Is it boring? Or are you just bored?
Oh, hi friends!
You're jumping peppers.
You're skipping stoves
and sailing fire.
Soaring across the forehead
is a fly of your youth,
so pat the candle,
hug the asphalt,
and pull the sun close.
Yank the bulb and watch the
rush of the wick
lead to the snap
and hear the radiator
click click click
off.
I wrote this little poem the other day using a technique from the book I mentioned last week, Jeff Tweedy’s How to Write One Song. He talks about how easy it is to fall back on familiar language, and I felt that so deeply when I think about my freelance writing, how I edit stories, even what I write in this very newsletter.
We write emails, we text, we Slack, we draft essays and presentations, and if we’re doing this with speed in mind, we reach for words that are right in front of us. It becomes less important to find language that feels fresh and original to you. You just need to finish. And then you get bored. Because anything can get boring when you’re not surprising yourself.
So Tweedy’s advice was to make lists of words: verbs, adjectives, nouns, usually about one single topic. And then to connect them in strange or different ways.
I made a list of nouns about ‘heat’ (flame, peppers, radiator, etc.). And then made a list of verbs about ’touch’ (pat, hug, pull, etc.). Then I drew a line between words that aren’t normally associated with each other (jump + peppers, etc) and added some filler words.
The finished product isn't going to win any awards but is at least different.
And this simple exercise reminded me of how a small shift can affect our work and any creative pursuit.
We reach for the familiar because it’s convenient, but discovering new connections can make your own work — and you — come alive again.
Reach for something unexpected.
Go down a strange road.
Draw the line — and watch what happens.
“I’ve always loved the mistakes. The energy created by hamartia, the near miss. The crackling freedom and electricity when you forget your lines. To create is to fail. And to fail is to fall. And to fall is to be human.”
David Duchovny on why he writes and fails while reminiscing on a seminar with Harold Bloom and how his words will live forever in his daughter’s tattoo — yes, this is what I want from an essay!
Would We Consider This Eagle Therapy?
The Big Bear bald eagle cam is BACK, baby, and we’ve got two eggs! I’m sorry I won’t have any new TV shows to recommend because I’ll be watching these windswept beauties 24 hours a day.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
You can also support my work by checking out my new motivational journal, Do It For Yourself, designed to guide you through your creative and work projects.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara