let's talk about our unfinished projects...

This week, we're talking about the shame of projects we've never finished - and how to get rid of it, maybe?! I'd love to hear your all thoughts.
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[@houston-coley]

AYE, WHAT ARE YOU UNFINISHED PROJECTS?! Do you feel like you need to revive them, or properly grieve them and move on to something better? I wanna hear all about it. If you'd like to see an extended cut of this video, as well as the unfinished rough cut of PARADOXICAL, check out my Patreon right here: www.patreon.com/user?u=1017531

[@TitleInProgress]

The only project that I can remember actually giving up on (most I end up putting aside and forgetting about) is a “The Batman” video essay that I promised to do and that I have since stopped working on. I’ve also given up on a few movie ideas but none were in the writing phase (though currently I’m only writing one movie). I also wrote the first draft of a book years ago that I never revised and I’ve been thinking about writing a second draft but I’ll probably just let it be as unfinished. It’s not fun letting go of an idea, especially when I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it and it just isn’t working. Great video by the way!

[@DXCary10]

*looks at google docs* *list of over 30 movie ideas and I’ve only completed 1* Sighs Fantastic video. It’s always great to put things into perspective

[@HuxleyBerg]

I remember being 2 years into the lego deadpool recreation only having half of the movie done, I didn’t really now if I could keep going. It can be really scary to finish something, especially when you have new ideas, but it’s worth it. The me who started it is completely different then the person I am now. Just gotta keep making things… That all being said I never finished the antman and the wasp trailer, and it was my biggest regret. Haha

[@houston-coley]

Gotta grieve the death of that Ant-Man trailer!! But boy oh boy I’m glad you finished the Deadpool movie. That’s gotta be one of the biggest inspirations for me to keep going.

[@samazwe]

I view my unfinished projects as stepping stones, little learning curves that lead to the creation of something better, more mature. Instead of despising them, or hating myself for not finishing them, going back and listening to that clunky attempt at a piano piece, a cringe short story about the end of the world, all these are like diary entries that are able to take me back to those days when I was creating them. I get to dive back into that headspace and have a peek, instead of assuming it again which, as you pointed out, is very difficult.

[@rhyssleary6944]

As a computer programmer, I have a ton of unfinished projects. Just think of it as refining ideas and is leading you to something great.

[@Wigglylove]

I feel this is something that everyone that wants to create out passion feels multiple times in their life. Personally I have been working on my own company for the past few years. I got employees that are putting their soul into it and investors that put a lot of money into it. I still don’t know how it will turn out and sometimes I do play with the discomforting thought of what I will do if this all fails and I wasted all these other peoples time and money. I don’t really know the answer to how to stop these thoughts but my solution is very similar to yours; at least lets enjoy the journey of doing whatever we’re doing. Let’s not sacrifice the now for the future, because we never know if the future will turn out as we hope.

[@thedpend]

To quote good ole Cap'n Kirk - as creatives - "risk - is our business." & failure (dead ends, unfinished projects, etc...) - is a crucial - perhaps the most vital - aspect of risk. For creatives, we must be willing to follow down untested paths. The rickety rope bridges we build there (to extend this creaky metaphor lol) will often collapse - but how else are we gonna learn how to build sturdier bridges in the future?

[@chandlerl2189]

For the last four years now I’ve been sitting on a fantasy idea. I’ve tried writing it several times but I never got far. I just don’t think I have the story yet. I have a lot of unfinished writing. I think the main reason was I was never a good prose writer. I switched to screenwriting and found my place there - in fact, I think it’s my calling. Many projects have been left unfinished…but really just in the works. I have a movie idea I wrote in the form of a short skit to start with, and I haven’t done anything with it since. I haven’t given up, just giving time for the idea to fully form before I commit to an unsatisfactory one and get burnout. I’m interested to know - what was your 600 page fantasy novel about? That’s halfway to lord of the rings!

[@misterrkalebhimself]

Hey Houston, I just wanted to let you know that I’m a big fan of your work. I know that the Christian/Film/Progressive space is a pretty niche one, but we’re here. Not only that, but the videos themselves are always very warm, genuine, and real in a way I’ve not really seen on the platform before. Just know you’re not going unappreciated! Keep up the great stuff.

[@houston-coley]

Thank you so much, Kaleb!! I feel really seen by this comment. Glad you’re here.

