Curry Zawa Kaoru’s Creative Counseling - “I hate that fanfic receives way less love than fan art.” Use your inferiority complex to fuel your creativity.

Instead, I suggest you start waving that white flag and focus on making peace with the emotions you mentioned. Think of it this way: those feelings of envy and inferiority are the foundation of your creative activities. The good thing about art is that no matter how awful something made you feel, you can always turn it around and say it fueled your creativity. Also, as far as inferiority complexes go, yours ranks pretty high on the “it cannot be helped” scale, considering how comparing fan fiction writers with manga artists and illustrators is like comparing apples and oranges. Honestly, I’d say you’re better off not thinking about it at all.

Now, it’s true that many of the messages I receive are about the woes of being a writer. Even if that isn’t the main problem the person wants to discuss, simply reading the words “because I’m an author” is enough to stir up a variety of emotions in me, and I’m often impressed at how much writers are able to convey in so few words. And although it’s an undeniable fact that manga and illustrations tend to get noticed and liked more easily than fan fiction, it’s not because you suck as a writer or because writing is fundamentally inferior to visual art. It all comes down to the fact that humans are highly visual creatures, unlike our superior canine friends who can gather vital information through a quick sniff of the butt.

What I’m trying to say is that unless you’re the creator of humanity itself, there’s no need to feel inferior to artists who work with visual art mediums. If you are indeed God, however, then yes, you absolutely suck as an artist. (What made you think giving us two arms and legs each plus ten fingers and ten toes was a good idea? Gross. Also, working is one thing, but to invent art as a pastime? Why would you want us to torture ourselves like that?)

While I’d love to say it’s high time you quit and moved into a retirement home, I’m pretty sure you’re just a mere mortal like the rest of us.

Since you’re aware that visual art gets more impressions than written art nine times out of ten, you might ask yourself, “Why not switch to drawing instead?” You already know how this train of thought goes: I can’t draw, nor can I put in the kind of effort needed to become good at it, I guess I’m just using the talented artist myth as an excuse not to try harder—but I think it's likely that mindset is only contributing to your frustration and resentment. That's like saying that if only I moved to the States this instant and racked up more home runs than Shohei Ohtani, I could bask in the glory of my success and be rolling in dough in no time, but that's not actually how it works.

Now, on some level it is partially true—putting in the necessary work usually results in you getting better at something. However, believing that all you need to do is “try harder” isn’t a sign of humility; in fact, it’s the opposite. You could even say it’s a way to ignore reality by convincing yourself that your problems will be solved once you start making a “real effort.”

Concluding that you can’t do something because you haven’t put in the work and getting upset about it doesn’t prove your ability to self-reflect—it’s a sign of stagnancy. On the contrary, people who are able to admit what they can’t do at an early stage and choose to focus only on what they can do have a better chance at growing by leaps and bounds.

Instead of feeling inferior to people who can draw, I’d say you’re much better off harboring jealousy towards fellow fan fiction writers who get more likes and views than you. Having a rival in the same genre can be an excellent motivator to hone your craft, whereas comparing yourself to an illustrator despite not being good at drawing or having the motivation to draw is like comparing yourself to a famous person who merely shares the same birthday as you.

I get that it’s only human to want many people to read what you’ve written, especially if you’ve worked hard on it. However, if you can’t get over your inferiority complex towards illustrators and start questioning why you’re not raring to become the next Hokusai, you’ll only start spiraling again. At some point, you need to rewire your way of thinking and start writing for the people who are avid prose readers, not for the people who only care about drawings.

The popular column Curry Zawa Kaoru’s Creative Counseling has been made into a book titled Otaku no Tanoshii Seisaku Ron (The Delightful Art of Otaku Creation, Bungeishunju).

In addition to fan-favorite episodes such as “Coping with fanwork taking a little too many liberties”, “When you can’t get feedback in an underdeveloped genre”, “Is 40 too old for doujin events?” and “Understanding the troubles and contradictions of killing off your favorite characters”, the book also includes brand new topics and advice!