I make it my mission to write down and record my original thoughts and ideas. To always be capturing. To not allow myself to forget.
Here’s an example of something I captured:
"Flourish, but don't fluff."
I remember thinking about writing and speaking in a way that engages—without exaggerating. I liked the line. I was standing in line at the bank when I wrote it down.
That tiny bit later inspired a morning 3×5 card. Which inspired another, richer card. Which may one day expand into a blog post. (Or something else.)
It’s always interesting—but never predictable—how these little bits can blossom into something bigger.
The Practice
Here's the practice distilled down into 3 steps:
- They must first exist, no matter how unrefined. Always be capturing.
- They should start with your original thought or opinion, even if it’s a remix of someone else’s.
- Put them somewhere you can find them again, when you need them most.
This creative practice has many names: Zettelkasten. Commonplace book. Slipbox. Spark file.
But my favorite? Stacking ammo. A phrase coined by Eminem.
Rap God
In an older interview with Anderson Cooper, Eminem shared his process—how he’d write and collect lines, words, rhymes, fragments. How it all lived on scraps of paper, notepads, hotel stationery.
These days, I’m not sure how his process has evolved. But based on what I’ve found, he still writes. Still prefers paper. (Me too.)
I remember being fascinated by his notebooks. What Anderson called “crazy person" notes. They were raw. Unfiltered. Pure Eminem.
I scoured the internet, looking for photos of his handwriting. This particular piece of paper is my favourite: A sheet of chaos—scrawled fragments and floating lines—where, nestled in the middle, were the lyrics to the opening of “Lose Yourself.”
This never-ending practice of capturing, processing, and refinement is undoubtedly what makes Eminem, Eminem.
Other stacks
This system—this habit—has shown up in other prolific creatives too:
- Joan Rivers and her index cards of jokes.
- George Carlin and his collection of notes.
- Ryan Holiday and his boxes of ideas and quotes.
Each one similar in spirit but sculpted to the individual person. They all wrote everything down. They put it somewhere they could find it again. And they built from there.
As George Carlin once said:
“A good idea is of no use to you unless you can find it.”
Preach.
This post
This post began with a spark. A little note I made after watching that Eminem interview back on December 26, 2021. (At 9:57 PM, apparently.)
“Stacking Ammo - The process of capturing, storing, and studying notes and ideas by Eminem.”
That note sat quietly in my collection. Filed away. One of many in my ever-growing stacks of ammo.
And now, almost four years later, that little bit became something bigger.
P.S. The drawing of the bullets are my homage to Tom Sach's 10 bullets.