Write into the Week: March 2, 2025

Elle LaMarca | March 2, 2025 |

“A story is a kind of biopsy of human life.”

–Lorrie Moore

Dear Writer,

I hope you’re having a good start to your week. In this newsletter:

A writing prompt to inspire your creativity.
Reading and listening recommendations in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
Publishing, residency, and retreat opportunities available now.
Join our free Friday write-in, and meet our community of writers.

Happy writing this week!

—Elle, Curriculum Specialist & Community Manager

Writing Prompt

Write a story, scene, or poem where a single moment is examined in extreme detail, as if you’re zooming in on it under a microscope. How does breaking it down reveal hidden emotions or truths?

Reading Recommendations:

Humor/Poetry:

“An MFA Poet Analyzes Love Poems by Dating Show Contestants” by Ellie Gold Labs for Electric Literature. A humorous deep dive into the love poems brought to the small screen by the contestants of shows like The Bachelor, Love Island and Love is Blind.

Fiction:

“Learn It, Forget It, Use It: No Skill Fully Disappears” by Chuck Palahniuk. Palahniuk reflects on Tom Wolfe’s “Las Vegas (What?) Las Vegas (Can’t Hear You! Too Noisy) Las Vegas!!!!” while exploring the lasting impact of storytelling techniques—particularly the power of repetition.

Nonfiction:

“Where There is No Hospital” by Aminatta Forna. A personal essay on the challenges and resilience of communities lacking access to medical facilities, highlighting the innovative solutions and deep-rooted communal support systems that emerge in the absence of formal healthcare infrastructure.

Listening Recommendations:

From The Moth YouTube channel: “Charlotte Cline and Her Boundary-resistant Family Navigate a Loss” A tale of loss and resilience imbued with humor. Bathroom humor.
From The New Yorker: Poetry Podcast: “Amber Tamblyn Reads Didi Jackson” Amber Tamblyn reads “The Dahlias,” by Didi Jackson, and her own poem “This Living.” Tamblyn, a writer, director, and actor, is the creator of the newsletter “Listening in the Dark” and the editor of an anthology of the same title.

Publishing Opportunities:

The Glass Post – Submission Deadline: Open/Rolling. A brand new online literary magazine, who would love some talented writer’s work! They are requesting writing that is true to your creative self. Authentic, real, imaginative, and contemplative!
Wildscape Literary Journal – Submissions Open: March 1, 2025. Seeking poetry/prose, flash fiction, flash creative nonfiction, and art. Wildscape is an online literary & art magazine whose goal is to blend whimsy with chaos, ethereal with truth, gentle with wild.

Residency & Retreat Opportunities:

The Merrill Family Charitable Foundation Scholarship – Application Deadline: Open Funding two BIPOC writers to spend two weeks in residence at Gentle House. Write while exploring the Olympic National Park, building community, and spend time writing in the shade of the twin ancient hazelnut trees.

Monday and Friday: Free Group Writing Sessions

Come write with us! Community write-ins are a great way to meet other writers, and carve out space in your calendar for your writing.

Monday: Write Into the Week with Elle

Join me (Elle) for an hour of goal setting, community, and dedicated time to write! We’ll meet on Monday at 11 AM Eastern time, at this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83999379617

Friday: Open Write-In

Join the Writers.com staff for a 90-minute writing session each Friday from 11 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern time. We will write together for the first hour. In the last, optional half hour, we’ll share our writing with one another and connect.

To add yourself, join our newsletter using the join box above, and add yourself to the “Friday Write-Ins” list at the bottom of any email. We’ll send you a Zoom link the morning of the call.

Posted in: Write into the Week

Elle LaMarca

Elle is a writer and novelist originally from southwestern New York, now residing on the central coast in California. She does not miss the snow even a little bit. As an avid traveler, Elle can frequently be found wandering the globe, having lived in and explored over thirty countries, all while gaining inspiration for her writing and new perspectives on life. Elle is a former educator and Teach for America alumna, having taught in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Boston. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from George Mason University and a M.A. in Education and Curriculum Design from Johns Hopkins University. She is passionate about well-crafted sentences and memorable metaphors. Elle is currently at work on a novel and a collection of personal essays.