Maybe I'm weird, but I find the opposite is often true for me. If I share something prematurely, I seem to lose all motivation to keep working on it for some unknown reason, even if the response...
Maybe I'm weird, but I find the opposite is often true for me. If I share something prematurely, I seem to lose all motivation to keep working on it for some unknown reason, even if the response is positive. Whereas if I keep it under wraps, and just keep silently plugging away at it, I'm more likely to actually finish it.
p.s. Whatup, @chromakode? Long time no see! One of my fondest memories from the early days of reddit is when you made the inline images in comments idea become reality on /r/reddithax by writing a bot to monitor the comment section, automatically upload the image to reddit, and edit the subreddit CSS to include the image in the comment. Fun times! :P
Hey @cfabbro! Big fan of your work here on tildes :D The feeling of losing motivation suddenly after an early share is so familiar. It bothers me that my motivation is so fragile, and in talking...
Hey @cfabbro! Big fan of your work here on tildes :D
The feeling of losing motivation suddenly after an early share is so familiar.
It bothers me that my motivation is so fragile, and in talking it through with a coach, I've realized that for me, it's an indicator I haven't felt committed enough to some of my projects. Follow-through is really hard.
I've been reflecting on this and realized staking my motivation on the release is putting too many of my eggs in one basket, and keeping me from sharing valuable in-progress thoughts. This is all a personal reflection btw, YMMV and was hoping to hear others' thoughts!
Yeah, it genuinely bothers me that my motivation is so fragile too... Especially since the more enthusiastic the response I've gotten whenever I've shown someone something I've been working on,...
Yeah, it genuinely bothers me that my motivation is so fragile too... Especially since the more enthusiastic the response I've gotten whenever I've shown someone something I've been working on, the less motivated to continue working on it I've usually felt afterwards. It's bizarre, and probably not very healthy, so I should probably talk to my therapist about it. :P
What sort of coach are you running this by?
p.s. I don't know if I would call what I do on Tildes "work", since it's basically a form of procrastinating from doing actual work. But thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. ;)
These feelings are so familiar. It's as if, to put it brusquely, getting approval for a work in progress fulfills the purpose of the work for me. Or, someone else thinking it's cool means it's...
These feelings are so familiar. It's as if, to put it brusquely, getting approval for a work in progress fulfills the purpose of the work for me. Or, someone else thinking it's cool means it's already in a good place and I don't need to work further on it. Real emotions, but in reflecting on them I aspire to attach more durable meaning behind my work.
About 2.5y ago, I started talking to a career and leadership coach every two weeks. It's been a huge leap forward for me in grounding my motivations and goals. It also converts my anxieties from 1-on-1 internal debates (Max vs. Max) debates to 2-on-1 (Max and Wen vs. Max), with is such a huge unblocker!
I think what's going on with me is a bit more wrapped up in my anxiety than anything else. Getting a positive response to my work amps up my anxiety levels since I suddenly start putting way more...
I think what's going on with me is a bit more wrapped up in my anxiety than anything else. Getting a positive response to my work amps up my anxiety levels since I suddenly start putting way more pressure on myself to continue to do well, which eventually causes the bubble of motivation to collapse. But I haven't spent a whole lot of time analyzing it, so I honestly don't know for sure. I'm glad you posted this though, since it's given me a lot to think about! :)
And yeah, that's what I like about therapy. It turns my 1 vs 1 internal debates into 2 vs 1, and gives the overly critical side of myself another, more rational, less neurotic opponent. :P
(Hey, chromakode-senpai, I love your xkcd work, and have for years!) This is addressed in the blog post, and I'm exactly the same as the two of you. Even making a commit of a partial lump of...
(Hey, chromakode-senpai, I love your xkcd work, and have for years!)
This is addressed in the blog post, and I'm exactly the same as the two of you. Even making a commit of a partial lump of nonworking code makes me anxious. I want to have something that works, something self-contained that stands on its own, before I tell anyone. This definitely relates to my motivation for finishing the job, but there are other reasons too:
Anxiety: If I share something unfinished with other people, will they think less of me? Will they judge me for my broken or unfinished code?
Interference: People might innundate me with their own ideas of how the job should be finished. Sometimes these ideas are good, but sometimes they are bad, and often they are just irrelevant towards accomplishing my objectives (this has actually happened).
Even more anxiety: What if I can't finish the project? What if it's too much for me? What if it's no longer a priority? If it's already out there, some people might feel entitled to pressure me to keep working on it. Some people might be relying on it, even though that was a really bad decision on their part!