[@andyzhang7890]

This hits hard. Among other projects like unfinished animated shorts, I recently spent the last summer trying to finish this comic I began the summer of 2020. And I felt everything you described in your video- I couldn't get back into the exact same headspace as I was in at the time, I could see so many flaws in it as a slightly more mature artist, and overall just dissatisfaction and difficulty to resonate with a product born from a different me during a different time. In the end, I stopped working on it in August because it was destroying my mental health, but the guilt of having this project I'd spent so much time on unfinished hurt almost just as much. I'm like 70% done, but every hour spent working on that felt like pain. I've definitely learned a fair bit from my experience working on that comic, and I really hope to get back into it in the future and finish it just for my sanity's sake, but I truly don't know for sure whether I'll be able to.

[@defnotkevin]

I feel this way about a lot of my unstarted projects. Things I fully think out in my head and want to make but then...don't. Really interesting video!

[@CaptainRaccoonWhitly]

When I was in middle school/high school, I had a 5 book series I tried writing. The first one was by hand, and that took about 2 years. The others were churned out over a 2 year period. Unfortunately, due to a Limewire fiasco in 2006, I lost all of my work permanently (save the book I wrote by hand). I was devastated, and it took me 2 years to get over it. I think shame over your unfinished projects is normal. But given how often creatives never finish their ideas, I think that getting fixated on them is unhealthy; after all, if I mourned every written piece I never completed, I'd be stuck in mourning limbo for 10 years!

[@Awntry]

I have a lot of unfinished projects be it artistic or otherwise. It comes to the point where I will calculate the probability of me finishing a project and plan based on that probability whenever I start one. I don't feel upset over any particular one really, it's just that huge weight of not having any accomplishment to claim especially when I try and couldn't finish the next project I start. But the issue with most of them is just that they're open-ended. Like I have big plans for my garden and even if I complete 80% of what I initially had in mind, by the time I get to 80%, it felt like just 20% because I already have more ideas of what to do. And if I get a little behind for whatever reason, I tend to think 'Wow, look at all the things you still haven't done' and it's very easy demotivation. However, my 'biggest' unfinished project is a different story. It was a novel draft that's more than 200k words long and only a little more than half of the story I intended to tell. I still want to tell the story someday (writing it, not necessarily publishing it) but it has such a huge impact on so many aspects of my life that it's the one project I feel truly grateful for engaging in. I wasn't fully aware of it then but the process of me writing the story was the process of digesting some of the real life problems I was going through at the time. Writing the story was a wish-fulfilment of sort. At the same time, I was exploring certain concepts like loyalty and integrity, and the relationship between fate, faith and accountability. It gave me an outlet and opportunity to explore it in a more tangible way, through words, emotions and a tale that I know inside and out. It was also the moment where I realised that I love language and exploring the hows and whys of language. I've always written all my life, always had enjoyed it. But in the process of researching on how to improve my craft, I fell into a hole of grammatical arguments and language theories. It turned language grammar from my most disliked to my favourite subject in high school because the novel writing has allowed me to understand and appreciate how linguistics turn symbols into emotions and actions. I'm glad that you're taking a step back to change the way you view your unfinished projects and I'll try to do the same with some that I still have regrets on. I think shame and guilt is only as useful, important or needed as a motivator to help us learn, push forward and improve. Now that it had been the precursor to all this mental processing you're doing, it has served it's purpose and it's time to let it go.

[@Scribblore]

I feel this in my bones. I feel sad for my many uncompleted childhood ambitions, for the Horse and His Boy clay-animation film, for the unpublished newspaper, the half-written stories, and the unedited videos. I've also been thinking a lot about how shame is not useful as a motivation. I also struggle with the projects that have lingered for years, but that I can and ought to finish, and the worse I feel about them the harder it is to work on them. I am crawling to complete (four years late) the audio version of my poetry book which I owe to the kickstarter backers because we reached the stretch goal. It feels like collaborating with my past self now. I feel it all the more for collaboration projects, for the still unpublished picture book with masterful illustrations by a friend, and for the penpal that I haven't replied to in months.

[@percyhealtherson2000]

Motivation is both the arbiter and bane of ambitious projects.

[@henriklarsen8193]

Unfinished projects? Wow, what a pile! Games (board and computer), movies (film and animation), books galore, drawings, and more. In my darest hours, creatively, I just try to hear my father's voice when he casually remarked "well, you just need to succeed with ONE thing..."

[@cheesecakelasagna]

I eerily needed this today. Thanks.

