How do you deal with de-motivation?

A place to discuss things that aren't specific to any one creator or game.
Forum rules
Ren'Py specific questions should be posted in the Ren'Py Questions and Annoucements forum, not here.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
KarmaLarma
Newbie
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed May 10, 2017 11:40 pm
Projects: Deadly Vice
Tumblr: karmalarma
Deviantart: karmalarma
itch: karmalarma
Contact:

How do you deal with de-motivation?

#1 Post by KarmaLarma »

While my personal case might be rather specific, I feel most people who create in any capacity deal with losing motivation from time to time so I thought I might ask on here about other people's problems with keeping up motivation for making their VN and how they deal with them.

Personally, I have depression that often gets in the way of more large scale projects, regardless of what they are. Right now I'm working on my first large VN which I know will take quite a bit of time, and I was hoping to make a sort of mini-VN for the Ludum Dare this weekend so that I have a proof-of-concept/a project to show what my finished work can look like. Last time I started on a bigger VN (one I even posted about on here some time last year), I got frustrated with trying to learn the code I needed to in order to make the type of game I envisioned and gave up on it. Little set backs or roadblocks I don't know how to pass can do that to me fairly easily, especially with things I'm not all that confident in to begin with. But this is a little different.

Things have been going really well with my current project. I've written down my plans, my full story outline, implemented features I wanted so that all the foundation is there for what I want to make happen within the VN can be done whenever I reach the point in writing that I will need those features. I still need to finish customizing the GUI, but I finished the one for the regular reading screen and was really proud of how it looked. So my main focus now is the writing. At the beginning, I set a goal for myself to write at least 1k words a day on the script to ensure I was always making steady progress, but other things came up and I wound up missing a couple of days, and somehow it has just made it really difficult to get back into writing. I sit down to write and it feels pointless, like there's no possibility I'll ever finish it anyway. And I know that's just my own head getting to me, but it's still hard to shake so I haven't been making progress like I've wanted to.

So what about you guys? Do any of you deal with similar problems or get easily discouraged by setbacks? What do you usually do about it?

User avatar
Kinjo
Veteran
Posts: 219
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:48 pm
Completed: When the Seacats Cry
Projects: Detective Butler
Organization: Goldbar Games
Tumblr: kinjo-goldbar
Deviantart: Kinjo-Goldbar
Github: GoldbarGames
Skype: Kinjo Goldbar
itch: goldbargames
Location: /seacats/
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#2 Post by Kinjo »

Yes, I've had similar thoughts before.

Realize that your project can only ever be finished if you put forth the effort to make it happen. And every minute you're not working on it is a minute that could be spent getting closer to your project's release. In other words, the only person who can truly stop you from succeeding is you.

Set concrete goals and deadlines that you can potentially fail to meet. Get in the habit of working consistently every day, at the same time every day. If these aren't possible then figure out why, and if you do fail to meet your goals then re-evaluate why that happened and what you can do to improve your time management. And if a particular problem seems too frustrating or difficult, break it down into smaller problems that you can handle one step at a time.

User avatar
D.ray
Regular
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2016 5:23 pm
Completed: Lifted Dreams/Painting Your Skin/Garden Of Machines
Projects: Love Therapy /Heart of Thorns/Resurface
Tumblr: drayreedofficial
Soundcloud: drayreed
Location: New York
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#3 Post by D.ray »

This is what I have learned and observed as a creator, take what you will from it.

There are several factors that come to mind with motivation. For example the size of your project, your time management skills, your passion and your discipline.

I think most people at some point bite off more than they can chew with projects, either because they have a lofty vision, or their project gets out of control in size. This already is a problem in itself due to the sheer size, but it will inevitably lead to demotivation due to the amount of work and time that will be needed to complete the project. The key to avoiding something like this would be to try to keep your project within your ability, or to scale it down when you see it get out of control. You could always simply complete the core story/vision, and add it to it later.

By no means am I saying not to create a large project if that's what a creator wants, but it's probably not a good idea to do this when it's your first project. It's better to complete several shorter projects first, or to finish several projects that are incremental in size, before doing that one big one. This way you'll be better equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience. You'll also have more confidence since you'll have already completed other games.

Time management is another big issue to conquer de-motivation. You should have a rough outline of what assets are needed to complete your game, and the amount of time they should be completed in. Having no schedule or due dates for your game or it's assets is one of the worst things you could do in my opinion. Even if your game is just for fun, you still need to self impose a schedule. Having no deadlines can and will lead to wasted time, meandering, de-motivation and worst of all, abandoned projects. That being said, it's important not to beat yourself up if certain areas go beyond their allotted time to complete, if they progress slower than anticipated or if a few days of work are missed. All of which will probably happen.

Depending on how hardcore you want to get, you should eliminate as many distractions from your life in order to complete your game (Tv time, spending time on social media, going out, etc) and optimize your daily routine to free up more time too. Another good way to stay on track with personal tasks is to use a stopwatch or some sort of clock and set it for however much time you have allotted for yourself. So if you have 2 hours for writing, set up the alarm on the clock to go off in 2 hours, (personally, I use a chill upbeat song as my alarm). The psychological effect of being on the clock will keep you focused and you'll probably write better and more then without the clock. Doing this everyday is also a great way to build your discipline. You could do this with any task.

