In the News

by Nancy Casey

Today, your writing will take the form of a letter. You can write it to a real or imaginary person, and you don’t have to mail it.

Pretend that you have just arrived at a Grand Hotel, a splendid vacation spot with marvelous amenities and superb convenience. Write a letter telling your friend how amazing, wonderful and perfect everything is.

Here’s the catch: all the details of the letter have to be details about your very own home and surroundings.

You can tell about the services, the entertainment, and the furnishings. You can tell what makes it comfortable and pleasant. In the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, you can describe challenges or discomforts in terms of the outstanding opportunities for growth that they present to you.

You can say anything you want, as long as it is positive to the point of bragging and describes something real and factual about your home and surroundings.

Begin to set up your page by drawing a large rectangle that makes the page have a frame around it that’s about an inch wide. The frame will be your drawing space. Your title will go in the frame, too. At the very top of the page, draw a long rectangle inside the frame that the title will fit into when it comes time to write it.

Write the date at the top of the writing space like you would for a letter, and begin with “Dear So-and-So”… using a person’s real name.

If ideas for bragging up your living space come to mind right away, begin writing. Every time you have to stop and think, don’t stop your pen from moving, just move over to the drawing space and begin decorating the frame. When you get another idea for writing, move over to the writing area and continue there.

Try not to ever pause completely. Always keep your pen moving in one part of the page or another. Either decorate the frame, or add to the letter. Can you do it? Sometimes it takes practice and concentration at first, but the reward is usually a deep calming inside your mind.

As you get down to the end of the writing part of the page, sign off the way you do when you write a letter. Read over your work. Make small changes if you need to. If you haven’t yet finished decorating the page’s frame, keep working on that until you are completely satisfied with the whole page.

When a title pops into your mind, write it down in the rectangle you have saved for it.

Here is one example of what someone’s page could look like.

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. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center and offers free online writing coaching for people in recovery. For information contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center

by Nancy Casey

One thing everybody knows how to do is react. Sometimes we choose our reaction, and other times the reaction chooses us. Often the reaction is external—we say or do something. If the reaction is internal, we change ourselves psychologically.

What kind of a reaction is listening? You will explore that in your writing today by practicing listening and noticing what that is like.

Set up your page first. Draw a line at the top where the title will go. Then set aside a small space for writing. Draw a shape (a box, a circle, a blob) that’s only big enough to fit a sentence or two. The whole rest of the page is your drawing space.

Without saying anything, draw in your drawing space until it is filled up. If you draw without talking, you are listening.

What can you put in the background for yourself to hear? Some ideas:

• A recorded voice that is talking (or perhaps singing.) Such as a podcast, the news, a comedian, an audiobook, a playlist.
• A friend who wants to share some thoughts. Make sure your friend understands the exercise you are doing. You can also trade places and do the exercise again so that you are the talker and your friend is the listener.
• Instrumental music, the world outdoors, the non-silence of a silent room. As you do this type of listening, you might also begin to hear the sounds of your own thoughts.

The important thing about the drawing part is to keep your hand moving. It doesn’t matter what the drawing looks like because it is a picture of your listening.

Maybe you enjoy drawing and will dive into this task with delight. If filling a page with drawing feels daunting to you, here are some ideas:

• Color the whole page one solid color. That counts.  Watch the color grow.  You’ll be listening.
• Copy or trace a picture. Color it if you want. Make the same picture over and over again.
• Scribble and doodle. Make dots, circles, or spirals. See how close you can draw lines next to each other without touching.
• Try one thing, then move to another spot on the page and try something else.

Don’t evaluate your drawing as a drawing. Just draw. Keep the pen, crayon, pencil (or whatever is in your hand) moving. Who knows, you might decide to fingerpaint!

When you have completely filled the drawing space (and not before!) write down one thought in the writing space. Whatever thought comes to mind at the end of your drawing/listening session. Don’t plan it. Don’t overanalyze it. You don’t have to report on what you “heard.” Just write something down. It’s merely a thought that arose out of your listening.

When you have finished, take a good look at the whole page. Notice how big the listening part is compared to the words you wrote. Is there anything interesting about that?  Some people listen better (hear more) when they doodle.  Are you one of them?

If you practice listening, you learn about what it is like to listen to yourself, others and the world around you. And you can choose it as a reaction to any situation.

Don’t forget to give your work a title and write the date on it, too.

Here is one example of what someone’s page could look like. But everybody’s page will be different.

You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. It’s probably best to comment with a photo that shows all your work.  You could also simply type in the short text that you wrote.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center and offers free online writing coaching for people in recovery. For information  contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

by Nancy Casey

We can discover new ways to understand something if we direct our attention to what it isn’t. That’s what you’ll do in your writing today.

As you gather up your writing materials and set up your page, decide what you will write about. It can be anything at all. Not a whole wide story, just a thing.

You can choose an object. Something from your immediate surroundings–in the room or out a window. You can pluck the object from your imagination. It could be something you remember or something you invent. It doesn’t necessarily have to be real.

Instead of an object, you could write about an action or activity.  Dancing, talking on the phone, attending a meeting online, or something like that.

You can decide to write about a concept, such as joy, memory, or hope.

Once you have decided what to write about, begin by telling about what it isn’t.