[@mmdrawifi]

i dont remember subscribing to your channel, but glad i stumbled upon this video. makes me a bit relieved about how i view my past work and relationship in general and i thank you for that

[@Joe_Brennan_]

When I had an absurd amount of time during various lockdowns, I told myself that I’d do a deep dive analysis into the life and death of LEGO Dimensions. I mapped out the whole thing, rebuilt all the figures and vehicles, bought new ones, researched the history, started playing the game, wrote thousands of words of notes. When the game file corrupted and I lost all my progress in actually playing, it killed my motivation to work on it any further. Now it’s just kind of hanging over me, the figures are still staring at me on my desk. I think it still COULD be something if I dedicate the time to make it so, but life is busy again and I’m not sure I’ll ever have the opportunity to chip away at it. So I’m simultaneously reluctant to shelve it, and having to accept that it won’t be finished for a good while. I enjoyed this video, saw a lot of my own sentiments echoed in your relationship with unfinished projects. Maybe it’ll drive me to get a sense of closure on the fact the project is dead, and I’ll put those judgemental minifigure bastards back in their box (for now).

[@savannahlevy97]

I have a little hack when it comes to unfinished projects. A good way to stay motivated is to not tell anyone about it until it's finished. Because then you feel frustrated that you have a big idea inside only your head that noone else will ever know about until it's done. It really helps to not hype up or even announce to anyone that you are making something as hard as it may be

[@daftbanna7202]

Imagine if this video never got finished

[@daftbanna7202]

Sunk cost dilemma that

[@DanielWilliams-kz3le]

In earlier 2020, I had so many plans to make things with my friends, but then during the lockdown I kept having ideas for things that we could film at home, but all my friends were so busy that nothing ever came of any of the projects we had planned that year. I still feel guilt over those things even if they're not really my fault and it was just a lack of convenience.

[@ThePonderer]

I have a *lot* of unfinished projects, most of which I still tend to get to completing...eventually. Off the top of my head, I’ve started scripts for multiple recommendation videos of different animated series, a lot of MCU video essays, including one about why Professor Hulk is good, actually, and what’s likely to be a VERY lengthy one about what I call “Spectrum Storytelling” through the lens of Doctor Strange, another video essay about the first Ice Age film, yet another about Mulan, among others. Most outstanding though is a video about a certain season of Doctor Who which I’ve actually already completely recorded, alongside several Doctor Who podcasts which have been sitting in my qeue waiting to be edited into something listenable for *months.* I feel like real garbage for ignoring those in particular. Those are most of the ones I’m currently still committed to getting done. There’s others where I wonder if the smarter option would be to make a comprehensive video that’s *about* the projects I just don’t have the time or drive to finish, and very quickly hitting on the major talking points of each one and why they never got finished.

[@kaankaraca2001]

Oh, I do have an unfinished project. It is a sequel to my Zelda: A Link to the Past fan film. Even though I love the time I spent working on that first film, I’m very critical of it, which is good because it means I’ve improved since then, but I was so proud of the script I wrote and work I did for the sequel, which would be A Link Between Worlds, though with the same characters from the first movie. In any case, it felt like I was proving to myself and in extension to the world that I can do better. Furthermore I was extremely passionate about my script, which was much better than the first movie because I applied the things I learned in school and a lot of additional research. But unfortunately, because this time I wrote it feature length at about 75-80 pages, its downfall was ultimately the budget. It was expensive as is, and add my country’s economy to the mix and it was very clear there was no way I could finish it. In pre-production there came a moment where I realized that there is no way I could go further than that without wasting time trying to force it to happen and do something disastrous. Maybe I wouldn’t have even completed it. In any case, I decided to cancel it, which broke my heart. It felt like I *couldn’t* do any better than last time despite evidence to the contrary. It was a rough time, but remembering I learned so much valuable lessons from that experience helps out a lot, and makes me move forward for even better projects in the future.

[@ProductionJournal]

I've got so many projects that I've had to leave unfinished because of the whole COVID lockdown situation. If only I could go out and make content safely then I'd have so many things to be proud of

[@ChrisTrenary]

I can't even count how many times I've announced or planned projects like KZbin videos or games and just never followed through. Even when videos were fully written, recorded and most of the way through editing, they sometimes never ended up getting done because I hit a wall and wasn't satisfied with how things were coming together enough to stay excited about it. I'm now attempting to finish a game I came up with the concept for a couple years ago, and even though I've been better about finishing things I've started recently, I don't know if that fear of slowing down from that initial push and not finishing will ever go away; it's just something I've tried to learn how to push past

[@AndrewSindt]

I had this film I had to scrap about halfway through shooting during high school and it was such a shameful experience that it taught me to never start something I can't finish. It taught me to realize my limitations and keep my ambitions at a reasonable height. It was such an embarrassing experience at the time but the script I had written had way too much production value and heavy subjects to ever come off earnest the way I would have hoped. It was a bullying short (like 40 minute) film that my school principal agreed to have an entire assembly on in a few months to watch. Today, I'm mostly glad it never got made and stand by my decision to drop it, even if we put a good two months work into it.

