Vision Share: Picture It

Dear Me – Step 3

Now come up with a way to represent your letter visually and share that with at least one other person.

Don’t share the letter itself or take a picture of it. Instead, represent the main feeling or thoughts in your letter with a drawing, photo, meme, or other depiction. “Vision Share” is meant to help you identify a focus for your letter.

Suggested Time for Activity: 20 minutes

Sharing: with a friend or writing group; social media

Snap one photo or make a quick sketch. Or take more time with a drawing, even create a video. What matters is focusing your ideas in a different way.

Q. What if I’m a terrible artist? I can skip this step, right?

Please don’t skip the “Vision Share” step. The point is not artistic skill, but the way you conceptualize what matters to you.

For example, this snapshot of a daffodil from my backyard evokes the daffodils in my sample “Dear Me” letter. It took five minutes at most to take a few snaps with my smartphone and to insert the image here.

Or use an online tool like Canva to make graphics. I created the icons for lesson activities with Canva.^[1]

You may not like art projects or resist making a picture. I confess to feeling some of that myself, but it’s why envisioning can be so helpful for word people. It nudges us out of our verbal comfort zones.

It’s not about artistic skill.

It also provides another outlet if words don’t come easily. There are many ways to “extend the mind” beyond words. In her book The Extended Mind, journalist Annie Murphy Paul surveys research on getting outside our heads to spark creativity.^[2]

Q. What if I don’t want to share my visual representation?

It’s up to you, but I encourage you to try it with a friend or family member. The ultimate goal of becoming a better storyteller is to communicate with other people. The response of your fellow humans will let you know if you’re on the right track.

The ultimate goal is communicating with other people.

Sharing a quick sketch or photo – in person, via email, on Zoom — is often fun and motivating. People like pictures. It’s also a great warmup for sharing your writing when you’re ready for that.

A Word About Social Media: Sharing your visual representation on social media is not required. If you enjoy sharing and interacting with more followers, please do. But if not, avoid social media for the “Vision Share” step.