In the News

Share Your Writing

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

The goal of “Write for You” is to give you ideas for using writing to make your life better in some way. It’s for you. That means that as long as you have some kind of a writing practice and write things that are pleasing and informative to you, you are succeeding. What makes it pleasing to you? What does it inform you about? You are the only one who can answer questions like that. The answers might turn out to be quite private.

At the same time, as you get more practice and start developing confidence in yourself, you might realize that others would find your writing interesting. You can decide to let others read it.

Here are some things to keep in mind about sharing your writing:

  • It’s natural to want to ask, “Is this any good?” You can answer that yourself! Yes, it’s good. If you like it, it’s good. Could you make it better? Maybe, if you feel like it. For now it’s good enough.
  • There’s a nervous rush of exposure that comes with sharing your writing. It’s normal to want people to say things that are reassuring to you. You hope for reactions that make you glad you shared the writing. The fact is, however, people usually don’t know what to say to someone about their writing, so don’t set your expectations about other people’s reactions too high.
  • Silence can be a very positive reaction, even though it feels awkward. It means the person is thinking. No matter what they say or don’t say, your writing made them think.
  • Make sure your writing practice remains something that you do for yourself. Continue to write with the intention of keeping the work private. Don’t think about sharing it until after it’s written. When you do share something, you can always change it to make it less private.

This blog has now stored up several year’s worth of weekly writing exercises that anyone can do at any time. Maybe you have done them all. Or some of them. Maybe you are about to start doing them now. If you would like to share what you’ve written for any of those exercises, you can put it in the comments section in one of three ways:

  • Simply type it into the comments box.
  • Copy something you have typed a computer and paste it into the comments box.
  • Take a picture of what you have written and paste it into the comments box.

I have been using a variation on the third method. I take a picture of my writing each week and add it to this webpage. But that’s just mine. It would be more interesting to see yours.

You might be surprised how many people would like to see what you write. Many thanks in advance to anyone who takes the trouble to share their work!

Before you dive into all the possibilities for sharing your writing, don’t forget to write today! Take a few moments to ground yourself with your writing practice. Get ready to write a page that is just for yourself. Settle in with your writing materials and look around you. Describe what you see. Start with the things that are closest to you and work your way out.

Be sure to give your work a title and write the date on it, too. 

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. Since it’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center, if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

Bubbles in Your Bubble

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized, Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

Each one of us lives at the center of our own universe. Awareness is the tool we use to explore that universe and extend it outward.

Today’s writing gives you a chance to be aware of your awareness.

Our awareness brings information from our senses. Our logical minds, emotions, and memory are part of our awareness, too.  So are “uncanny feelings” and “sixth senses.” Sometimes when people pray or meditate, they describe their experience as “pure awareness.”

Imagine a small bubble around yourself, a bubble that is close in. It could be your skin. It could be the room you are in, or everything that is within 3 feet of you. Whatever close-in bubble you choose, write down some of the things you are aware of inside of it. You might include physical objects or people, sounds and smells, ideas and plans. Whatever you are aware of in the tiny world closest to you.

After you have written several lines about your closest bubble, expand the bubble a little bit. Write about new things you can be aware of inside the bubble that’s a little bigger than the first one.

Keep doing that.  You will end up describing the universe that begins with you, starting with a small bubble that you are inside of. Then you will write about the contents of ever larger bubbles that extend outward from you.

You can organize your page in several ways. You can put yourself in the center, draw the actual bubbles and write (and draw) inside of them. Or you can divide the page into drawing space and writing space, alternating between the two according to your inspiration.

Actually, you can organize the page however you want. Just be sure to leave room for a title at the top. Write down your title after the page is full and you have looked over your work. Sometimes a really fun title will just pop into your head then.

If you like, you can repeat this exercise and put somebody else in the center of the smallest bubble. Then you have to imagine what they must be aware of. This is a good way to exercise your capacity for empathy.

In addition to a title at the top, write the date on your work, too.

Here is an example of what someone could write. But there are many different ways to do this.

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.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. Since it’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center, if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

Small, Medium, Large

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized, Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

Gather your writing stuff. Gather your thoughts. Park yourself in the present.

Notice what your senses are taking in. Notice internal things, too, like body sensations and emotions. Memories and ideas in your mind right now are also part of the present.

Randomly explore the present while you set up your page.

Draw a line across the top of your page where the title will go. Then divide the page into four equal-sized sections. Label three of those sections Small, Medium, and Large.

Keep dwelling on the present and ask yourself, What’s small? What’s medium? What’s large?  Make a list inside each section.

There are several ways to approach this. You could begin by noting something small, and then asking yourself, What’s bigger than that? Or start with something large, and ask yourself what’s smaller. Or start in the middle, choose something, and ask, What’s bigger? What’s smaller?

Another way to approach this exercise is to fill one section at a time. Write down all the small things you notice, then the medium-sized ones, and finally the large ones. Or start with the large ones. Or the medium ones.

Maybe you will start with one approach and then switch to another. You might even invent an approach of your own. The important thing is to fill each of the sections according to their labels: Small, Medium, and Large.

When you don’t know what to write, look for ideas in the present tense.

There will be one section left. From all the items on the three lists you have written, pick one thing that is important. It doesn’t have to be the most important thing. There are probably quite a few things on your lists that matter to you. Pick one of them and write a little bit about it in the fourth section.