Another great tip for completing tasks is to split them up into smaller bits and complete those in order to complete the larger goal.

Passion is another important aspect. You should obviously be passionate about the game you're making, especially if it's a larger one. No to little passion equals no game or abandoned projects (again). It seems obvious but you need to choose a story/concept that you believe in so much that it will get you through the rough times. You could be passionate about completing a game, but more importantly you should be passionate about the game itself and it's story.

This doesn't get mentioned a lot, but discipline is also highly important. When you're running low on motivation, don't want to work on your game or have crippling self doubt, discipline will get you through them. All it is, is the ability to consistently work on a task regardless of everything else, or in spite of how everything else may be going. Discipline itself is a skill that needs to be learned and built through sheer habit, but it will definitely get you through the rough times. In fact, it forces you to do so. Everyone will have different levels of discipline, but it's something anyone can learn and increase by consistently sticking to a task over a period of time.
Get your Voice Over for games to sound the best.

User avatar
Mammon
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 712
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:09 pm
Completed: Pervert&Yandere, Stalker&Yandere
Projects: Roses Of The Thorn Prince
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#4 Post by Mammon »

With writing, I wish I have a proper way to re-motivate myself again. I'm currently writing incredibly slowly and sparsely, and should really get back on track with it. Usually I don't need that pick-me-up. One thing I always tell myself and what's probably a good tip for everyone is to never have more than one project. Once you hit that demotivation bump in the road, you switch over to your other project. Once you haven't written anything for months and don't want to get back to it because you're still in that bump, you'll abandon the project. Only have one project at a time, and you'll at least stand a better chance to finish your project.

With my art, I have a few specific streams that I listen to while drawing. That way I properly get my 4-6 hours a week in but don't do much more than that either and overdraw myself. Once I hit the too much drawing barrier, there's no drawing for weeks and a tough time getting back on track. And I don't do too little either, because those piling up episodes tell me how many weeks I haven't drawn...

Coding fortunately isn't as much of an issue, it's a chore to me rather than a hobby. I can just grind that stuff. Slowly. Slowly but surely,
ImageImageImage

Want some CC sprites?

User avatar
Imperf3kt
Lemma-Class Veteran
Posts: 3785
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2015 5:05 am
itch: Imperf3kt
Location: Your monitor
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#5 Post by Imperf3kt »

I'm going to disagree with the above posts.

Your hobby is just that, a hobby.
If your hobby is fishing, do you set a goal to catch 20 fish a day? No.
If your hobby is carpentry, do you set yourself a goal to build five cupboards a day? No
If your hobby is skydiving, do you jump out of a plane every day? No.
Why then, must a writer write 1000 words per day?
Why must a writer refrain from indulging in the things that inspire oneself to begin with?

If you treat your hobby like a chore, it becomes as fun as a chore.
So I say take a breather. Give your hobby a short rest, you're taking all the fun out of it by forcing yourself and that, in my opinion, is the source of your demotivation.
Warning: May contain trace amounts of gratuitous plot.
pro·gram·mer (noun) An organism capable of converting caffeine into code.

Current project: GGD Mentor

Twitter

Mutive
Veteran
Posts: 344
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:23 am
Completed: Eidolon, Minion!, Love Furever, Epilogue
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#6 Post by Mutive »

I do a combination of things.

The first is that if I'm constantly demotivated by something (especially if it's a particular something, rather than all creative endeavors in general), I stop. I'm not making a living at this. I don't *have* to finish a game, a novel, or anything else. If it feels like torture, I don't do it.

But when the question is less "this feels like torture" and more "I'm not super motivated", I try a few things.

1. I try to make myself do about an hour a day of something creative. I budget that time in and, even if I'm just sitting and staring blankly at a computer screen, I'm there.

2. I let myself do crappy work. Maybe my goal is to program in 200 lines of code or write 1000 words. I let myself not get the programming perfect (I can clean it up later) or very good words (I can edit later). I just do it.

3. I set minor goals at times. Like, maybe I think of it not so much as "I'm finishing the game" and more "I'm getting this chunk of dialogue done". The second feels close to insurmountable (esp. with my current game where I'm about 150K into what I'm guessing will be 300K words). The first is doable.

4. I start with simpler projects. Starting with a super fancy game that's going to take me 1,000,000 hours to program isn't super reasonable. My first game took about 3 weeks. (Which is far more doable to maintain energy through!)

