Dear Rushers & Waiters,
I am always a little early. My habitual promptness has its roots in three facts:
One, I believe that showing up on time is a sign of respect, and I do not want to disrespect other people.
Two, I love using the stress-free waiting time before something starts or before someone is ready to read, write, draw, and think.
Three, planning on arriving somewhere early means that I don’t need to worry when something unexpected pops up because the event will not make me late. Instead, I will arrive on time.
Last week, I went to a different park for my daily walk. I was leaving the park to go and wait to pick up E from school when a long train rolled by and stopped all traffic.
I rolled down the window to hear the grinding of the steel wheels, the clang of the railroad crossing alarm, and the kachunk-kachunk of the train moving over the tracks. I also had the chance to admire the graffiti on the box cars as they traveled past.
I knew that no matter how long the train was, I would still get to my destination in plenty of time. I was able to enjoy the train in the moment as if I were ten years old again.
I’m sharing this story to remind myself how much better I feel when I use wait time to fuel my creative practice.
When I’m not being my most mindful self, it’s easy to doomscroll down my different social media feeds. All this does is fuel my anxiety.
When I take time to notice my surroundings and to people-watch or spy on nature, I always come away with snippets of ideas for poems or comics. Sometimes those ideas will need to percolate for years before they’re refined enough for me to use, but the cleanest fuel for creativity is our own experiences.
One way I try and refine ideas is to create titles for stories or poems that don’t yet exist.
Poet Mindy Nettifee encourages writers to consider titles as integral portions of the work. In her book, Glitter in the Blood: A Poet’s Manifesto for Better, Braver Writing, she talks about how a title can add context that makes a poem more accessible and saves you from including a lot of exposition.
This applies to any writing. As a teen, I listened to a lot of Pearl Jam. I was ground zero for grunge, and Pearl Jam’s hippy grunge stylings seemed to always be on in the background.
On their second album, Vs., they have a song with the improbably lengthy title, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.
This is the perfect title for the song. You cannot fully understand the song’s story or its point of view until you know the title.
For this week’s creative exercise, write down five titles for poems or stories that you haven’t written yet. Experiment with using titles longer or more detailed than you would normally consider.
You never have to write anything to go with the titles. The practice of generating titles is a great way to spark further creativity.
Here are my five titles:
1. The Initiation Rites of the Secret Society of House Husbands
2. The Time My Father Stopped Me from Learning How to Fly Down the Stairs
3. Blizzards, Boxes, and the Kindness of Movers Who Smoke Like Chimneys
4. Chasing Goats Around My Couch
5. Death Before Dishonor and Other Things My Dog Would Say
Don’t forget to share your titles in the comments!
Be the weird you want to see in the world!
Cheers,
Jason
P.S. Do you know someone who loves exploring their creativity? Make their day a little brighter by sharing this newsletter with them!
I'm chronically early as well and for the same reasons. Title generating is a great exercise. I'm going to try it!
1. Remember That Time I Puked in the Ficus Tree at Denny’s?
2. The Snuff Cruise
3. And That is Why She Hired a New Carpenter
Yup. Weird.