MOM is a teacher

I have been learning about creativity. I have learned that making something out of nothing is incredibly scary.

What if the people around me don’t understand my work? What if my work never sees the light of day? What if it’s crap?

In writing, making films, and now writing comics, there are days when I feel on top of the world as I make connections I didn’t see before, and there are days when I am filled with self-doubt.

Over the years, two of the most important lessons that I have learned about creating are:

1. Always complete what you start;

2. It takes as much effort to make a crappy product as it does a brilliant product. So you might as well focus your energies on making it as good as you can.

And thanks to my friend, Michelle Ingkavet, I’ve learned two additional lessons through this Ted talk by the best-selling author, Elizabeth Gilbert, that really puts the emotions of creativity into perspective:

3. It’s not you, the individual who is creating, but your muse, your fairy, your little gnome. So, don’t take too much credit if it’s good or beat yourself up if it’s bad;

and,

4. As a creator, you have to turn up everyday for work.

A big thank you to all the creators who inspire me through your daily, unending labor.

===

Dr. Yen Yen Woo is Associate Professor of Education at Long Island University, C.W.Post and the creator of the Dim Sum Warriors comics app,  available through the App  Store in 2012. Read a comic, learn a language! www.dimsumwarriors.com.