Motivation?

[manga_otaku]

Right. I admit that I'm a very fickle person who tends to change her mind - a LOT. I and people around me have noticed I have a lack (or just plainly non-existent) self-motivation. Hence, I suppose I give up with something if I get bored with it (it also doesn't help that I have the attention span of a goldfish. *blub*).

What do you guys do when you get demotivated with your projects? So far I have 4 ongoing since it distracts me from spending too much time on one and getting bored.

[RemnantDream]

I actually do what you did. I'm working on about 4 or 5 projects right now. When I lose interest in one, I move onto another. *shrugs* It works for me.

[Camille]

I actually find it easier to work on just one project... You ever hear the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none"? If you have multiple projects, you end up splitting your time and attention so much that it's very hard to finish any of them. I've seen this happen time and time again. Lol it's even happened to me in the past. But if you just focus your energy and creativity on one, it's better in the long run as long as it's a good idea that you're passionate about.

If you don't feel like working on it, take a break! Do something else that isn't VN-related. Usually I write/code a huge chunk for Machina Jewel and then don't touch it for 3-4 days (sometimes up to a week!) so I can let my energy and creativity replenish themselves. I go watch movies, read books, listen to music. Cook. Clean. Play the piano. Anything that isn't related. Every time I come up with a new idea for a VN, I write it down somewhere, then put it away. Distractions are something I can't afford because I, too, have the attention span of a goldfish. XD I'll wake up all "Okay, I'm writing script today!" Two hours later, I realize all I've been doing is watching stuff on YouTube that has nothing to do with my project.

Also, I find it easier when you're working with someone else. Because MJ is a partnership between my best friend and I, both of us are more motivated to work on it. If I lose interest and don't work hard, I'd be letting her down and vice versa. Plus, once you build up a bit of a fanbase and some supporters, it gets harder to let them down, too. Once you achieve more, you gain more confidence, which leads you to accomplish even more. That's how it goes. XD

The exception for this would be people who work commercially, because then I think they pretty much have to work on multiple projects to make money and because they have actual deadlines. But for VNs as a hobby? Best to stick to one. Notice, all the people who have 3-5 open projects at once--how many VNs have they finished? It's easy to say that you can just switch projects so you don't get bored, but once you've finished working on your other project, aren't you too tired/drained to work on the first one? It's a nasty trap.

[dstarsboy]

Everyone has issues like these (except AzureTwilight, apparently, lol). But if you're really bad about keeping focus than one of your only options for actually finishing a project is to make it episodic maybes. Think of it like an anime series with each episode around a half an hour long.

Pros:
- You'll find out quickly if everyone loves it and is clamoring for more or if you're just wasting your time.
- Shorter attention span so you're more likely to finish

Cons:
- It would take a bit of work to utilize your choices or RPG elements from previous episodes.
- When you get into huge branches, episodes don't really work anymore.
- The art/sound resources you need to finish an episode is not really all that much less than finishing the whole game, this really only saves you on writing and programming, but those seem to be the pieces that kill projects the fastest.

Now that I think about it, I guess I'm only suggesting that you complete a demo or two, lol.

[RemnantDream]

@ Camille: I know I should just stick to one project at a time but the way my mind works, I actually do better when I'm multitasking like that. I've always been like that, with schoolwork and hobbies or such. I have one "main" project that I spend most of my time on but when I'm tired of that one, I work on another. It's not very professional and it does take longer(as I have yet to release anything >_>) but I really do better that way. That's just me though. Again, I admit to being very unusual xD

And really, I'm not working on all 5 at once. I just two or three I alternate between. Occasionally, I'll work on a different one. But it's usually the main one and another.

[HikkiPanda]

What do you guys do when you get demotivated with your projects? So far I have 4 ongoing since it distracts me from spending too much time on one and getting bored.

I multitask too, but I limit my multitasking to 2 projects o.o; ... I'm afraid if I split my energy into 4-5, in the end I probably will never finish any of them at all D:

And yeah, just like Camille said, take a break XD !!

[HigurashiKira]

I'm currently working on 3 projects, and usually I break down the work into days
Ex:
Mon-Tues: Work on Project 1
Wed-Thurs: Rest
Fri-Sat: Work on Project 2
Sun-Mon: Rest
Tues-Wed: Work on Project 3

And I just keep this up, breaking my work into 2 days at a time. Not really helpful, but it makes the workload bearable ^^;

[psy_wombats]

I can't multitask much at all... My usual work process is to spend really long nights working on a project without any distractions, so it requires some enthusiasm to keep going on the same thing for hours every day. If that's not there, then the project usually gets shelved. If it's not worked on for a week, I'm not going to touch it for another six months. It helps when restarting work on projects because I'll see new stuff in them that I didn't notice when I was so absorbed. Not to mention that projects get finished a lot faster when worked on exclusively. Releasing something finished every two months is really nice.