[@saraha.1336]

I have several programming projects I have it to finish. But I WILL finish them someday, just for the heck of it.

[@GerarGear]

After rewatching this video, and having multiple new projects I've been working on, I gotta say that I really resonate with what you say. I go over the exact same thought, about the shame that I would have if I didn't finish those projects, and how I would have just wasted my time. Thank you for reminding me that it's not good to have shame as a motivation, but instead have the motivation of simply wanting to do it. And if we have unfinished things, we still learned by making them, and that's what's important. To not let ourselves be led by fear, but instead be led by love! (a tick tick boom reference😅) Thank You Houston!

[@heywhat6676]

Sorry I couldn't focus on what you were saying, those beautiful books behind you are really distracting

[@Everythingisany]

Do you have any unfinished projects Flashback to everything I haven't done

[@aminetouzi1162]

Yoo this really resonates with me... as an aspiring artist, I couldn't tell you how many unfinished ideas, projects, and concepts I've gone through. Hearing other artists talk about their own struggles is really comforting and motivating so thank you Houston for that

[@dj_matanzaa]

Man I have so many unfinished projects (albums and books) that I don’t even want to tell anybody when I’m working on something new now; I don’t want to earn a reputation as being somebody who doesn’t finish things which is sort of how I’ve felt about myself lately. But I have been back writing again and revisiting old projects and I am on a path forward. I appreciate your words here!

[@stagelinedpro]

Oh boy. I have several, I wrote an entire feature film during my senior year of high school, and I actually finished it. I don't have much to say about it, just that it's bad and I am impressed I actually finished it.

[@sullymanning6713]

You could have made this video as long as you wanted and I would've sat here watching it until I starved. I can't remember what video it's in, but in reference to your fantasy novel you once said "it's not very good, but I'm happy that I did it." And since then that has been one of my all-time favorite quotes. You basically said that again in this video, but slightly different. The idea that you can be proud of the achievement but not the work is something more people need to hear. And when you were talking about relationships, my first thought was "Oh, like La La Land!". And the first season of The Legend of Korra has a brief but very similar message. There are things in my life that I can look back on and see that they're still 'up to date'. I'm torn because it's very comfortable to view them. I can still look at them and be fully satisfied. But in all honesty, I'd rather be failing and learning than kicking back and smiling at what I *did* a long time ago. My sister and I are both very creative peoole and years ago she started doing a thing where she kept her idea underwraps from just about everyone. I always though it was weird because after all, telling people about you ideas is the fun part, right? So, I asked her, and her response was that she would either not finish the project and have gotten people's hopes up for nothing, or that they would react in just the wrong way and it would deflate her motivation to keep working at it. Now, I do the same, and it's quite nice. And yes, you have mentioned your docuseries before and I've been internally screaming for a video about it since. Awesome video. I love those bookshelves!

[@Playatoma]

ahah, so bizarre you mentioning the LEGO stuff knowing I remember you posting and hyping it up n all, simple times. I have many novel ideas that I wrote the first couple chapters and never ever completed but I am working on a new idea and want to get it done because I feel really good about it.

[@aidanlafferty4027]

I really love what you're trying to say man. I had many lego animations in the past planned and announced, but then one day I just quit all that. I had a following on many places for different things and I quit them abruptly. I feel a little shame for those however I still feel like that allowed me to grow as a person in a way despite I was literally 13. I found that I wanted to be a creative person and that led me to pursuing filmmaking. But I still face these same challenges today and I'm certain I will for the rest of my career. My freshman short had a lot of similar problems. I loved the story and where it was going and what thematically it meant to me, but being in the midst of a pandemic and online school made it so I couldn't really shoot it. Leading me to animate it, which fell through after taking to long of a break. I still want to finish that project now months later but I can't now that I have to focus on my Sophomore Film, and now I'm taking another story that means a great deal to me. It didn't work out but I still learned a lot that year online. It's mind-boggling how fast that year went. Jeez. Sitting here writing this, after I post reply I need to work on my first draft of that sophomore film. I am proud of where the story is going and I'm excited to create something new again. I don't know where it will end up in a few months but hey thats the point. Time to tackle this and despite it getting finished or not, I will have learned so much and have received some great experience so lets go.

