Category: Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

When somebody uses the phrase, “In the middle”, they could be talking about a lifespan, a seating arrangement, or a sandwich. Look around the world in front of you. Scour your memories and imagination. Ask yourself, “What’s in the middle?”  Write about that today.

Before you begin writing, take a few breaths and settle yourself into the task. Get your page set up by drawing a line across the top where you will write a title when you have finished. Set aside some space for illustration if you like. As you do this, think about “middles.”

Sometimes the middle is in space. Two objects exist somewhere, and between them is something else. The two objects could be fence posts, houseplants, or galaxies. They don’t have to be identical objects, either. A shoe that sits between a purse and a dog is in the middle. The thing you are looking for can be in the middle of a pile or the middle of the floor.

The middle can also exist in time. Lunch, for example is before dinner and after breakfast, so it’s in the middle. Any moment in time has a moment that comes before it and one that comes after, so it’s in the middle. You could pick a moment in time and ask yourself what that moment is in the middle of.

What tends to happen in the middle of the day? What about the middle of the night?

Situations can have middles, too. It’s not pleasant to be caught in the middle of somebody else’s conflict. We don’t like to be interrupted when we are in the middle of something. 

Write about a location, a time, or a situation that has a middle. What’s in the middle? Provide as much information as you would like: what it is, how it got there, whether or not it belongs there or will stay there. You can write about several different middles, or maybe you have so much to say about the first one that it will fill your page.

However your page fills up, look back over you 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 just one example of the type of thing 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. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

Sometimes “finding” first involves “losing” and “looking for.” Other times “finding” is a complete surprise, and neither “losing” nor “looking for” are part of the story at all. Today, write about what you have found today, this week, or sometime in your life.

Take a moment to set up your page before you begin writing. Use the time to turn your mind to the task you are about to do. Watch your pen draw a slow, careful line at the top of the page where your title will go. Choose a spot on your page that you can use for drawing or illustration, and draw a careful line around that area as well. Thicken the lines, or draw over them a couple of times, watching the ink flow out of the end of your pen, and settle yourself into the time you’ll spend writing.

As soon as an idea about finding comes into your mind, write down some details about it. Don’t make yourself wait for a perfect idea, just start writing about the one that comes to you first. If you think of another idea while writing about the first one, finish the first one up and write about the new one, too. If your idea-bank feels empty, doodle on the page, keep watching the ink roll out of tip of your pen and murmur to yourself, I found… I found… I found… An idea will eventually come to you.

Maybe you will write about how a lost item turned up again and tell that story in a few sentences.

You might end up writing about an experience of looking for an item that you’ve never had. That kind of “finding” has the feel of discovery to it. You might have a story of hunting for wildflowers in the woods, or searching in several grocery stores for a food that a recipe needs and you’ve never heard of. Maybe you’ve been in a strange town looking for a place to eat or sleep, in the library looking for a book, or in a store looking for the right shoes for a job interview. When your search ends successfully, you are happy to find something that was never lost.

Sometimes we find something without looking for it at all. A bracelet on the street, a trinket in the thrift store, a social media posting that changes the shape of our day.

Another kind of “finding” is “finding out.” Think of times when you found that you liked something more (or less) than you used to. Maybe you found a dreaded event to be not-so-bad. You can find yourself to be delighted or annoyed about something. You might find a meal to be too hot, too cold, or just right. Maybe you have a story about finding yourself in good company, in trouble, or absolutely right (or wrong) about something.

After you have filled the page with one or more “finding” stories, look back over your work. Make small changes or additions if you want to clarify something. Add illustration or decoration, too, 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 the type of thing 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. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

Much of what we do every day is “out of habit.” Our “bad” habits get a lot of attention. We’re either trying to change them, or wish we didn’t have them, or keep remembering reasons why they aren’t good for us.

On the other hand, we hardly notice our good habits, because they don’t get in the way. Today, write about some of your best and favorite habits—what they are, how you got in to that habit (if you remember) and why you are glad you have that habit.

A habit is something you do without thinking about it first. So it might take a moment to answer when you ask yourself, “What are some of the things I do every day without thinking?” And then you have to narrow down those answers to the ones that you are glad that you do.

Try to get your mind moving in that direction as you set up your page. Draw a line at the top where your title will go. If a good-habit idea hasn’t come into your mind after that, start doodling or drawing somewhere on the page until one does. You might want to draw a box or blob to set aside some space for doodling or drawing later, too.

As soon as you remind yourself of one good habit that you have, start writing about it. Explain what the habit is and why doing this automatically is a good thing for you. How long have you had that habit? Do you recall how or when you “got into it?”

You can take yourself on a mental tour of your habits by thinking about everyday things: hygiene and housecleaning, food and drink, transportation, entertainment, relaxing, reacting to people, parts of your work day, sleep … What are some of thing things that you do all the time? Which of those are habits? Which of those are good things to do?

