Not too long ago I came across my Creative Whack Pack. The guy who created it gave a creativity seminar at AOL in 1996. We all received a deck. Honestly, as far as corporate seminars go, this was a better one. Not that I ever used it for my job. I remember during a meeting with our manager, my office mate suggested we pull out the whack pack to brainstorm for some project we were discussing. Our manager was like, "um, yeah, stop fucking around." Well, he had an MBA, so he knew best.

As I've written here, I'm in kind of a transformative stage creatively. I decided to pull out the whack pack and see if it could be any use. Last night I drew this card: Change Its Name: If an architect looks at an opening between the two rooms and thinks "door," that's what she'll design. But if she thinks "passageway," she may design something much different like a "hallway," or "air curtain," "tunnel," or perhaps a "courtyard." Different words bring in different assumptions and lead your thinking in different directions. What else can you call your idea?

So last night before sleeping I mediated on "changing its name" which was difficult because I didn't feel like I was calling it any one firm thing, in fact, I'm not even sure what "it" is. But I had this dream:

An editor from the West Wind Review accepted my poems and suggested I use the nickname "Sous Rature." Then my sister told me that's a stupid idea and I shouldn't.



So I got a new name to call it! Although I kind of fucking hate it when I dream literary theory. Not sure what it all means, but hey if you can name it . . .

Tonight I drew this card: Let Your Mind Wander: Much of our thinking is associative: one idea makes you think of another--no matter how logical the connection. Use this ability to generate new ideas. Look at something, and make associations based on whatever you can think of: function, location, size, shape, sound, personal, opposite, weird, etc. Example--work: play: actor: star: sun: light: bulb: tulips: kiss: love: tennis: net: profit: prophet: oracle: auricle: heart: life. What things does your idea remind you of? What do each of these remind you of? How can you use this cluster of associations to develop your idea?

I'll let you know if my psyche wanders into any bright ideas.