In the News

by Nancy Casey

We spend a lot of time being focused and staying organized. Many of us wish we were even more focused and organized than we are. Today you will write a page that is as disorganized and unfocused as you can make it.

The tool that you will use to make your writing full of distractions is the word “which.”

“Which” is a little word that we use before we add a little extra information about what we just wrote.

• The bike which you are riding has two tires which are…
• The page fills up with words which are written in blue which is the color of…
• The couch which I got from Habitat which is on Main Street which is in Moscow which is in Idaho which borders…

Your challenge today will be to distract yourself as much as you can by using the word “which” as often as you can.

Begin with something small—a random thought, an object that’s right in front of you—and begin to write something about it. As soon as you possibly can, stick in the word “which” and explain something about the word you just wrote.

For example, you could look at the table in front of you and notice all the things that are on it, things that remind you of what you must do today and or what you forgot to do yesterday. The table has other random things on it too, all of them part of the story of your life today. You might begin by writing, “On the table….”

Immediately, you could add the word “which” and tell something about the table. You could write, “…which is standing on the floor…” Then add the word “which” again and tell something about the floor. You might end up with something like,

“On the table which is standing on the floor which is made of wood which comes from trees which have bark which is a dog sound which means…”

Keep on going and going, using the word “which” whenever you can to add new, random information.

You might have noticed that in the example above, the stuff all over the table never got written about. That’s the fun and beauty of distraction. You just keep moving forward and forget everything that’s behind. Don’t make any effort to write “about” something or “make sense.” Don’t bother planning ahead.

Wait until you get to the very end of the page before you go back and re-read what you have written. The best way to distract yourself far away from where you started is to forget where you started in the first place. So don’t go back and remind yourself until you are all done.

When you have finished, give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add 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.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. 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—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

by Nancy Casey

Today, write down a list of sentences or ideas that all begin with the word “without.”

Take a look around you. Do you see things that you couldn’t do without? You could write a sentence about what your life would be like without them.

Maybe you can see things that you wish you didn’t have in your life, and you could write and idea about what you it would mean if they weren’t there.

Let your imagination run to think about all the animals, vegetables and minerals that have no part in your life. What is it like to be without them?

Sometimes “being without” is difficult. Sometimes it is good to be without certain things: a sprained ankle, a boulder falling on your house, enemies.

You don’t have to limit yourself to ideas about your own life. You can think about strangers, your pets, or the plant on the windowsill. What would they be like without chocolate? Without water? Without gravity?

You can write about the planet we live on or the whole universe. What would they be without mosunderstandings? Without stars? Without dust?

At first “without” seems like it is a negative word, indicating that something is lacking. The more you write sentences that begin, “Without…” you’ll find that there’s always some kind of “with” hidden inside each one.

When you have filled a page (or more) give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add 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.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. 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—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

by Nancy Casey

Lots of things haven’t happened yet. But they might. They could. All kinds of things.

Today in your writing, you will be thinking about all the different kinds of things that you would be pleased to see happen.

You don’t have to describe how a thing might happen, or discuss the chances of it happening. If you would like for it to happen, that counts.

As you are thinking of all these wonderful things that haven’t happened to you yet but might, imagine how you will say thank you to those who helped to make it happen.

Sometimes we have ourselves to thank. Sometimes other people help us out, and we thank them. Sometimes a material object that happens to be in the right place at the right time makes things work out for us. So we thank unseen forces or even the object itself. Sometimes people thank the weather, or gravity.

Begin with a sentence in this form:

“If _____, I will thank_____ for _____.”

Fill in the blanks and then expand this idea a little bit. You could thank several things or people if you like. You could explain more about it by adding a part that starts with “Because…” You could write down the exact words you would use to say thank you.

Then begin again. Write a new sentence in the form:

“If _____, I will thank_____ for _____.”

Expand on that one a little bit, and start again.

After you have filled a page, read over your work. Make small changes and corrections if you want to. Give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add 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.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. 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—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.

by Nancy Casey

You shouldn’t say “should.” Should you?

We’ve all probably observed ourselves or someone else organizing all of life into a pile of “shoulds.” I should do this. I should do that. I should do stop doing this other thing. I should forget about it. I should vacuum, study, walk, apologize, eat, sleep, sing, listen, work…

The problem with such a pile of “shoulds,” of course, is that they can get to weigh so heavy on your shoulders that you can’t get anything done.

But people wouldn’t lay all those “shoulds” upon themselves with no reason. There is always something better behind it.

Today’s writing will be in two parts. First you will take a few minues—only a few!—to wallow in your “shoulds.” Then you will look behind them for the good things hiding there.

Begin with a clean sheet of paper. Draw a vertical line down the middle of it, so it is divided into two halves, left and right. (Leave a little bit of room at the top to write the title after you have finished.)

Down the left-hand side, write the letters of the alphabet, A through Z. Now pretend you have superpowers. For each letter, write down something you “should” do that begins with that letter. Because of your superpowers, when you finish writing, you will wave your hand and everything on your list will be accomplished. So go a head and be extravagant with your should

Should you have something for every letter? You can decide.

Look back over your list. Ask yourself about the good things that happens when each of the “shoulds” gets done. When the “should” gets accomplished, something about it will make you happy. It might be little or it might be big.

On the right hand side of the page, use the ideas that come from the “shoulds” to write about things that make you happy.

You can write the second part, any way you want. You can make another list, write random thoughts, or explain something in detail. Every time something from your “should” list reminds you of something that makes you happy, write the happy part down.

For example… Imagine that for the letter “F” someone wrote, “Fix the roof.” The thing that makes them happy about having the roof fixed could be something like “getting the important chores finished” or “learning how to do something new.” (It depends on the person. It could be lots of things.)

When you have finished writing, go back over the page and draw stars by the best parts.

Give your work a title. Make sure the date is on it somewhere, too. Add 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.

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Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. Sometimes she teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center. 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—email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.