Hello! Big fan of your webcomic Girly, although I happened to arrive late to the party, much to my dismay as I can no longer aquire a physical collection of it, as I only discovered Girly within the past year... I'd just like to take a minute to thank you,

I’ve struggled with motivation for years, and last year was
particularly bad, so I’ve been thinkin’ about that kind of stuff a lot.
And for creative, entertainer types, I think it mostly comes down to
focusing on the right things. For many of us, the act of drawing the
comics is itself a motivator, due to how therapeutic it is. Thus, it’s
good to keep our brains aware that doing our work will make us feel
better, and that isn’t the case with most jobs. And one shouldn’t focus
so much on how much money they’re making or how popular they are… not
that they’re not important things, but obsessing over them is really
unhealthy.

That bein’ said, “focusing on the right things” is…
much easier said than done for a lot of people, especially artists.
Depression is common among comic artists, and it’s not like it’s a huge
coincidence… Like I said, the act of drawing is therapy for us, so
it’s the brain problems that drive us toward this line of work. And a
common symptom of depression is simply not being able to control our
thoughts at all, and there will be days when you just stay focused on
the darkest things.

For this, all I can say is not to be reluctant
to ask other artists for help (we all have similar problems even if it
may not seem like it), and to see some doctors. How easy it is to access
psychiatric services varies by region, but in any case, it can be kind
of a pain in the ass. I was frustrated as hell for months cycling
through mediocre doctors and meds that seemed to do nothing, for dozens
of months… I frequently felt like I was just throwing money away, but
eventually I hit upon a good doctor and meds that seem to be really
doing something.

I’m actually off them now, temporarily, as I’m
dealing with a month-long lapse in insurance. I’ve actually noticed
myself feelin’ more angry than before and my output is lagging quite a
bit again… which sucks, but at least it’s a sign that things were
making a difference!

And I guess that’s it. There’s also bad
motivators that i’m still a bit guilty of and working on fixing, such as
procrastination leading to last-minute panic (like in the Calvin comic)
and.. uh… Rum. Alcohol starts out as a really great motivator, but
tapers off quickly and then just leaves you tired and sick all the time
so the experience averages out to be less motivating. Plus it makes you
sleep terribly, and sleep is super important for motivation. Don’t
drink, kids.

Well, I dunno if that tangent went quite the way you
were expecting, but it’s out there now! Really glad you enjoyed Girly,
and I do hope to reissue the first two books someday. I just gotta keep
on working on getting my name back out where it was back when Girly was
online. That’s another motivator!

-J