If you start to focus your mind on habits that are good, the annoying part of your brain might remind you that you aren’t perfect and tell you your habit isn’t all that great, or start preaching about a related not-so-good habit that you have. If that happens to you, don’t write any of that stuff down. Just remind your brain that you are only writing about good habits now and there will be plenty time to get to those other things about habits later. Maybe doodling will help your mind stay in the good-habit groove while you are thinking.

When the page is filled up, look 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 the type of thing 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. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

The word if. We say it all the time. When we do, we are experimenting with an idea that isn’t quite real. Although dwelling constantly in a state of unreality is never recommended, a bit of if-thinking about what’s not real can give us insight into what is real.

Sometimes we say if to speculate about the future and perhaps express our hopes or concerns. If it rains tomorrow… If everything goes as planned… If I can’t sleep tonight… In cases like that, the word if allows us to make plans and consider alternatives.

We can use if to contemplate the impossible.  If I had enough money… If I was on vacation now… If it was summer and not winter… Using if in this way gives us a chance to imagine the world the way we wish it was. This kind of thinking can often help us clarify what we want.

If can also be a word that allows us to contemplate our regrets, to look at the past and wish it was different. If my friend was still alive… If I had done better on that test… If I had remembered my keys… We are advised not to wallow in this kind of if, but these types of statements help us express grief and understand problems.

Sometimes we look at the past with relief, not regret. If helps us do that, too. If that car had hit me… If I hadn’t found a job… If I hadn’t arrived on time… In cases like that, if  helps us appreciate our good fortune.

Today, in your writing, use the word if as much as you can. Before you begin writing, draw a line at the top of your page where your title will go. Set aside some space for illustration or doodling if you like.

Get your writing started, by putting down the word If, and continue on with whatever pops into your mind next. Explain it as much as your care to, and then continue and write another statement that begins with If. If you find yourself making a long explanation of an if–idea, maybe you can insert an if-statement into the explanation of the if-statement that you started with.

Don’t worry too much about reality or organization. Instead, as you write the page, try to use the word if as many times as you can.

When your page has filled up, 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. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

A major part of adulting, it seems, involves a whole lot of doing things that you don’t want to do. Being disciplined. Being a good sport. Doing it whether you want to or not. Often because if you don’t do it, no one else will—and it has to get done.

Today, fill a page by writing about things you did even though you didn’t want to.

Set up your page with a line across the top where your title will go. You can also draw a box or blob that you’ll use for illustration.

As you do the page setup, open your mind to the recent past. Consider your daily habits. What did you do that you didn’t feel like doing at the time?

Think about the kinds of tasks you dread. And do anyway. When do you motivate yourself only because you have no choice? Do you have un-favorite parts of your job? What do you procrastinate? Are there aspects of your personal maintenance routine that you’d just as soon skip, but can’t?

Did you halt some words before they left your lips? Did you choose to not-engage in a habit that you are trying to kick?

Have you upended a plan so that you could give attention to the needs of a friend, a family member or a stranger? Did you disturb your sleep? Give up an outing? Get behind on a project? Drive somewhere? Get hot, get cold, get tired, find patience?

Life would be a cake-walk if we only had to do the things that we felt like doing. Sometimes people have to direct themselves to do what’s necessary instead of what they want in that moment. Fill a page with ideas about times that has happened to you.

Add drawing, illustration or color to your page in any way that you like.

When the page is full, read it over. Does it sound like complaining? Can you add or change a few words so it sounds more like congratulations? Maybe you can do that with the title you choose.

Whatever a title idea floats to the surface of your mind, write it at the top of the page.

Write the date on the page too, along with a signature or your initials.

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 with your writing, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

We make plans. We have expectations. Life happens, and things don’t pan out the way we thought they would. Because they turned out even better. Or some good thing we couldn’t have imagined occurred. Pleasant surprises. Whoopee! Today, write about one or more of them that you have experienced in your life.

Think about unexpected good things that have fallen into your lap as you set up your page. Draw a line across the top where your title will go. You can also draw a box or blob that you’ll use for illustration.

Have you ever dreaded an event or an encounter only to have it turn into a delightful experience? How about starting a task that you knew would be difficult, if not impossible, and then discovering that it was easy, a piece of cake? What about losing something very important only to have it turn up in the very first place you look?

If you are a bit forgetful, you can pleasantly surprise yourself in hilarious ways. Have you ever completed a task, forgot you did it, then experienced the surprise of having it already done when you set out to do it?

Strangers, friends, and loved ones can surprise us unexpectedly with kindness. Have you ever come up short in a check-out line and had the stranger behind you slap a couple dollars on the counter? Have you ever received a card, a gift, or a message from someone for no reason other than that they are glad that you exist? When have you received unexpected but very useful help?

Consider all those different moments when you saw the future as difficult or glum, and then—through no fault or effort of your own—something happy or heart-warming occurred.