Draw or doodle on the page if you feel like it. A bit of color adds a lot!

When you have filled the page, go back over your work. Make small changes if you want to.

Wait for a title to pop into your mind. When it does, write it on the line at the top of the page. Write the date somewhere on the page, too.

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.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. It’s not possible at this time to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center. If you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancyor the Latah Recovery Center.

 

In One Place

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

Today’s page will require a little bit of setup. As you gather your materials and sit down to write, take some slow breaths and imagine your mind settling into an empty space. For the 20 minutes or so that it will take you to write, you don’t have to think about anything important. All that stuff will be ready and waiting for you when you are done.

Draw a line across the top of a clean page where the title will go. Underneath it, draw a vertical line down the center of the page. Then draw a horizontal line across the middle.  Now your writing space is divided into four equal spaces.

In tiny letters, write the word Plant in the corner of one of the spaces. Write the word Animal in the corner of a different space. Label the other two with the words Thing and Place.

Forget about Place until the end.

In the Animal space, write about an animal. Any animal, real or imaginary, past or present, monstrous or microscopic. Whatever animal pops into your mind first. Draw a picture to go with it if you like.

Similarly, write about a plant in the Plant space. Any plant.

Obviously, in the Thing space, you’ll write about a thing. Some inanimate object. Some thing.

Draw in those spaces and decorate the borders if you like. Doodle while you are thinking up what to write.

When those three spaces are full, turn your attention to the Place space. Imagine the animal, the plant, and the thing you have written about and build an imaginary fence that encloses them all. Describe that place.

Maybe your plant, animal and thing are all in the room right in front of you. Then that’s the place you would describe.

What if your plant was outside your window and your thing was the planet Mars? Then maybe your place would be the solar system. Or even the universe.

It’s also possible that you could decide that the place that holds your plant, animal, and thing isn’t a physical place someone could visit. It could be a place like your childhood or your imagination.

You might be tempted to do this backwards, to think of a place and then describe a plant, an animal and a thing that are in it. But, trust me, you will write something more interesting if you don’t think about place until the end.

When you have finished your page, go back over everything you have done. Make additions and changes if you like.

Give your work a title and write the date on it, too.

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.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. Since it’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center, if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

 

At Three

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized, Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

What do you do? Even though that’s a question that many people ask, lots of folks find it too big to give an answer that feels satisfactory.

What do you do all day? That question is smaller, but it can still be hard to answer.

What do you do at 3 o’clock? That question is whittled down to an answerable size.

Take a moment to consider the ebbs and cycles of your waking day. Try to get a sense of the whole day all at once as something that unfolds from start to finish. Then zero in on that more-or-less 3 o’clock time. What’s going on then?

It depends.  On who you are, the schedule you tend to keep, the responsibilities you have, and your typical flows of energy and emotion. It also depends on whether the “3 o’clock” of your waking day is 3 AM or 3 PM.

It could also depend on how similar your days are. Work days differ from days off. Travel days are different from days at home.

Days might differ socially, too. Some days might or might not have children in them, or certain friends and co-workers. Maybe you have a standing appointment on a certain day at 3 o’clock.

If all of your days tend to be different, pick out a certain type of day, and picture yourself around 3 o’clock. If all of your days unfold more or less alike, zoom in on what is usually going on at three.

Think about your responsibilities and activities. Where could someone find you at 3 o’clock?

Consider the way your energy changes in the day. Where does it land around three? What about your attitude?

Is there something reliable about the natural world that occurs during the 3 o’clock hour?

Fill a page with information about yourself at 3 o’clock. Include color, drawing, doodling and decoration as you find appropriate.

When the page is full, take a good look at it, and make small changes if you like. Give your work a title and write the date on it, too.

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.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. Since it’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center, if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

 

How Do You Beat the Heat?

by latahrecoverycenter, posted in Uncategorized, Write for You Blog

by Nancy Casey

It depends on what heats you up.

Some people don’t notice it’s getting warm until they’ve been seared by the sun for hours. Others prefer the temperatures you might find in a cave.

Weather conditions aren’t the only thing that can make a person hot. Some people have jobs near machinery that gives off heat. Other folks have physical conditions that send their temperatures up. Sometimes it’s a lack of ventilation that makes it hard to stay cool. Or large pets who want to be on your lap.

Warmth in your body isn’t the only way to feel heat. (After all, some people can’t ever get warm enough.)

Certain emotions and mental states can make us run hot: anger, anxiety, worry. Can hunger make you too hot? Thirst probably can. What about joy?

Today for your writing, think about what has a tendency to heat you up and write about what you do to prevent yourself from overheating. Maybe you will write about keeping your physical body comfortable. Maybe you will write about your favorite strategies for remaining mentally and emotionally cool.

Begin by drawing a line across the top of your page where the title will go. Draw and doodle a little bit on the page. As you do this, your writing ideas will start to gather themselves. Start writing about the first idea that comes clearly into your mind, even if it’s not the idea you thought you would be writing about at first.

Go back and forth between writing and drawing if you like. The important thing is to fill the page somehow with ideas about staying cool when things could get too hot.

Be sure to give your work a title and write the date on it, too.

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.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. Since it’s not possible to have an in-person Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center, if you are interested in writing coaching, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.