Write into the Week: July 06, 2025
Elle LaMarca | July 6, 2025 |
“When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.”
–George Orwell
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 Monday and Friday write-ins, and meet our community of writers.
Happy writing this week!
—Elle, Curriculum Specialist & Community Manager
Writing Prompt
Write a scene, poem, or micro-essay where a character (or you) gently challenges a commonly accepted “truth.”
It could be something big (“success looks like this”) or something small (“you can’t eat cake for breakfast”). Maybe someone decides to rewrite the rules—or simply ignore them. Follow the tension, or the joy, that emerges from choosing to believe something different.
Writer to Writer: Circling the Truth
This week’s quote from George Orwell reminds us that sometimes, our urge to write begins not with a desire to impress, but with the need to express. We don’t always write to make art, at least not at first. We write because something is bothering us. Something feels untrue, unseen, or misunderstood.
Orwell talks about exposing lies and drawing attention to facts, but even in fiction, that impulse still rings true. Maybe there’s a cultural myth we want to dismantle, or a personal truth we want to explore. Perhaps there’s a question we can’t stop circling as we try to make sense of something that has long felt senseless.
This week, I invite you to pause and ask yourself:
- What truth are you circling in your work right now?
- What lie—personal, societal, emotional—are you trying to dismantle?
- What do you want your words to bear witness to?
Reading Recommendations:
Fiction:
- “Kit Kats and Iced Caps” by Ryan Jones-Symonds. A quietly devastating short story about small gestures, missed chances, and the grief of what’s left unsaid.
Nonfiction:
- “growing fruit.” by Amritha York. A lyrical journey full of sensory details on girlhood, survival, and growing up in an immigrant household.
Poetry:
- “A Cosmic Taxidermy” — by B.A. Hutchison. (A warning of sorts: This does discuss some details of taxidermy. If you’re squeamish, it might not be for you.) With imagery that moves from the visceral to the celestial, this poem exposes the fragility beneath our stitched-together selves.
Listening Recommendations:
- From the Selected Shorts: Let Us Tell You a Story Podcast: “Laughter in the Face of Danger“. In this episode, writer Meg Wolitzer presents four works that consider various forms of risk, and risk taking; actor Tony Hale reads “The Stand-In”; David Sedaris creates the ultimate in well-meant interference in other people’s lives.
- From the PBS New Hour on YouTube, poet Phillip Levine reads his poems, “What Work is”, “Burial rites,” and “The valley”.
Publishing Opportunities:
- SQUID – Submissions: Open. SQUID is a new literary journal of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, artwork, and more. They publish a wide range of writing for a broad audience. Their vision is to “provide a thoughtful, inclusive, accessible, and well-designed space for emerging creatives to showcase their work.”
- Omnidawn’s 2025 Poetry Open Book Contest – Submission Deadline: August 16, 2025. Submit your poetry manuscript to Omnidawn for a chance to win $3,000 and publication! The contest is being judged by Jose-Luis Moctezuma.
Fellowship Opportunity:
The FSG Fellowship – Application Deadline: July 18, 2025. The FSG Fellowship is an annual program designed to give an emerging writer from an underrepresented community additional resources to build a life around writing—including $15,000 in funding, editorial guidance, and support from the FSG community. More details and guidelines are available at the link provided.
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 mindset support, 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.
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