Begin writing about the first pleasant surprise that comes to your mind. If there is still room on the page, write about another one. And another one, if it will fit. Until the page is full.

If nothing comes to mind at first, begin by scribbling or drawing. That can help your mind relax so you can think more clearly. When the memory of some pleasant surprise does pop into your awareness, write about it and see where it takes you. One idea usually leads to another one. If your ideas don’t flow easily, go back to doodling and wait patiently for them to come.

When you feel like you’ve written enough, stop. If there’s still room on the page, fill it with drawing or decoration.

When the page is completely full, look it over carefully and make small changes if you like. When a title idea floats to the surface of your mind, write it at the top of the page.

Write the date on the page too, along with a signature or your initials.

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 with your writing, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

Originally, milestones were rocks alongside the road. Stones that marked the miles. They didn’t tend to be flashy, although they could be in flashy places. On a long journey, you would pass a lot of them.

Today, when we say “milestone” we are talking about reference points in our lives.

Make a list of some of the milestones you have passed so for on the journey of your life.

Major life events make milestones, of course: births, deaths, marriages, graduations, moving to a new place, getting a new job. Anything you start. Anything that comes to an end.

Not every milestone has a big story attached to it. Some milestones are simply markers in your life history that are personal. When you acquired a certain possession can be a milestone—a car, a pair of shoes, a dinner plate, a houseplant. The moments when people or pets came into your life can function as milestones, too. If you can attach a “before” and an “after” to it, it’s a milestone.

Events are often milestones. An accident, a test, a vacation, a trip downtown… It depends on what happened and how and why you remember it.

Milestones also exist in our minds. Learning new facts and skills. Understanding a conflict in a new way. A realization that changes your attitude.

Think about the milestones of your experience—big and small—as you set up your page. Draw a line at the top where your title will go. Write the letters of the alphabet, A-Z, down the left-hand side of the page.

As milestones occur to you, write something about them next to a letter that stands for a word in your description. You’re only going to have one line to describe your milestone. That’s not much room. Write a few words, maybe a sentence, with just enough information that you could recall what you were thinking of if you read it again in a week or a year.

For example, if you remember a time you got a piece of news about Charlie, and also that you happened to be wearing a red shirt, you could write something like any of these:

• Red shirt that I was wearing when I heard about Charlie.
• Shirt, red. The one I was wearing when I found out that Charlie…
• Wearing a red shirt and learning that Charlie…
• Charlie, and the day I found out that…

Depending on who Charlie is and what happened, there would be other words whose first letters you could borrow to put that milestone on your list.

If you can’t decide what to write, begin by scribbling or drawing around the margines. That can help your mind relax so you can think more clearly. When an idea for something to write pops into your mind, find a letter of the alphabet where it will fit and write it down. Don’t be too fussy about how you start. One idea usually leads to another one.

When you have a milestone for every letter, look over your page carefully and make small changes if you like. When a title idea floats to the surface of your mind, write it at the top of the page.

Write the date on the page too, along with a signature or your initials.

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 with your writing, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.

by Nancy Casey

What warms things up? What makes you warm? What is the difference between warm enough and too warm? What line is crossed when warm becomes hot?

Think about the answers to those questions and the ideas they lead to as you set up your page.

To set up the page, draw a line across the top where your title will go. You can also draw a box or blob that you’ll use for illustration. Or make a frame along the edges that you can decorate. Set up your page with the intent of calming and focusing your mind and turning its attention to the writing task ahead.

You could write about the things that you do, consciously or unconsciously, to prepare yourself to keep warm on a winter day: the clothes and accessories you choose, where you position yourself, what you do or refrain from doing, plans that you make.

Perhaps you have a responsibility for the warmth of people or things outside of yourself: plants, pets, a family member, a car… How do you warm them? Do you have a job or other daily activity that involves warmth somehow?

As you write, you can expand your thoughts beyond physical warmth. What has warmed your heart? What can warm a relationship that’s turned cold? What is the purpose of the warm-up part of activities like sports, music, groups and classes?

Sometimes things, people, or situations go beyond getting warm and become hot. What happens when you are physically hot? What about hot tempers or the form of hot that makes you get every answer right on a test—and fast? It can mean all kinds of different things when one person calls another one hot—what is your experience of that?

Keep your mind under the umbrella of warm and hot as you fill up the page. Don’t plan too much, simply begin writing at the top and keep putting down ideas until you get to the bottom. Perhaps you will write a string of almost-random thoughts. Maybe you will tell one story—or just a part of one.

If you add illustration to your page, you could use warm colors like red, orange and yellow and see if that warms up your ideas more.

When the page is full, look it over carefully and make small changes if you like. When a title idea floats to the surface of your mind, write it at the top of the page.

Write the date on the page too, along with a signature or your initials.

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 with your writing, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center. In-person Write-for You classes have been suspended for now, but when Covid recedes, they will return.