More Than 10

by Nancy Casey

For today’s writing, you will fill a page with questions. The catch? The answer to every one of your questions must be “More than 10.”

Think about that as you get ready for your writing session…

Get out your stuff. Organize your writing space a little bit. Arrange the things in front of you in a way that looks pleasing to you. Take a breath or two. Wiggle your feet, hips and shoulders

Draw a line at the top of the page where your title will go. Set aside some space for illustration if you like. Start drawing or doodling in it if it helps your mind focus.

Wait for the questions to drift in, and when they do, write them down.

It’s likely your questions will begin with the words, “How many…?”

You can ask questions about time. How many centuries, days, minutes. Those questions might also have words like until, since, before, or after.

You can ask questions about living things and inanimate ones. How many does it take? How many is enough, or too many? How many will you find? How many are forgotten, useful, understood…?

Questions that start out, “How many times…?” are about actions or events. How many times did someone (or something) fall, disappear, get wet,…?

Your questions can be serious or ridiculous. Maybe you can make up questions out of details from your surroundings. Perhaps you can ask questions about something you are trying to learn or a hobby that you have. You can ask questions that come entirely from your imagination. You can even use made-up words. (How many glips in a glop?)

When you have filled up the page with questions that can be answered with “More than 10,” look back over your work. Pause to add illustration or decoration if you like.

Do your ideas form any kind of a pattern? Do they seem to be about a bigger idea that you hadn’t really planned on writing about? If they do, maybe you can use that insight to think up a title. If they don’t, make up some kind of a title anyway and write it at the top of the page.

Put your initials or a signature on the page, too. And write the date on it. Here is just one example of what someone could write.

You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. If you would like some help with your writing, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.