I'm an independent videogame enthusiast, as some of you may have noticed, and I can easily draw a parallel here: I refuse to play early access videogames because I don't want to use up my enthusiasm and excitement for the game before the game is actually done, for a certain definition of done. I'm not saying I'm against patching in new content. It's much like the first commit thing: I'm happy if the developers can proudly proclaim, "this is a full, self-contained game. It stands on its own." I know I'd be miffed if they sold me something and then stopped working on it. So I just keep away.
Thanks very much for saying that! Your descriptions of anxiety and receiving feedback are so spot on. I've felt all of these, and find myself wondering about the impact work will have on users...
Thanks very much for saying that!
Your descriptions of anxiety and receiving feedback are so spot on. I've felt all of these, and find myself wondering about the impact work will have on users before there are many to speak of. The early access games comparison is interesting, definitely do that too (almost slept on Hades because I didn't want to experience 95% of an amazing game before it was 100% finished)
It's wonderful to have all of these laid out on a page, both because it's comforting to know it's a common experience, and hopefully we can start to poke holes in them! Perhaps you have your own approach to doing so, but here's mine:
Will they think less of me?
I don't think I've ever thought less of a person for sharing their early work. Maybe that they're earlier on than they think they are, but always with respect to the creative process.
Sometimes these ideas are good, but sometimes they are bad, and often they are just irrelevant towards accomplishing my objectives
I read and ignore so many irrelevant internet comments, haha, I can definitely filter through it. And when I give feedback about creative work I don't expect it to always vibe with the creator, and that's ok!
If it's already out there, some people might feel entitled to pressure me to keep working on it. Some people might be relying on it, even though that was a really bad decision on their part!
I often feel distracted by this too. Have to remind myself it would be an awesome outcome for someone to care about a project that much, and it's usually way harder to get there than I think. Sadly much more common that I try something someone's worked on and never look at it again (and vice versa).
Whenever I lose motivation after sharing work early, I end up realizing it's because I wanted the reaction to my idea for a piece. The "wow that's cool! I can't wait to see it finished!" The...
Whenever I lose motivation after sharing work early, I end up realizing it's because I wanted the reaction to my idea for a piece. The "wow that's cool! I can't wait to see it finished!" The validation that my idea is worth putting in the effort to finish. I'm a graphic artist, btw, but this is still relevant, I think.
If this sounds accurate to you (or anyone reading this), try to do the work purely to hang on your own metaphorical fridge. Then consider sharing it.
This ties into my main difficulties with writing. I've written fan fiction for years, and get a lot of motivation from seeing people react to each chapter. I've gotten inspired directly by...
This ties into my main difficulties with writing. I've written fan fiction for years, and get a lot of motivation from seeing people react to each chapter. I've gotten inspired directly by commenters, and taken stories in directions I never would have considered if not for some little joke or quip. It also keeps me from constantly going back and editing earlier chapters instead of writing new ones, though I try to always make sure to have a buffer that I can edit.
However, that also makes it hard to write long-form works privately. I've long since realized that I have a penchant for extremely long stories, and a deep love for intricate plot twists. I love planting little clues and foreshadowing over tens of chapters, and seeing people theorize and react to the grand reveal is just so gratifying. I can't get that if I share a work all at once, such as with a novel.
Basically, once you get used to active feedback, you can become dependent to the point of demotivation when you can't get it. A serialized format is the best option for me and many others as a writer, but for other creative fields there's not always an equivalent.
I’ve always liked sharing my work and talking about it at every stage of the process. I have exceptions, but for the most part I enjoy using the reactions and brief inputs of others to improv my...
I’ve always liked sharing my work and talking about it at every stage of the process. I have exceptions, but for the most part I enjoy using the reactions and brief inputs of others to improv my way into more fully fleshed-out ideas.
I’ve always had lots of ideas and I don’t value them the way many of my fellow writers do. I did a dozen years in Hollywood as a screenwriter and I would share my pitches and work with just about everyone. But I found that created more problems than I expected. People would inevitably get tripped up on where their name would appear in the credits instead of just engaging in a healthy flow of high-concept ideas.
Growing up in the 80s I learned of the Monty Python model. Half a dozen teammates pairing up and writing skits and jokes and scenes. From that point on, all I ever wanted was to find my own troupe but I never did.
Interesting point about sharing ideas being potentially loaded. There's a similar thing in startups where you usually don't want a 50/50 ownership split because it creates deadlocks, but it can be...
Interesting point about sharing ideas being potentially loaded. There's a similar thing in startups where you usually don't want a 50/50 ownership split because it creates deadlocks, but it can be really dicey making the leap from brainstorming to a formal venture.
I feel like I've spent the last 20 years searching for that troupe. I hope you find or create yours!