[@milotj4866]

Well now I feel a little bit better about the many projects I never finished. For me the problem, I think, is more about being afraid that the final product won’t be as good as I had envisioned it but I keep telling myself that done is better than perfect.

[@maldon3659]

One project I began but never finished was a part stop motion part live action short film that was supposed to be 2 friends having a video chat during quarantine and what they did during quarantine

[@Everythingisany]

Bru you have a fancy book self. Also you make me want to make KZbin video sooo thanks for inspiring me

[@SnapperChannel]

Unfinished projects will always be that part of us that goes “What if I finished it?” But it can also teach us who we were at certain points and moving on from that. Great video Houston

[@Yossi_MEGAMOUW]

Not so much an unfinished project as it wasn't a singular thing, but never getting to a place as a KZbinr that I strived for in middle school always made me a little shameful that I never kept with it. Thankfully over the years since I've realized that what I wanted out of being a KZbinr at the time is not exactly what being a KZbinr had to offer and the path I'm on now feels a lot more fulfilling to my interests that lead me to KZbin in the first place, even if there isn't the instant gratification that social media offers.

[@houston-coley]

I can totally relate to this. I thought I’d have hit 100K years ago by now. But I’m much happier at the place where I am today than I would’ve been if all my dreams at age 15 were fulfilled.

[@Yossi_MEGAMOUW]

Oh and then there's the last year and half which I still haven't processed well

[@Departedreflections]

I love your background

[@tajklair]

*There are a-lot projects that will never see the light of day it sucks*

[@michaelyoung7261]

“I’m no quitter.” But I can be done without finishing a project. I’ve had to come to accept my not finished Projects as sufficient to my learning for the time I spent. I have changed in my likes, hobbies and desires and that means that some things need to be dropped. It didn’t reach 100%, but it is finished as far as it will be.

[@cinephileasmr]

Wow! Wow wow wow. Seriously such a cathartic and necessary moment when fellow artists who you admire and indirectly extract so much creative inspiration from are able to articulate your exact thoughts. I feel anyone who is vulnerable enough to delve into the self through art that is then willing to release it to the world deserves an award in itself. Doubts and disappointment is wrought in my mind for projects I have published but I still feel a sense of gratitude that I was able to overcome the mental naysayers and actually finish it! That feeling of despair is two-fold when I abandon my projects so being able to connect with such terrific creators by their works like this is such a welcome course correcting reminder that it is OK! Your chameleon like content shedding of revolutionizing yourself through growth and evolution, regardless of view count, helps people beyond belief Houston. Keep at it(PLEASE)!!

[@darrenklooosterman3206]

I have been working on writing a fantasy novel for the past year and a half, and in that time I have started what was essentially 4 different books before I landed on my current work. there have been moments where I felt I couldn't express some of the ideas I really liked from those old one's into my current book, and there definitely shame I felt from just leaving the months of work I had put in to them. but the way I've dealt with it is from trying to build my new books on the previous ones, asking where I went wrong, how to fix that, but also what I did right. is a sense I absorbed those books and have now formed a world with a history and path to where I can take my writing in the future of this world, I have improved my writing in all area's from these previous works and from all the movies, books, and shows I have connected with. I was never someone to have much passion with anything really, but I found story telling to be something I could fall in love with, and while looking back I'm not so in love with the things I wrote before, I love what I am working on now, from the world to the characters and plot, what I'm doing now is what I love whether I still see it that way down road isn't for me to be concerned with, whether I finish my current book or not, I will always carry it with me. btw I have loved your content for quite some time now, it's nice to see someone who just makes things they are passionate about, helps motivate me to keep striving for my passion, so thanks.

[@josesitocomunica9056]

Yes... i have a lot

[@GerarGear]

Awesome video☺️

[@blueberrysherbet9275]

Unrelated but I was wondering what you thought of Amazon’s upcoming wheel of time adaptation thats coming out this November. I know you enjoy fantasy so I was wondering if it was on your radar and if when it premieres you’ll give your thoughts on it.

[@houston-coley]

I watched the trailer just yesterday, actually! I’ve never read past the first Wheel of Time book, but the show looks really well-done. Fantasy is back, baby.

[@blueberrysherbet9275]

@@houston-coley haha that’s great too hear I didn’t get past the first book myself but with the trailer drop and all the hype surrounding it I’m pretty tempted to give it another shot loll

[@e-dogtherealdog3888]

Lmao

[@crappymcdick]

God your background looks comfy