghosts, get bitches.
>>24368244
ok, now this is a book/story?
it sounds interresting/weird at a glace, but is it like... regulated boxing ghosts? illegal fights? something more lore-oriented?
>>24368274
It's amanga.
It's basically a guy who made a covenant with God that he would help protect the world from ghosts. In return, he has a way to protect himself as well as other people in the city. As time goes on, more people make covenants and join the main character.Then they become his harem.
>>24368359
Sounds like it's right in my wheelhouse compadre. I can dig it, and maybe fap to it
>the only thing I've been good at
>everyone tells me im shit at it
maybe you're not as good as you thought.
>>24368379
Thank you for reminding me.
>>24368359
It sounds erotic. Your friends were probably thinking it's weird that you want to make porn.
But I like it, can you draw though?
>>24368376
Yeah, I was hoping it would be, but the concept is so overdone at this point that I would feel like I was just stealing someone else's work.
I love you OP, please don't give up. From the bottom of my heart I wish you happiness.
>>24368474
Thank you, anon. I'll do my best everyday.
>>24368411
Just gotta do it with a western twist. Or at least another culture besides japanese.
>>24368501
Oh, yeah. The whole thing takes place in Las Vegas with immediate ties to Christianity.
>>24368406
I've been trying to get better at drawing, but so far, no dice. Also,my friends know me as an erotic writer.
>>24368548
See, that sounds original. No need to worry about feeling like a copycat
>>24368694
>my friends know me as an erotic writer.
If your friends didn't support you and they know you're an erotic writer, maybe they think you're a shitty artist and think you'd be better of spending time on something more worth-while.
please post a sample of your work, crop it if you're afraid of reverse image search
>>24368715
That's what I thought too... Until I found Panty and Stocking. Of course, they're different in a whole bunch of different ways, but it feels like they're basically the same story. Not trying to make excuses, btw! Just venting.
>>24368790
Nah, it's fine. As long as your characters differ greatly it wont matter. Have you come up with a lot yet? Or are you still in the starting out phase?
>>24368780
I'm still learning how to draw, and they knew that from the beginning. I'm going from making pastebin stories to actual manga. I've never had any kind of art training before.
>genre fiction
>>24368810
I've come up with basically the entire arc. Anything in particular you wanna know?
Are you saying you've just come up with an idea?
Ideas don't always catch people. But if they read actual writing they might change their mind. If they haven't at least read the first chapter then their opinion is pretty irrelevant.
>>24368839
Sure, how lewd does the first arc get? And how early in does the harem element come in?
>>24368817
>I'm still learning how to draw
Honestly, it makes sense now that you put it that way. Investing time into drawing just so you can make porn doesn't sound like a lucrative way of living. They probably think you'd be better suited doing something that you're already good at, rather than try to learn something new for something so so SO niche.
>>24368914
The harem comes in right away. The main character is fighting ghosts along with 7 girls who each trinkle in in the first 12 chapters. They all make the covenant at different times and each find an excuse to live with the main guy. It doesn't really get lewd until after that, when their characters are all solidified.
>>24368918
Yeah, you have a point. My friends' mentality isn't about whether I'll make money or not. They just think the idea sucks.
>>24368038
Rules of Creativity
1. Fuck the haters, you're doing this for fun
2. Most of writing comes from Shakespeare and as a result there is heavy comedic overtones (or there's tragedy or there's history), you better pick up on them. If you can't laugh at everything that you're saying you're taking yourself too seriously.
3. The one who can get the best joke passed the goalie is best. Think of how your parents talk about their childhood, there's a few serious joke there, that's what you need to pick up on, funny in post.
4. If you ask art for anything you are asking too much.
>>24369002
Neat, i like that the girls are all there at the start actually. Lets me know what kinda lewd i may be getting later. Hopefully there are some insecure really short/tall qts in that harem
>>24369055
That's why I decided to throw a cat pun in every issue.My friends didn't like that idea too much.
>>24369055
Like your post is hilarious because there's a level of comedy there, you might not be picking up on it, but it's hilarious, well not like like audible laughter, but an internal chuckle sort of thing. The purest form of reality as viewed through a single person in general is just hilarious when displayed to others and viewed by a third party.
>>24369101
There's a loli and a high school teacher, so you get the best of both worlds.
>>24368038
Try to get the story published anyway, maybe sell it on amazon or kindle for 99cents.
See where it takes you.
There's a lot of weird fucked up people on this earth, so its possible you'll appeal to a decent amount of people.
>>24369189
Anon is right. Your friends may not be the right target audience but someone out there could enjoy it.