For instance, a person could decide to write about “breakfast.” They could write down, “Breakfast is not made of rocks.” Or “Breakfast is not something to enjoy while you are asleep.” They could say, “Breakfast does not chirp, sing, yell for help.” Someone could add, “Breakfast doesn’t care if it has a broken tail light.”

Be patient with yourself as the ideas flow in. When you hold something in your mind and cast about for details of what it isn’t, you are juggling two thoughts at once. It can take a few minutes for your mind to coordinate itself to work like that.

If you have trouble getting started, begin by drawing or doodling.

Once you get going and find your groove, you’ll start to notice that the possibilities for what something isn’t are as big and wide as the whole universe. As you fill the page you might surprise yourself. You will certainly notice how clever you are.

After you the page is filled up, read over your work. Make small changes if you need to. Add additional color or decoration if you like. When you are satisfied with your work, give it 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. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center and offers free online writing coaching for people in recovery. For information  contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

by Nancy Casey

What’s temporary in your life? What is likely to be permanent? That’s what you’ll be exploring today in your writing. Open your mind to those questions while you gather your materials and set up your page.

Draw a line where the title will go. Then draw a shape in the middle of the page. A circle, a square, a blob—any kind of shape. This will be your drawing space, so make it as large or as small as you like.

Next draw two lines out from the shape to the edge of the paper so that the writing space is roughly divided in half.

On one side of the page, write about some things that are likely to change in your lifetime. What changes many times over the course of a day? What changes slowly over a lifetime? Sometimes changes are traumatic, and sometimes they bring relief. Consider your life and your world the way it is right now and ask yourself, “What’s not going to stay that way?”

You can write about one changing aspect of your life in detail, explaining how it will change and why you know that is true. Or your writing might look more like a list.

On the opposite side, you will write about things that you would consider to be permanent in your life. Of course you can argue that nothing is ever permanent. Life is full of miracles and surprises a person can never predict. All the same, there are things that we realistically expect to remain unchanged in our lifetimes. The past, for instance.

As ideas come to mind, you can switch back and forth from the “temporary” side of the page to the “permanent” side. While you wait for ideas to come to you, doodle or draw in the illustration space in the middle.

After you have filled a page, read over your work. Make small changes if you need to. Add additional color or decoration to the page. When you are satisfied with your work, give it 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. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center.  She offers free writing coaching for people in recovery. For information contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

by Nancy Casey

What are you good at? What kinds of things do you do well? Think about that while you get ready to write.

Do a little moving around before you sit down with your writing stuff. When you move around and get the blood flowing, ideas will flow, too. What kind of moving around are you good at?

Do you have skills you seem to have been born with? What has always been easy for you?

What skills have you learned on your own? Consider what motivated you to learn this. A chance of a job? A change of relationships? A health issue? A childhood fantasy?

Do you have a skill that makes other people ask you for help?

When we are good at something, it might feel easy to do. Or it might not. Are you good at something that you also find difficult to do?

Just because a person is good at something doesn’t mean that they like to do it.  For example lots of people are good at their jobs but wouldn’t be doing that job if they didn’t need to earn a living.

In addition to being good at doing certain things, a person can also be good at showing restraint. Someone who is a great talker can also be a skilled listener. When you are helping someone learn something, you need the patience not to interfere and just do it yourself because you are so good at it. What kinds of inaction are you good at?

Fill up a page today by writing about what you are good at.  Draw a line at the top of the page where you can put a title when you are finished. Set aside some space for illustration or doodling.

Explain what you are able to do and why you are good at it. Add as many details as you like. You might find yourself writing about one single skill that you have. Or your page might look more like a list.  You could even organize it alphabetically.

However you fill the page, read over your work when you have finished. Make small changes if you need to. Add some color or decoration to the page if you haven’t already. When you are satisfied with the whole thing, give it 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. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center. For more information about classes, writing coaching and writing certificates, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.

by Nancy Casey

While you gather your writing materials and set up your workspace, think about what it means to be pals with somebody.

A pal is a thick-and-thin kind of friend. One who knows when to stay quiet and when to help you change the subject. A friend who shows up and who asks questions because they care about you. When your pal rubs you the wrong way, it’s easy to forgive them, because they are your pal.

Today, think beyond the people who are your pals. Think about things.  Inanimate objects. Your stuff.

You could probably say that all of the everyday objects that make your life possible are your pals. From your favorite shoes to your spoon, they wait around most patiently to be at your service. They are loyal.

Some pals are your pals by the simple fact that they have witnessed your history. They remind you that yes, all that did happen, even if it seems a lifetime ago. Even if they are out of sight in a box.

People can have pals that they forget about until they need them again. When they get back in touch, they are glad to be together. No guilt-trips between pals.

Set up your page: draw a line at the top where a title will go and mark off a space for illustration.

As you do that, think about the stuff in your life.  The stuff in front of you, the stuff you know is around somewhere, the stuff you remember, even though it’s gone. Look around in all that stuff for your pals.

Write about one of those pals. Here are some questions that might help you do that:

• Does this pal smell or sound or look a certain way? Can you touch it?
• What does this pal contribute to your life?
• Does this pal ever frustrate you?
• What is reliable about this pal?

Write about one of your inanimate pals. Doodle and draw in the illustration space while you think. If you finish writing about one pal and still have room on the page, write about another one. Or draw some more.

After you have filled a page, read over your work. Make small changes if you need to. Add more color or decoration to the page. When you are satisfied with the page, give it  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. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center. For more information about writing coaching and writing certificates, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.