...Then again, I'd be screwed without all the tables and diagrams and other design docs I end up accumulating. Nothing sucks like picking a project up again only to realize you have no clue what's going on any more.

[Sapphi]

I just do whatever I feel like, really. I do like to jump between projects, but recently I've been sticking to just one thing. I think I've been like that more because I'm super busy right now, so at work and school I find myself thinking about the story I'm writing, and when I get free time I'm more motivated to write out what I've been brainstorming. For me, I almost feel like too much free time kills my imagination since it's so easy to be lazy.

Someone here (I think) wrote on a previous thread on this same kind of topic that if you're getting bored with your project, maybe you're not writing it right... idk, I think I horribly butchered whoever's words those were. What I gathered from that though, is that if you're going to commit to something that takes time and effort, you better make sure you actually like it enough to put real work into it. I'm learning that more and more as time wears on.

[Snow Blossom]

I try to stick to one project, and within that project, I divide my time between writing the script and designing the characters, so once I get bored with one aspect of the project, I move onto the other. But when I get too bored, I limit myself to daydreaming about future projects and at most sketching the characters of those VNs. Or I read manga.

[manga_otaku]

I suppose I'm a bit like psy-wombat with writing - if I don't write occasionally then I'll end up putting the game on a long term hiatus (which would make everyone slap me over the internet I suppose).
I used to find it easier to juggle since I had school but now I've basically finished compulsory school so rather than seeing writing and scripting as a fun thing to look forward to it's more like a really slow past time?
I'm the type to get a quick writer's block as well and I hate organising ideas onto a piece of paper etc. I hate my non-existent self-motivation T_T

[Camille]

I suppose I'm a bit like psy-wombat with writing - if I don't write occasionally then I'll end up putting the game on a long term hiatus (which would make everyone slap me over the internet I suppose).
I used to find it easier to juggle since I had school but now I've basically finished compulsory school so rather than seeing writing and scripting as a fun thing to look forward to it's more like a really slow past time?
I'm the type to get a quick writer's block as well and I hate organising ideas onto a piece of paper etc. I hate my non-existent self-motivation T_T

Well nobody can tell you why you should be motivated to do something. I like working on MJ because every time I finish some code and I can see it in action in the game (and the beta testers are like !) I feel fulfilled. This feeling of fulfillment makes me want to work harder. But in any case, I enjoy writing and coding. It frustrates me sometimes, but overall it's a fun experience for me.

If you don't get that feeling of fulfillment when you work on something, you're either doing it wrong or working on an idea you don't truly feel passionate about. If you're seeing writing and scripting as a slow pastime or worse--something you HAVE to do but don't like--then you shouldn't be doing it. You're not going to enjoy it and your final product won't be that great if it's something you worked on begrudgingly. There's no point in working on a hobby that, at the very least, you don't personally enjoy.

[manga_otaku]

I suppose xD It's not that I don't enjoy making my VNs/KNs - I feel amazed at what I can come up with and what it looks like in action like everyone does, but I feel as though I could be doing something more with it. I've seen some people's first time VNs and my jaw drops with how amazing their dating sim/stat raising game is. For example babyfish's Maid In Midsummer - her first project and it's GUI is jaw-dropping!
I'm pretty pessimistic as well, so then I tend to slap myself over and make myself feel small? xD But for some reason, I'm having more fun doing the bonus pages rather than the main story for my KN at the moment - I'm weird T_T

[Camille]

That's because she's used to design. People who are better at drawing, writing, or GUI design will of course have something that looks amazing, even if it's their first time. That doesn't mean that they're super geniuses or that you should push yourself to match them on your first project, just that they're doing something they're already used to--something they, too, had to practice hard with. You wouldn't compare a pro baseball player to a little leaguer, would you? If someone asked babyfish to make a basket underwater or something, I'm sure it wouldn't look as amazing as her GUIs. XD (unless babyfish is also a master underwater basket weaver and I just don't know it) But GUI design? She's already great at it.

It all just takes practice and dedication and if you're constantly switching projects and getting bored and not working at it, you'll never get there. You're only holding yourself back.