Dave Barry said there are only two seasons: winter and construction. Here in the Midwest, we have a couple more discernible seasons, but construction does sometimes seem like the defining characteristic of summer. I was waiting for construction on a road where traffic had been running smoothly the day before, when it struck me how much I could get done if I could harness all these small, lost moments. Waiting in lines, at the doctor’s office, in traffic. Waiting for a meeting to start, your kid to come out of school, supper to finish cooking. Ideally, rather than think of the time as “lost,” such stolen moments can be times to recharge a little, smell the breeze, close your eyes and look inward. On that day, the breeze was carrying asphalt fumes that nearly choked me, so I rolled up my window and pulled out my capture notebook I talked about yesterday. I looked around and started writing.
I knew I only had a brief moment before the cars in front of me would roll forward a few feet and stop, so I didn’t let myself launch into a freewriting stream of consciousness. Instead, I noted the details I saw around me:
I was stopped in front of the history museum. I’ve never been there; maybe I should go sometime.- I noted what other drivers all around me were doing. Were they tapping their steering wheels impatiently, using the time to make calls, twisting around in their seats looking for a way around the construction?
- I saw an interesting juxtaposition of a flower bed with the fresh laid asphalt, noting that I should come back sometime and take a photo.
- I looked at the buildings around me; although I’d driven this way many times, I’d never really had the leisure to look around before.
- Dry leaves on the sidewalk next to me were caught in an odd breeze that lifted, spun, and dropped the leaves again and again.
In short, I took the time to observe the world I move through. Some of my notes may inform my writing, some may lead to photos, but mostly I was sharpening my awareness of details. What colors do I see? Buildings? People? Nature? It’s easy to forget to pay attention, but it’s the details that make a world come alive, whether it’s a fictional world or the one we pass through every day.
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Another tool for capture, if you’re not in the habit of carrying a notebook, is Jott.com. Jott allows you to send yourself or anyone else an email using your cell phone. Great for quick notes when you can’t write. Jott also just added a feature that allows you to update your Twitter, WordPress blog, or a few other services.
