Author: latahrecoverycenter

by Nancy Casey

We get up every day and make decisions all day. Some of them are life-changing. Some of them are life-complicating. Some of them are so small and ordinary that we barely notice that we’ve made them.

Today, write about some of the decisions you have made.

As you organize yourself to write, think about your life in terms of decisions. Gather your materials—whichever ones you decide to use. Draw a line across the top of a blank sheet of paper where your title will go. Set aside some drawing or doodling space if you decide to do so.

As soon as an idea comes into your mind, write down some words about it.

If you have made a decision that turned out to be very important in your life, you might decide to fill up the page by telling the whole story of it.

Any time you have a choice about what you are going to do next, you make a decision. Even if the decision is the same one you have already made thousands of times. You could write about all of the decisions you have made since this day began.

Life-complicating decisions are usually a mixed bag of knowledge and hope, with a few surprises tossed in. You could write about the factors that went into a decision that took you down difficult or unexpected paths.

You can write about a decision without saying what the decision was. To do that, you might write something like, “That time I decided what to do about…” Or you could describe the clothes you were wearing, where you were and what you were looking at when you made a certain decision. Another possibility would be to write about all the consequences of the decision.

Once your page is full, go back through your work. Does it need illustration or decoration? You decide.

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 decide on 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 an 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 or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

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Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton is a new book that grew out of the Write For You program at LRC. It is the story of a person making herself new after years of addiction and trauma.

by Nancy Casey

Today in your writing, let your imagination float away to a different world. Write about anything you like, as long as it hasn’t happened.

As you set up your page, think about how the whole universe of what hasn’t happened is so much more vast than the map of everything that actually has happened.

Draw a line at the top of the page where your title will go. Set aside some space for illustration if you like. You can always draw or doodle while you wait for a writing idea to come to mind.

One category of things that haven’t happened consists of everything you imagine happening later today. Or next year.

Another category: things that haven’t happened because they are against the laws of physics and the natural world as we know it. Rocks sprouting fingers, for instance, or a neutron star moving into the house next door.

Somewhere in the middle of those two categories are all the things that might happen. There are those that probably will, and those that probably won’t. Some you wish will indeed happen and others you dread.

What about all of the things that you can’t even imagine happening? It’s pretty hard to write about them! Can you draw any of them?

When you have filled up the page with events that haven’t occurred, look back over your work. 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 an 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 or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

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Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton is a new book that grew out of the Write For You program at LRC. It is the story of a person making herself new after years of addiction and trauma.

by Nancy Casey

Tradition has it that we must emerge from the holiday season with a resolution or two that will make the year ahead better for us in some way. Very often, by the second week in January, those resolutions exist only in memory.

What if, instead of (or along with) organizing something new into our lives, we celebrated all that is new already? As you set yourself up to write a page, consider your possessions, your surroundings, and your attitude. Ask yourself, What’s new?

Think about your most recent shopping—whether in person or online. The fruits of that endeavor will be new to you.

Did anything new come your way over the holidays? Maybe a gift. Maybe a new friend?

Is there anything that you think of as “new,” even though it’s been present in your life for a long time?

Have you tried anything new lately? Think about places you have gone and foods you have eaten. Have external factors changed your routine so that you have new habits, whether you want them or not?

Attitudes might change slowly, but once they do, something about you is “new.” Is there some aspect of your approach to life that is different from a month, a year, or a decade ago? What’s new about it? What does this change mean to you?

Newness and change don’t always bring us joy. Perhaps there is a new aspect to your life, but you like the old version better. You could write about that.

Maybe your writing will come out resembling a list. Or maybe you have a whole big story to tell about something that’s new to you—how it came about, what the “old” was like, and what the change represents.

As you ponder the newness of the new, 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 writing ideas don’t come to you right away. (Whatever you do to the page will make it “new.”)

As soon as you get an idea, begin writing about it. If you don’t think the idea is very good, write about it anyway. Maybe it will turn into a good one. Maybe a better idea will crowd it out as soon as you start writing and you can write about that idea next.

When you have filled up the page, look back over your work. 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 an 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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Raised by God: The Autobiography of Patricia Clayton is a new book that grew out of the Write For You program at LRC. It is the story of a person making herself new after years of addiction and trauma.

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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 or encouragement with any kind of writing project, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.