One must take into account the specificities of the kind of writing or intellectual work the article is really about. What works for coding or technical writing does not necessarily work for...
One must take into account the specificities of the kind of writing or intellectual work the article is really about. What works for coding or technical writing does not necessarily work for writing fiction, poetry, or music. That distinction is seldom acknowledged in articles such as this.
When I'm writing a story, I often need some encouragement, even if it only reassures me that what I wrote is intelligible and clear. "Did you think he was angry?", "did it scare you?", "did you find it tedious or overly long? That is not always necessary, and there are occasions in which I prefer to keep my cards close to the chest.
But I don't do that to preserve my motivation.
The main reason why I don't share early drafts is to avoid spoiling a good reader. When someone reads an early draft, they are spent, and any subsequent reading will lack the freshness of the first. They are no longer reliable judges of my work because they are bored out of their minds after reading several versions of the same story.
I get both ends of this. Stopping to talk about it to everybody might kill the momentum but sometimes you just need to bounce it off of someone, even if just for a sanity check. Sometimes you...
I get both ends of this. Stopping to talk about it to everybody might kill the momentum but sometimes you just need to bounce it off of someone, even if just for a sanity check. Sometimes you might share and get a quizzical "Why though?" and that'll destroy all motivation for a project - other times you'll try to explain and get so bogged down on the simplest part you'll think "Guess this isn't something that most people understand, let alone care about."
But, this is a good insight into your creative process at least!
Maybe I'm weird, but I find the opposite is often true for me. If I share something prematurely, I seem to lose all motivation to keep working on it for some unknown reason, even if the response is positive. Whereas if I keep it under wraps, and just keep silently plugging away at it, I'm more likely to actually finish it.
p.s. Whatup, @chromakode? Long time no see! One of my fondest memories from the early days of reddit is when you made the inline images in comments idea become reality on /r/reddithax by writing a bot to monitor the comment section, automatically upload the image to reddit, and edit the subreddit CSS to include the image in the comment. Fun times! :P
Hey @cfabbro! Big fan of your work here on tildes :D
The feeling of losing motivation suddenly after an early share is so familiar.
It bothers me that my motivation is so fragile, and in talking it through with a coach, I've realized that for me, it's an indicator I haven't felt committed enough to some of my projects. Follow-through is really hard.
I've been reflecting on this and realized staking my motivation on the release is putting too many of my eggs in one basket, and keeping me from sharing valuable in-progress thoughts. This is all a personal reflection btw, YMMV and was hoping to hear others' thoughts!
Yeah, it genuinely bothers me that my motivation is so fragile too... Especially since the more enthusiastic the response I've gotten whenever I've shown someone something I've been working on, the less motivated to continue working on it I've usually felt afterwards. It's bizarre, and probably not very healthy, so I should probably talk to my therapist about it. :P
What sort of coach are you running this by?
p.s. I don't know if I would call what I do on Tildes "work", since it's basically a form of procrastinating from doing actual work. But thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. ;)
These feelings are so familiar. It's as if, to put it brusquely, getting approval for a work in progress fulfills the purpose of the work for me. Or, someone else thinking it's cool means it's already in a good place and I don't need to work further on it. Real emotions, but in reflecting on them I aspire to attach more durable meaning behind my work.
About 2.5y ago, I started talking to a career and leadership coach every two weeks. It's been a huge leap forward for me in grounding my motivations and goals. It also converts my anxieties from 1-on-1 internal debates (Max vs. Max) debates to 2-on-1 (Max and Wen vs. Max), with is such a huge unblocker!
I think what's going on with me is a bit more wrapped up in my anxiety than anything else. Getting a positive response to my work amps up my anxiety levels since I suddenly start putting way more pressure on myself to continue to do well, which eventually causes the bubble of motivation to collapse. But I haven't spent a whole lot of time analyzing it, so I honestly don't know for sure. I'm glad you posted this though, since it's given me a lot to think about! :)
And yeah, that's what I like about therapy. It turns my 1 vs 1 internal debates into 2 vs 1, and gives the overly critical side of myself another, more rational, less neurotic opponent. :P
(Hey, chromakode-senpai, I love your xkcd work, and have for years!)
This is addressed in the blog post, and I'm exactly the same as the two of you. Even making a commit of a partial lump of nonworking code makes me anxious. I want to have something that works, something self-contained that stands on its own, before I tell anyone. This definitely relates to my motivation for finishing the job, but there are other reasons too:
I'm an independent videogame enthusiast, as some of you may have noticed, and I can easily draw a parallel here: I refuse to play early access videogames because I don't want to use up my enthusiasm and excitement for the game before the game is actually done, for a certain definition of done. I'm not saying I'm against patching in new content. It's much like the first commit thing: I'm happy if the developers can proudly proclaim, "this is a full, self-contained game. It stands on its own." I know I'd be miffed if they sold me something and then stopped working on it. So I just keep away.