5. Sometimes I work on other stuff. I have a bit of a side project that I'm going to screw around with for a bit tonight instead of my main project because I need to do something that isn't the same old thing. (Plus I get to look at cute pictures of dogs, so am happy!)
Enjoy Eidolon, my free to play game at: https://mutive.itch.io/eidolon, Minion! at: https://mutive.itch.io/minion or Epilogue at: https://mutive.itch.io/epilogue

Silent Phoenix
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:01 am
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#7 Post by Silent Phoenix »

What everyone else has said covers a lot of common advice you'll find anywhere when it comes to dealing with de-motivation. Personally, I like to have one or two people who know about what I'm doing and I will tell them about my deadlines. That way I've got someone close who I can talk to and bounce ideas or just talk about the project to, which usually fires me up on working on it again. I'll also tell them about any deadlines or project goals I have in mind, that way I'm forcing the pressure of expectation from others onto myself to give it more of an impact if I fail to keep up.

User avatar
Empish
Veteran
Posts: 221
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 9:52 pm
Projects: Efemural Hearts, It Ends With Graduation
itch: empish
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#8 Post by Empish »

I have depression too, and it can honestly be very demotivating, especially if you're busy and have to actively carve time out rather than getting inspired and binge-devving. But the best thing I can say is that it's okay to take breaks. If you're not feeling it, don't try to force yourself. Your VN is not a plant; it will not wither and die if you don't water it every day. It is a craft that you can improve or continue after periods of silence.

User avatar
arty
Regular
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:55 am
Completed: White Monday
Projects: HATE is a 4 Letter Word
Organization: KATHARSIS ART
itch: artys-games
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#9 Post by arty »

Depressed person here too. I guess the thing with my motivation is that for me, the things I write are sort of an escape? So ironically, the worse I feel, the more I get the urge to work on my stories/projects. My depression naps usually end with me jumping up again and being more productive than before because I forced myself to think about the characters and plots that give me joy, to distract myself. Usually the negative thoughts I'm currently dealing with find a release in some way in my creative work.

Of course I do experience times when my drive completely dies anyway, and when things seem lacklustre and pointless. What I usually do when that happens is one of these things:

1) I talk to people about my project(s). The dialogue often gives me new ideas or simply rekindles my excitement to work on my stuff.

2) I do some micro- or macromanagement.
Recently, I had a total writer's slump for several months. No matter what I tried, I didn't make progress. Then I discovered a website where you can make a sort of wiki for your project, and I just started writing down all the lore and made nice profiles for the characters and whatnot. I figured out many things I hadn't thought about, and people gave me feedback, and it gave me lots of inspiration to work on the actual story again.
Another example was a different project, which had come to a total standstill. I thought about it and realized that it was aimless and bloated, so I decided to lay out everything about the plot in a neat and clear way. I'm doing a complete overhaul, scrapping the boring fluff, improving the rest, and adding things that excite me instead. Kill your darlings, basically. It's liberating.

3) I just take a break and do other things. Play videogames, watch movies, etc. After a while, I start to get bored and miss my project, so I go back and look at it again. I usually read through what I already have to get back into the story. If that isn't enough to get my creative juices flowing again, I try options 1) or 2).

For big projects, it generally helps me to plan out everything to at least a rough draft extent. That way I can always see the goal clearly. You said you already have everything planned out. Maybe in that case try thinking about what parts you want to write most? I found a chronological approach to writing very restricting. Forcing myself to write what's happening next and postponing the parts I was inspired and excited about just resulted in me not being motivated to write at all.

Lastly, while setting a schedule for yourself can help, I found that it can also cause the total opposite. Like you said, once you fall behind, you somehow are completely out of the flow and getting back into working on the project becomes harder than before. Not to mention that in my experience, if you just churn out progress, the quality suffers. For me, it works best to just work at my own pace. Some days I don't feel like writing at all, others I write and write and write. I think the "write every day no matter what" rule is harmful and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Sorry for the wall of text! I hope it helps.

User avatar
KarmaLarma
Newbie
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed May 10, 2017 11:40 pm
Projects: Deadly Vice
Tumblr: karmalarma
Deviantart: karmalarma
itch: karmalarma
Contact:

Re: How do you deal with de-motivation?

#10 Post by KarmaLarma »

Sorry for not responding to this thread in a bit. My internet was actually out for a few days and I forgot to check back here after. lD And ironically, it actually helped somewhat with my problem. Without access to talking to my online friends or watch videos or even look up code help for things I wanted to work on in the VN, writing and artwork were the only truly fun things I had to do until it was back. I still don't do it every day as I hoped, but I do write at least a little most days as it's once again fun for me to do. Another thing about it was it was down so long I completely missed the Ludum Dare. While I still hope to complete the small project I set up for myself, I feel the expectation I set up for myself on the 4 day time limit and the possibility people would give the game attention/extra scrutiny due to being in the gamejam might have been what was giving me such cold feet. Such a silly thing to think, I know. Now that it's just another project, I can just work on it on the side from my bigger project until it's done and hopefully looks a lot better than if I had gotten to do it for the dare.

I very much appreciate all of the advice and encourage people to still post more if they have any more tips to offer each other or others struggling with these sorts of problems. As for myself, I will just try to worry a little less about completion and pay more attention to progress. After all, if I keep making progress, it'll be done eventually.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users