>>24369127
wew lad, sounds fun. This is my kind of manga anon, please disregard everyone and finish it for me. My boner needs to see it
>>24368038
>dedicate my heart and soul to this project
>present the idea to 4chan and friends
So that was the first time you showed it to anyone else?
How can you hope to improve when you are your only source of feedback? How can you hope to do this now that you have developed a fear of criticism? These are the things that are holding you back, not the negative nancies of 4chan.
>>24369189
>>24369220
>>24369224
>>24369225
I really enjoy the support, guys! It's nice to feel hope again.
>>24369287
anytime, harem-anon. Cant wait to see your work one day.
>>24368359
That's a stupid idea.
Your friends were right.
>>24368038
If what you were looking for was helpful, constructive criticism, 4chan is not the place to get it.
>>24369349
I disagree. I find the supernatural world very interesting and think the approach has potential.
>>24369030
>>24368918
ShindoL made it, so can you.
>I moved from my hometown in Queens, NY to Tokyo to work in the adult manga industry.
https://www.patreon.com/shindol?ty=h
op, a few questions about your idea
1. how does the bad guy fight evil? does the covenant grant him super powers, magic, some kind of weapon?
2. what forms are the ghosts? just spoopy ghosts of things that died (because then it's just Tsugumomo kinda)? or is the evil organized?
3. is there a spirit world where the ghosts normally go to, that god lives in?
4. do you really thing a harem of 7 is a number you can start off with and flesh out in 12 chapters? consider starting smaller and add on to the harem as time goes on. all the successful harems work this way (see nisekoi, sidonia, tenchi). 2 or 3 is a more realistic start.
5. how do you plan on publishing it? digitally, as a webcomic? taking it to a serious publisher and trying to get it in print? taking it to an indie and trying to get a small run? actually making it into a manga magazine like afternoon?
>>24368817
Honestly the best way to improve, and I know this gets said a LOT, is just constant practice. I mean, I went from drawing shit you'd expect from a seven-year old to passable drawings in a coupla months.
>>24369517
1. The covenant grants them weapons that they use to fight ghosts. Regular guns and such can't kill a spirit.
2. I'm still thinking about the exact design of the ghosts, but something along the lines of vapor skeletons.
3. There is a spirit world where God, one of the girls and the main villain comes from. When a spirit leaves the world (not as a ghost) God either accepts them into his presence or banishes them to Hell.
4. It wouldn't be 12 chapters, it's be 12 issues, if that makes any difference. I've looked at some of my favorites, and they usually throw in all the characters in the first couple episodes and build on from there. I think I could make it work.
5. The plan is to make it as big as I could get it. Basically, making it a real manga series like Bleach or something like that.
Did I explain everything OK?
>>24369545
What did you do to practice? /ic/ makes me want to pull my hair out.
>>24369700
1. like swords and shit? so basically rakudai kishi or maken-ki?
2. k
3. god sounds like he should have some angels or some shit to do this. are the ghosts a new thing? or is the hero just the latest in a long line of heroes stretching back until the dawn of time?
4. issues, chapters same thing. 20-30 pages is what you're looking at.
5. can't be too ecchi then, also you need to be really, really, really fucking good to get a long-running series in jump. especially as a filthy gaijin (or so I am inferring).
>>24369774
Yeah, like swords and guns. Half of 'em have pointy weapons, the others have shoot 'em up weapons. I looked at the images for both of the ones you listed, and it seems more like the Rakudai one.
3. He sent one angel, the first harem girl who kinda exposes the main guy to the world of ghosts (which just popped up over night).
4. I was hoping for more pages than that. I was shooting for like 70+ pages an issue. I can see how that's be a problem if it became a magazine like most manga, but I had the intention of each issue being its own book.
5. I didn't intend for Highschool DxD levels, but more like a tametame Kiss x Sis.
>>24369915
oh, absolute duo also does the weapons thing.
70+ pages an issue is ridiculous, even for american books (which count 25-35 max). weekly jump shit is about 20 pages each. afternoon and other monthlies are like 30-60 pages, depending on the popularity. 70 pages isn't enough for a book though, you need ~180 for a tank size and maybe 120 for a comic TPB.
you also probably underestimate just how much work drawing and inking a single page is, let alone 20 or 70. or adding colors.
>I'm only good at being creative!
>But I haven't created anything and the first thing I decided to show off to everyone got called shit.
>I'm losing hope guys, please validate my shitty fanfic writing!
>>24369991
Probably. I'm not very familiar with the art portion of manga. I'm a writer who's just barely making the transition. Honestly, I'd rather go 120 pages than 20-30. Maybe something not as long as Bleach, then. Maybe something that would just last 26 volumes. Maybe I could have most of it done before I tried pitching it to publishers. I'm still trying to figure this stuff out.
