Dr. Seuss’s 1940 book “Horton Hatches the Egg,” Horton the Elephant repeats the mantra, “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.”
Write about a time you meant what you said or meant what you did.
OR Write about a time you didn’t mean what you said or did.
My Dear Writing Friends,
This isn’t the writing prompt I originally planned for today, September 11, 2026.
As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approached, there were many mentions of that horrific day.
So, I pivoted, thinking it’s a good time to reflect, to remember.
If you are inclined, write what that day was like for you.
Or write about the days that followed.
Were you in a daze?
Did your life change after those events? If yes, how?
Did you feel the need to be around people?
Or did you need to isolate, to cocoon?
How did you cope?
Why write about this now? Because one way to manage intense feelings is to write about them.
September 11, 2001
My neighbor called early in the morning. “Do you think it’s safe for the kids to walk to school?”
I stepped outside. The sky was blue. Birds were singing.
We were safe here in Northern California, I thought. Many others are not okay. But we are. For now.
That Saturday my daughter left for college, having to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. I was sure the bridge would be bombed while she was on it.
A ridiculous fear? Maybe. Probably. But that’s what tragic events can do. Plant irrational fears.
I remember the days after, attending to what needed to be done while carrying disbelief, holding grief.
“We’ll never be the same,” I thought.
American flags appeared on porches as if to say, “We’re in this together.”
Women At Ground Zero
A few weeks after the attack, Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba boarded a plane for New York City to interview female responders.
“Women at Ground Zero” is a powerful collection of first-person stories told by female firefighters, police officers, paramedics, EMTs, and others who risked their lives to save others.
Write to Heal
“When we experience an emotional event, we tend to replay it in our minds. Sometimes we want uncomfortable situations to disappear, so we try to ignore and suppress what happened.
But we don’t forget.” — Excerpt from Write to Heal
Write to Heal has tips on taking care of yourself when writing about difficult topics.
Thinking about a trip you took, what were your thoughts and emotions upon returning home?
As you got closer to home:
Were you anxious to get home?
What were you looking forward to?
What were you dreading?
Let’s say this was a plane trip.
You arrive at your home airport.
As you leave the plane and enter the terminal, what do you smell?
Perhaps diesel fuel, leftover food, sweat, the dank, musky odor of the walkway into the terminal.
Notice the smells as you walk through the airport to the baggage claim, and then to your car or a bus.
You arrive at your home entry door. What are the smells of your yard, the area around your doorway?
What smells hit you as you walk inside your house?
What smells did you miss while you were gone from home?
What do you regret leaving behind on your trip? Will you go back? Have you gone back?
See Prompt #882 for ideas on writing about a trip.
After you come to a good stopping place with this writing, use appositives to add to your writing.
Or, use appositives for any of your writing.
Appositives: A word or group of words that add detail to the original sentence. Appositives are not essential for the sentence to have meaning.
Pick a section from something you have written.
For each sentence, write one to three sentences, appositives, to add detail. Add details using the senses of touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste.
Appositives can enrich the writing.
An example from writing teacher Adair Lara, italics are appositives:
“Within fifteen minutes a new scent began to waft its way through the kitchen, edging through the other, more pleasant odors like an impatient man pushing his way through a crowd.”an impatient man pushing his way through a crowd.”
Think about a trip you took by airplane.
Or, a car or train ride.
To a vacation spot.
A place where there were new sights and new-to-you smells.
There was excitement, maybe apprehension about going on this trip.
There were steps to take, hoops to get through and now, here you are.
Your destination spot that was planned and now a reality.
Remember walking down a street, a path, a beach.
Inhale. What do you smell?
Where did you stay? Hotel, Airbnb, a lodge, with friends.
Look around your room. Describe it as if telling a person who is blind.
Expand your vision: Describe the lobby, or the living room, or a communal room. Or the outside area.
Where did you go? What did you do?
Just Write!
What do you notice as you go about your day?
What catches your attention?
What are you obsessed with?
Try using Anaphora, Epiphora, Symploce . . . Prompt #880 in your writing.
Just Write!
Anaphora: The repetition of the same word at the beginning of successive lines for emphasis, rhythm, and emotional impact.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . .” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Epiphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of the sentence.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
Symploce combines anaphora and epiphora.
“Ain’t no mountain high enough; Ain’t no valley low enough; Ain’t no river wide enough.” Song lyrics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Rewrite a previous freewrite using anaphora, epiphora, and/or symploce.
“Open a New Window,” song lyrics by Jerry Herman in the musical “Mame.”
Open a new window,
Open a new door,
Travel a new highway,
That’s never been tried before;
Or use song titles or lyrics to spark your writing.
The idea of Anaphora, epiphora, and symploce inspired from:
Jane Friedman’s Blog: “Creating Microtension in Your Story Through Repetition” by C. S. Lakin. April 28, 2026
And
“How to Write Stunning Sentences” by Nina Schuyler
Nina’s books are available at your favorite local bookstore and where all books are sold.
Order from Bookshop | Fiction Advocate | Amazon
Writing Prompts: Song titles and lyrics
Pick one (or more) and Just Write!
Summertime by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward from “Porgy & Bess”
Summertime and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy’s rich and your ma is good-lookin’
So hush little baby, don’t you cry
(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life by Franke Previte, John Previte, John DeNicola and Donald Markowitz from “Dirty Dancing”
Now I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
Surfin’ U.S.A. by The Beach Boys
If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody’d be surfin’
Like Californi-a
You’d see them wearing their baggies
Huarache sandals too
A bushy bushy blond hairdo
Surfin’ U.S.A
Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
Here comes the sun, doo-d-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
And I say, “It’s alright”
Summer Nights by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey from “Grease”
[DANNY]
Summer lovin’, had me a blast
[SANDY]
Summer lovin’, happened so fast
[DANNY]
I met a girl crazy for me
[SANDY]
Met a boy cute as can be
[DANNY & SANDY]
Summer days driftin’ away
To, uh oh, those summer nights
What is your why?
Why do you do what you do?
Why do you get up in the morning (besides having to go to the bathroom or let the dog or cat out).
What is your why?
Just Write!
Before writing, relax into your chair. Take some cleansing and refreshing breaths.
Breathe in deeply, releasing and relaxing as you breathe out. Letting go.
Letting your mind relax. Settle into your chair. Nothing for you to do. Nowhere for you to be, except here.
Letting your mind drift. Relaxed. Comfortable.
Go back to a time when you were little . . . 6 or 7 or 9, 11 years old.
Go back to a time when you played with toys. Maybe store-bought toys. Maybe things you created or someone created for you: Blanket forts, or real wood forts, dress-up, Cootie Catchers, cutting white paper into snowflakes.
Maybe you yearned for toys advertised on TV or in the Sears catalogue. Toys your friends had, and you didn’t.
A time when your eyes took in the delights of bright, shiny toys.
Take a deep breath in as you remember.
Maybe your yearnings weren’t for toys. Maybe your wishes were something else.
Take a deep breath in. Feel your breath go past your lungs, past your chest, into your belly.
What did you want as a child?
A certain toy? Did you get it?
Or:
Imagine you are 6 or 10 years old, how would you finish this sentence start: All I want is . .
Writing Prompt: When I was younger . . .
Write about whatever memory this brings up.
Just Write!