Thanks very much for saying that!
Your descriptions of anxiety and receiving feedback are so spot on. I've felt all of these, and find myself wondering about the impact work will have on users before there are many to speak of. The early access games comparison is interesting, definitely do that too (almost slept on Hades because I didn't want to experience 95% of an amazing game before it was 100% finished)
It's wonderful to have all of these laid out on a page, both because it's comforting to know it's a common experience, and hopefully we can start to poke holes in them! Perhaps you have your own approach to doing so, but here's mine:
I don't think I've ever thought less of a person for sharing their early work. Maybe that they're earlier on than they think they are, but always with respect to the creative process.
I read and ignore so many irrelevant internet comments, haha, I can definitely filter through it. And when I give feedback about creative work I don't expect it to always vibe with the creator, and that's ok!
I often feel distracted by this too. Have to remind myself it would be an awesome outcome for someone to care about a project that much, and it's usually way harder to get there than I think. Sadly much more common that I try something someone's worked on and never look at it again (and vice versa).
Whenever I lose motivation after sharing work early, I end up realizing it's because I wanted the reaction to my idea for a piece. The "wow that's cool! I can't wait to see it finished!" The validation that my idea is worth putting in the effort to finish. I'm a graphic artist, btw, but this is still relevant, I think.
If this sounds accurate to you (or anyone reading this), try to do the work purely to hang on your own metaphorical fridge. Then consider sharing it.
This ties into my main difficulties with writing. I've written fan fiction for years, and get a lot of motivation from seeing people react to each chapter. I've gotten inspired directly by commenters, and taken stories in directions I never would have considered if not for some little joke or quip. It also keeps me from constantly going back and editing earlier chapters instead of writing new ones, though I try to always make sure to have a buffer that I can edit.
However, that also makes it hard to write long-form works privately. I've long since realized that I have a penchant for extremely long stories, and a deep love for intricate plot twists. I love planting little clues and foreshadowing over tens of chapters, and seeing people theorize and react to the grand reveal is just so gratifying. I can't get that if I share a work all at once, such as with a novel.
Basically, once you get used to active feedback, you can become dependent to the point of demotivation when you can't get it. A serialized format is the best option for me and many others as a writer, but for other creative fields there's not always an equivalent.
I’ve always liked sharing my work and talking about it at every stage of the process. I have exceptions, but for the most part I enjoy using the reactions and brief inputs of others to improv my way into more fully fleshed-out ideas.
I’ve always had lots of ideas and I don’t value them the way many of my fellow writers do. I did a dozen years in Hollywood as a screenwriter and I would share my pitches and work with just about everyone. But I found that created more problems than I expected. People would inevitably get tripped up on where their name would appear in the credits instead of just engaging in a healthy flow of high-concept ideas.
Growing up in the 80s I learned of the Monty Python model. Half a dozen teammates pairing up and writing skits and jokes and scenes. From that point on, all I ever wanted was to find my own troupe but I never did.
Interesting point about sharing ideas being potentially loaded. There's a similar thing in startups where you usually don't want a 50/50 ownership split because it creates deadlocks, but it can be really dicey making the leap from brainstorming to a formal venture.
I feel like I've spent the last 20 years searching for that troupe. I hope you find or create yours!
One must take into account the specificities of the kind of writing or intellectual work the article is really about. What works for coding or technical writing does not necessarily work for writing fiction, poetry, or music. That distinction is seldom acknowledged in articles such as this.
When I'm writing a story, I often need some encouragement, even if it only reassures me that what I wrote is intelligible and clear. "Did you think he was angry?", "did it scare you?", "did you find it tedious or overly long? That is not always necessary, and there are occasions in which I prefer to keep my cards close to the chest.
But I don't do that to preserve my motivation.
The main reason why I don't share early drafts is to avoid spoiling a good reader. When someone reads an early draft, they are spent, and any subsequent reading will lack the freshness of the first. They are no longer reliable judges of my work because they are bored out of their minds after reading several versions of the same story.
I get both ends of this. Stopping to talk about it to everybody might kill the momentum but sometimes you just need to bounce it off of someone, even if just for a sanity check. Sometimes you might share and get a quizzical "Why though?" and that'll destroy all motivation for a project - other times you'll try to explain and get so bogged down on the simplest part you'll think "Guess this isn't something that most people understand, let alone care about."
But, this is a good insight into your creative process at least!