My swipe file (where my creativity comes from)
A couple of weeks ago, I told you that I have something called a Swipe File. The idea is that I spend quite of a lot of time creating things, and to do that, I have to quickly improvise many of good ideas.
Instead of starting each time with a blank canvas, I do something that makes my life a lot easier. I stay attentive to whatever is going on around me, and whenever I see or hear something that I like, I swipe it. In the file it goes.
The point, obviously, is not to literally steal and plagiarize, but to keep a catalog of inspiration close at hand.
I want to show you today some of what’s in my swipe file. But before I do, I have to tell you what keeping a swipe file has done to my brain.
Most people build a swipe file because they, too, want a war chest of good ideas when they’re stuck. But believe me, the point of a swipe file isn’t actually about what’s inside of it.
When you start to collect things you like—whether that’s pieces of text, video clips, art, or whatever—you develop your taste. You start to understand what it is that you like and don’t like. You start to become different from everyone else. And that’s a good thing. In an era when we’re algorithmically fed the same content, the danger is that your work starts to look exactly like everyone else’s.
And if you keep on collecting, not only will you develop taste, you’ll start to understand why it is that you like certain things and don’t like others. You notice more detail and start to close what’s known as the taste gap—the difference between your awareness of the things you like and you’re ability to create them. In other words, you become more skilled at the things you love.
I’ve been closing my taste gap for many years, in part thanks to my swipe file. And it’s my pleasure now to show you some of what’s inside of it.
Before you take a look, I have to say it: my swipe file is my toy box. These are my toys. If you don’t like them? That’s fine. They’re mine. That’s the point. There is no right and wrong. By all means, find the toys you want to play with.
Prose
Here are, in no particular order, some pieces of text that I’ve swiped, and a bit about why I like them.
Our eyes met across the crowded hat store. I, a customer, and she, a coquettish haberdasher. Ohhh. I pursued and she withdrew and she pursued and I withdrew. And so we danced.
This is a quote from Seinfeld, where Kramer feigns a case of gonorrhea for a group of medical students.
There are lots of things to like about the way this text flows, but notice in particular “I pursued and she withdrew and she pursued and I withdrew.” There’s a pleasing parallelism in the repetition of “pursued” and “withdrew.” What’s more is that both of these words have 2 syllables and have long “ooo” sounds. That coupling is what gives it a poetic sound.
Notice also what happens if you change the words.
“We flirted back and forth”
“I advanced and she recoiled and she recoiled and I advanced”
“I pursued and she was shy and I was shy and she pursued”
All of that pales in comparison to the original text.
And as a bonus, the sentence sounds long—exactly like the courting between the man and woman. “I pursued and she withdrew and she pursued and I withdrew.”
These are words in the hands of a great writer.
I am not in danger. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks.
Here’s another famous quote from television, this time from Breaking Bad. I could spend plenty of time talking about what I like here, but I’ll just focus on this bit: “I am not in danger. I am the danger.”
Just like the Seinfeld quote, this passage uses parallelism—but this time it’s even more subtle. “in” vs. “the”. I love this because these tiny words sub in for the larger idea of not being contained, but being the container.
Steven Pinker wrote an extensive book called Words and Rules about how easily our minds understand the geometry of little words like “in” vs. “on”.
Wasn’t that better? Yeah it was better. But there are lots of reasons that’s not good enough.
Does textual beauty always need to come from somewhere famous? I think not. This is an offhand, apparently unprepared remark I heard during the middle of a lecture.
Look again at the parallelism, but this time across superlatives: better, better, good enough.
This is another great opportunity to look at why saying this any other way wouldn’t be as pleasing.
“This isn’t good enough” (sounds mean)
“Wasn’t that better? Yeah it’s nice. But there are lots of reasons it’s unsufficient.”
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Can something ancient have beauty? Here’s another favorite. This time a Biblical reference from the book of Matthew.
This is a gem of structural parallelism: ask/give, seek/find, knock/opened; asks/receives, seeks/finds, knocks/opened.
Play the game again. Try changing out a few words or saying it another way. It just doesn’t ring.
Visual design
Likewise, here are a few favorite pieces of design.
This is the call to action button on Ship Fast. I like the fact that the CTA button has a geometric icon inside of it—most others don’t, so it stands out.
What really makes me love this, though, is choosing an icon color that matches the background. It sings, but doesn’t shout.
Here’s a fragment of a page on Cluely’s website that no longer exists. It’s pretty normal to use highlighting to emphasis a piece of text, but combining it with extra horizontal padding and boldness makes it jump straight off the page.
This is also a great example of how you don’t need to agree with something to swipe it. You can learn from everyone.
Hooks
How about hooks? Can we swipe those? Absolutely. Some of my favorites:
Meet « X »
Is this a bad idea?
Pop quiz:
Most people don’t realize this:
Here’s a trick question.
I did an experiment.
A riddle:
I love deconstructing why why each one works.
I could go on and on, and I’d genuinely love to, but I have to stop now and go do something else.
I’ll end with an honest plea: make a swipe file for yourself. You don’t even need to be actively creating to do it. I can pretty much promise you’ll find joy in doing it—especially if you’re burned out and lost the love for your craft.
You can swipe anything you want. Conference talk titles, nicknames, hex colors. Whatever you’re into.
So just do it.
Then write me in a year and thank me.
Loved the examples here, thanks for sharing :)
I started doing the same after reading “Building the Second Brain” by Tiago Forte. A bit different concept, but helps me with the taste too