>>24370041
Read the OP again and see why your post was retarded.
>>24370077
>Maybe I could have most of it done before I tried pitching it to publishers.
let's say you could work at halft the pace of bleach or academia or naruto, since you don't have assistants or experience (though they barely get any sleep or time off even with help but that's for later). the last chapter of academia was 20 pages, that seems like a good start. so 20 pages every two weeks. even if we go with 120 pages a tank, which is unrealistic, that's 3 months per tank. which at 13 tanks (half, which is the bare requirement for "most of it") would take you 3 years and 3 months. working at the very least 9-5 every day, probably without any time off either. so let's push it back, because your life is probably in no place to commit to that kind of schedule especially since you can't even draw, to 4 years at the minimum of commitment to your plan before you even start shopping it around.
do you really want to spend 4 years of your life creating something that might not even sell? and we'rd not talking about the college 4 years of life which is interspersed with all kinds of secondary educational opportunities and life experiences. this is 4 years of working all day every day. constantly. and that's with just the black and whites of a manga page.
I think you should have a different approach.
btw western comics (at roughly ~35 pages each) come out monthly, if they're on time, and 5 pages of that is advertisement. and then they have a writer, penciler, letterer, inker, colorist and editors. when one person handles the art the time required to complete a single issue increases tremendously. so don't think that's an easier option.and no, the walking dead being black and white is not a good example.
>>24369725
I just keep a little A5 sketchbook and pencils in my bag, and doodle when I get bored
A great place to start is by learning how to break the human figure down into simple shapes.
Once you've got that down, try different poses and costumes and shit. Honestly I'm still learning as I go - there's no real 'end point' to learning to draw.
>>24368038
don't listen to the trolls m8, just dooo ettt :)
As a nihilist, I can confirm op, that there is no point. Whatever you choose to do, it doesn't matter.
You can either feel despair, or emancipated. For if it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter if some people don't like it. If you like it, then you do it.
What are you going to call it?
>>24368359
sorry anon that is unoriginal
if you remove the harem part and go for pure story raher than ecchi comedy it would be a million times better
don't cheapen your work
>>24370223
I'm just not sure how to go about doing this whole thing. I'm not gonna make excuses. I really don't know what I'm getting myself into. I just see the end result of having my story the way I want out there for people to see. I went with manga because I feel like that's the best outlet for the kind of story I want to tell. I need to get good at drawing for sure, but I don't want that to be an excuse as to why I'm not making it happen. I understand what you're saying, and to be honest, I don't know what to do, because I'd really rather not split up each episode into smaller segments than they're already in.
>>24370277
Where did you learn your theory? I hate Loomis, so getting away from him would be a breath of fresh air.
>>24368359
thats so fucking boring LMAO
it took you your entire lifetime to come up with this shit?
just give up idiot
>>24370315
Graveyard Vegas
>>24370361
Can't tell if you're trolling or serious, but feels bad either way.
>>24370447
ignore the haters anon. nothing is liked by everyone. besides, a vague plot description is nothing compared to actually reading something.
>>24370479
>ignore the haters
You're right. I know you're right. I'm just at the point where I realize how severely underqualified I am for this kind of thing. Hard to tune them out when I really don't have the talent right now.
>>24368038
So you're the anon that came up with Keit Ai?
If you show me character designs I can tell you how to improve them
>>24370349
Honestly it's just shit I've pieced together, and the advice of a couple of artist friends I know. Search around for multiple sources and experiment a bunch. Find what works best for you - it's your art.
>>24370587Maybe just one. I'm too embarrassed to show any more.
>>24368411
you realize that no idea is original anymore, right? you could try to create anything and it would still be based off of something else that you've experienced before. there's no way to get around that kind of inevitability so you just have to go with your idea no matter what. furthermore, do what you want to do with your writing. if you show it to enough people you're bound to find someone who likes it.
>>24370622
Thanks, mate. I'll take a look around.
>>24370646
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Really means a lot.
>>24370637
Only way to improve that is by cutting your hands off, sorry anon.
>>24370646
>you do realize nothing is original anymore?
spoken like a true talentless hack
>>24370637
Honestly a lot better than my starter work. Nice job, man. Try investing in some ink pens to line your shit, makes it look way more professional. Even those felt-tip ones are good.
