Author: latahrecoverycenter

by Nancy Casey

I stopped by the Latah Recovery Community Center the other day, to ask around about what people might be looking for in a writing class. Someone told me that the best writing class they took that had fun assignments like, “Write the first chapter of a story using only words that are one syllable long.”

“How totally cool.” I thought. “I should try that.”

And so should you!

You don’t necessarily have to write the first chapter of a story, but you can. You might decide instead to write about an event or an experience, something you remember, or something that you invent.

Write a page about anything at all, as long as you only use one-syllable words.

If you have trouble deciding what to write about, just begin in the immediate present and describe what’s in front of you. Then go where your imagination carries you—around the room or all over the universe.

This can seem impossible at first. How are you supposed to write about what’s in front of you if you look out the window and see a shovel in the garden? You can’t write window, shovel, or garden! But you can write the clear glass in the wall. You can write the thing I dig with. You can write the place where the plants grow.

You get the idea (or rather, the thought.)

When you have filled a page, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add further decoration and color to the page as needed. Here is an example of what a person could write. There, you can also see an example of a page written with only two-syllable words.

You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She offers (free!) writing help to anyone in recovery. This can be for any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories, novels, homework, etc. She will be teaching writing classes at the Recovery Center starting in May. Email Nancy or the Recovery Center for more information or to make a suggestion about the type of class to offer.

by Nancy Casey

Everything changes. That’s what they say.

The more things change, the more things stay the same. They say that, too.

Is that because everything—no matter what it is—used to be something else?

Today in your writing, you notice the many different aspects of your present life which used to be different. Which is to say—everything.

Begin with a sentence that goes like this:

Once…………, now ………… .

You can consider the solid objects in front of you. What was there before there was a table, your shoes, a plant, a window, a cup? What were the table, plant, shoes, window or cup before they were turned into those things?

You can think about the ideas in your mind. We often change our minds. Where we once thought one thing, now we think a different way.

Emotions change. Relationships change. Food preferences change. So does the weather and our bank account. Healing is change, so is an injury. It’s always the same story: things used to be one way, now things are different.

You can write about big things or little ones, things you can see or things that are invisible. You can write many words about one thing, or write only a few and move on to the next one. Whatever you write about, tell it in two parts: how it used to be and how it is now.

Once…………, now ………… .

When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add further decoration and color to the page as needed. Here is an example of what a person could write.

You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She offers (free!) writing help to anyone in recovery. This can be for any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories, novels, homework, etc. She will be teaching writing classes at the Recovery Center starting in May. Email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

by Nancy Casey

Today you will write down some random thoughts about kindness. How will you make sure they are random? By doodling!

Gather up some different colors of pens if you have them, and any other drawing-type materials you enjoy.

Draw a line near the top of the page to mark the space where the title will go. Then draw the letter ‘K’ in the center of the page and put a circle around it. K is for kindness.

Draw 3 lines from the K in the center out to the edge of the page so that your page will be divided into 3 sections that are more or less the same size.

Pick a section and begin doodling. You can doodle up squiggles and shapes or you can sketch whatever is in front of you. You can make a single blob and just color it in. What you draw can be “about” something—or not. Fool around and enjoy what comes out of your pen.

Drawing relaxes your mind in a way that allows your thoughts to roll around at random. When one of those random thoughts happens to be about kindness, notice that.

“Kindness” as a topic can cover a lot of things. So you will probably start to notice lots of thoughts about it. Kind actions, kind thoughts. Kindness offered, kindness received. All the different ways kindness feels. Kindness you remember. Kindness you wish for. Ways to be kind.

As you continue to draw and doodle, decide which random thought about kindness you will write down. You don’t have to write a lot. You might decide to go back and forth between the writing and drawing.

Try to have the writing part and the drawing part take up approximately the same amount of room.

When you have filled one section, fill another one the same way. Then fill the third section.

After that, look over all that you have done. Squeeze in new things if you want. As you go back through your work, a title is likely to pop into your mind. Write it down at the top. Put the date on the page somewhere as well.

Here is an example of what a person could write.

You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She offers (free!) writing help to anyone in recovery. This can be for any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories, novels, homework, etc. She will be teaching writing classes at the Recovery Center in the spring. Email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

by Nancy Casey

Have you ever done anything that you didn’t want to do? If the answer is yes, you won’t have any trouble coming up with things to write about today.

Think of a story about something you did even though you didn’t want to do it.

For example, it’s hard to love every single chore you must do to keep your life moving along. Laundry. Vehicle maintenance. Shoveling snow. Shopping. Filling out forms. Have you had to sigh recently and say to yourself, “Nobody else is going to do it, so I might as well get going?”

Sometimes we have opportunities to do something that seems scary to us. Going snowboarding, swimming, or bowling. Eating sushi. Singing in public. Applying for a job. Asking directions. Have you stepped up lately and done something you were reluctant to do? How did it go?

What happened before you did the thing you didn’t want to do? Was it preceded by a period of procrastination or clever tricks of denial? Did you (or other people) give yourself pep talks or scoldings? Did you dive in and get the thing done so it wouldn’t bother you?

Doing what you don’t want to do isn’t always so great. Have you ever gone ahead with something you didn’t want to do, only to learn that you had been right about it not being a good idea?

Sometimes we find ourselves in really difficult situations where we have to make a choice that feels terrible in the moment. We have to rise to the occasion somehow because we know this is what’s best. Maybe we are helping another person. Maybe we are helping our future self.

What about all those times when a friend’s needs make you set aside your own? Do you have stories of giving up time, sleep, or other needs to help a friend through a problem?

When you tell a story of doing something that you didn’t want to do, include some information about your attitude. Were you grumpy, hesitant or joyful? Did your attitude change as things progressed? Was it the same at the end as in the beginning?

When you have written a page, give it a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add an illustration or decoration to the page. Color is nice. Here is an example of what a person could write.

You can share what you have written by posting it as a comment below. You can type in your work. Or post a picture of it.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She offers (free!) writing help to anyone in recovery. This can be for any kind of writing project—resumes, letters, stories, novels, homework, etc. She will be teaching writing classes at the Recovery Center in the spring. Email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.
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