It Helps to Watch Jellyfish
All the things that help (an essay or a prompt or both)
If you’re new here and you aren’t used to seeing me in your inbox, hello. I’ve included a bio at the end to introduce myself. I hope you will introduce yourself, too.
One of my favorite creative writing prompts involves using the same introductory word or phrase over and over again as a jumping off point when I’m not sure what else to write. Words like “once” and “maybe.” Phrases like “I used to” or “I wonder.”
I have found that by supplying the first few words, the rest of the sentence follows a bit easier. My students and I are always surprised by what rises to the surface. I especially like it when the phrase changes and the repetition becomes a little less redundant and a little more like an echo.
Here you go, me riffing on “It helps…,” a phrase a found myself thinking about this week. And if you have anything that is helping you this week, please share below.
It helps to watch jellyfish. Glowing, floating, pulsing. The slightest of changes.
It helps to take a walk, even on an empty stomach, emptied out and looking forward to inevitable nourishment.
And it helps to avoid the scroll, the need to catch everything all at once, to hear from all the voices. My voice—it helps to hear that one first.
Acknowledging good friends and their offerings helps. Pumpkin bread and poetry and the offering of silence, room to breathe.
To listen to white noise. To read something I’ve read before. To resist platitudes and hot takes and think pieces.
It helps to let everyone feel what they need to feel for as long as they need to feel it.
Sticking to my deadlines and my commitments helps. But sometimes cancelling those plans helps, too.
It helps to scrub my face clean, to sleep, to turn off all notifications, to check in on others who have checked in on me before.
To stay silent when I have nothing to add. It helps to write when I’m ready.
About me:
I am Penny Zang, an author and English professor. Start here to learn more about Mourning Pages. My debut novel, Doll Parts, will be published by Sourcebooks in August 2025. You can add it on Goodreads.
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Sending you room to breathe in the meantime,
Penny
"To read something I've read before": I've just reread both Foster and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (each requiring no more than 1-2 hours), and they fill my cup. It's like a literary version of nesting.
Thank you for this prompt. I wrote in my notebook. I always appreciate your thoughts. Yes, jellyfish help because that line made me smile. The last few days smiles have been scarce.