I have been creating comics for over fifteen years now and I have learned everything the hard way. More than half the time that translates as expensive and time-consuming. One of the hardest things to do when you start your adventure in the addictive habit of comic creation is remembering to avoid certain pitfalls that could ultimately result in its untimely demise. That’s not to say that all stories will succeed or that all people who attempt to create a comic will succeed. I just think there are ways to even the odds, giving you a fighting chance of getting there.

Success of a comic, in my opinion, is not about getting picked up by a publisher or making tons of money from your comic (though that sort of thing is most welcome). What I think of as success is bringing a story to life and maintaining it to its conclusion. This article is not about getting readers or upping your popularity. This is more of a friendly guide so you can keep an eye out for warning signs that you might be falling into a comic pit-fall.

First things first. Completing your story idea.

The creative process is not an exact science. It’s actually very messy and it’s also very easy to rush into an idea before you have a clear path set. I know you’ve got your basic idea and you’re really excited to dive right in. Stop right now! In my experience, not having your story mapped out can lead to slippery paths. A story that is not well thought out can lead to your downfall. You find yourself patching up and fixing loop-holes to make your story work. Suddenly, you find that your story is not so tight-knitted as you thought. There are gaps. Granted, with a webcomic, you can always go in and “fix” those things, but honestly it really makes your readers angry. Don’t force yourself into a corner where you have to change the very matrix of reality for your readers. Have a beginning, middle, and end mapped out for your story so you know what direction you’re headed. Also try to fill in as much detail as you can in the story and work out most or all of the bugs before you proceed. You can always modify your plans as the story unfolds, but at least you’ll know where you’re headed and what needs to be changed should you decide to take a different path with your comic.

You can start in the middle.

There is no worse feeling than being bored with your own story, especially when you are fond of it. There have been places in my own stories where I didn’t want to draw things out too long. I usually cut the scenes in question and elude to these details throughout the story. If the beginning is boring and you want to get right into the middle, start there. Don’t hold back. The start of your story needs to grab attention of possible readers and you don’t have many pages to do it. Readers judge your comic in the first few pages so make sure it’s catchy! If it’s boring to you, chances are that it will be to others. Start in the middle of your story and introduce the beginning through artful flashbacks and hinted references. It makes the reader have to learn about the characters and plot rather than having it all handed to them on a platter. It makes for a bit of a mystery and the characters intriguing. People will want to get to know your characters.

Be realistic about the length of your story.

Epics are tempting, very tempting. When I started my first comic, I envisioned three separate story arcs each running at least twenty chapter long. As time went on, at least half the chapters were cut for the first arc, making events in and between chapters choppy and almost random. Yeah, that was bad. If you are creating your very first comic, heed this warning now and save yourself a lot of pain. Start small. Try creating a story no more than one to four chapters in length (or even just a few one-off stories) and finish it. If you succeed, you then know you can focus long enough to finish a comic. Then move on to larger ideas if you like. Creating smaller stories first will also help in finding your specific style.

Redrawing older chapters of a comic.

Print only comics don’t really have this option, but in the world of webcomics, it’s happens. I am guilty of this….. really guilty. It’s in an artist’s nature to loathe older works. You look back and wonder how you ever did “something that awful.” If you keep redrawing older chapters, you’re going to wear yourself out, plain and simple. This can lead to boredom of a comic project. It happens. The only suggestion I have is to keep pushing forward with your current pages and try to forgive yourself for your older pages. That’s not to say you should never redraw old chapters or pages. In some cases it really is a good idea to rework your older stuff, especially if you’ve made leaps and bounds in your art and you want to go to print.

Dealing with the death of a project can be a terrible thing. It can leave you empty inside and guilty. You’ve tried to find the motivation to complete your story, but can’t. You find yourself overwhelmed or unhappy with your work. If you avoid some of the common pitfalls of creating comics, you might just save yourself the heartache. You might succeed!