>>24370921
People who give empty praise and no advice are the reason people never learn how to draw.
anon your story sounds like shit. i'm not trolling, i'm being honest.
dude you admitted to copying bleach
this is boring and you are bad at drawing
go practice. read books, understand what makes a good story, learn how to draw, then come up with something that resonates with you; maybe an angle that only someone with your life experiences and viewpoint could expose and do that
dont just copy bleach and expect to become the new one piece seriously stop being a self pitying fuck and do some work, you think people just get good instantly?
>>24370975
>>24371054
O-ok, Senpai. I trust you.
>>24368359
Tbh senpai if you cant come up with anything more original than this u are not cut out for it.
Its Litteraly been done so many times before, but im talentlos as well
>>24371127
I get it. I'll stop. Just let the thread die already.
>>24371143
dont worry anon, you belong here with us, we are all talentless here.
>>24371143
Everyone needs to see this so they don't turn out a gigantic fucking unoriginal failure like you.
>>24371143
I think the problem here is that you didn't try at all, except by consuming the most low-tier anime available.
I'm serious, have you read/watched something by Tezuka, Otomo, Wells, Kubrick?
Being "creative" requires learning too, you don't just scribble on paper your ideas.
>>24370361
This. It reminds me of a story idea I came up with in 5 minutes where a guy dumps his girlfriend who's into the occult and she curses his penis so every time he has sex with a girl his orgasms turn them to stone.
>>24371230
STOP BUMPING THE FUCKING THREAD!
I get it. It was no good. It was a terrible idea. The point of the thread was self-pity, but I derailed it by talking about the stupid comic in the first place.
>>24371266
TRY TO STOP ME FUCKER
>>24371266
i do what i want! i'll bump the thread to hell!
>>24371266
The problem is not the idea, tons of pro creators have shitty ideas and some of them unfortunately see the light of day.
The problem is that you, being a NEET, daydream a lot and confused that with creativity.
Again, I may be wrong here, which is why I asked those question in the first place.
It's not too late to change things around, but you have to start learning from the best before you can create something
>>24371288
Listen, I love my idea, even if nobody else likes it. I love my characters as well as the plot. I'm not trying to be stubborn, but I just can't bring myself to change anything about it. Now please, let me just have my self-pity and let the thread die.
>>24371369
I still don't see why you asked other people if your skin is so thin.
Also no, this thread LIVES
>>24371455
Because I'm a moron! Thank you again for reminding me.
>>24371369
Your biggest problem isn't even your shit story or art, it's that you don't even care about your project. You've said like 5 times that your going to stop and that it's a bad idea not because you think so, but because strangers on the Internet do.
>>24368038
>"That's the stupidest, most unoriginal idea ever."
Here's a secret. Everything is stupid and unoriginal. Your job as an artist is to put your own stupid and unoriginal spin on it.
>>24368038
>Everyone tells me I'm creative
>Write stuff and come up with ideas and stuff
>People like them but I always feel they are inadequate and they're just trying to make me feel better
>Haven't shown anyone my writing in over three years
Fuck my shitty self esteem and fucking anxiety issues for making me doubt people. I wish I could just believe the people I showed. It might actually be good and they seemed to enjoy it, why can't I believe they didn't just do it to make me feel better?
>>24371540
I love my story, but if nobody else does, why embarrass myself? All these people telling me that my ideas suck makes this whole experience miserable for me. Why continue the project if that's all I'll ever see?
>>24371568
Only strangers will tell you how they really feel.
>>24371600
99% of authors suck monster cock for decades of their adult life. This is why you usually never see a good author under 30. The difference between them and you is they keep trying.
>>24371600
That's why you're never going to get anywhere with it.
Multiple times you've posted about giving up and 'fuck the haters', but anonymous people online are the only ones you'll get a real opinion from. You're going to give up because people told you your current work is fucking garbage, instead of trying to improve yourself?
btw here's some art I drew for the MC of your manga lmao
>>24371641
The problem is, I'm miserable. Also, those guys put out stuff that other people like. I apparently don't.
>>24371670
Improving what? You mean making it to where you like it? But I already like it! I'm not saying that a majority of people won't think it sucks, but why would I change something I already love?Also, probably doesn't matter, but I actually never watched one episode of Bleach until after I had already mapped out the plot of my story.
You will never get anywhere by being a whiney cunt
>>24372023
And where would I get by "working hard"? Why are people still bumping this thread?
>>24372089
>wow someone didn't like my completely unoriginal garbage waahhhh I'm giving up for ever!!!!!!
>work hard on something
>"I wonder what the hate machine will think about this"
>>24372107
>someone
I think we've established that the vast majority of people don't like it. Plus, let's not forget that I've been told to give up multiple times in this thread. I'm just doing what I'm told.
>>24372135
I'm sorry. This was meant to be a self-pity thread, but I derailed it by talking about the comic.
