Write into the Week: October 19, 2025

Elle | Community Manager | October 18, 2025 |

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
–Maya Angelou

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

Writer to Writer: It Hasn’t All Been Done Before

I adore this quote from Maya Angelou that reminds us, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” I think about that often when my creative doubts creep in—especially the kind that arrive after hearing someone else has written something similar to what I’m working on. Once, it was a novel with a familiar premise, and another time it was the exact title I had selected. Each time, I felt a brief moment of dread that everything I’d been writing for years might be a waste.

But creativity isn’t a finite resource, and no one can “steal” your idea. It’s not a race to claim a plot, a subject, or a theme. Every creative spark or bit of inspiration filters through your specific mind, memory, and rhythm of thought. Even if two stories start in the same place, they’ll never ever end the same way, because they’ve been written by two different minds.

So if you discover that “your” story has been told before, take a breath, yell into the wind, then remember that you’re part of a larger conversation, not shut out from it. The world has space for many versions of a story—just think of how many ways, over hundreds of years, Romeo and Juliet has been retold. The world needs your story, in your voice, exploring what it means to be human in your own words. There’s room for everyone at the table. The more we create, the more the creative world expands.

Writing Prompt:

Choose a story that’s already been told—a myth, fairy tale, fable, or even a well-known novel or film—and reimagine it in your own voice. Shift something essential, like the setting, the era, the point of view, the genre, gender roles, etc.

What if Cinderella decided the prince was a dud, skips the ball, and runs away in her pumpkin carriage? How about if Gatsby survived the gunshot, and Tom Buchanan went to jail? What would Daisy do? How about if Romeo and Juliet live, grow up, and meet again in their 40s?

The goal isn’t to “fix” the story, but to make it yours. Step inside a familiar narrative, and see what changes when it’s told through your creative lens and unique voice.

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

“The Astronaut’s Girlfriend” by Becca Wild. “The Astronaut and his girlfriend were now penciled to be apart for years, or else less, or else infinity. The timetables of space are like that.” This flash piece captures the strange weight of waiting—for love, for return, for gravity to pull you back to yourself. A quirky reminder that not all long-distance relationships are measured in miles.

Poetry:

“A Wild and Precious Life: Remembering Andrea Gibson” by Amber Tamblyn. “I’ve heard poets telling lies/
that made me believe in heaven” —Andrea Gibson. Actress turned writer, Amber Tamblyn, shares her heart and memories of the late poet Andrea Gibson.

Nonfiction:

“The Crane Wife: A Memoir-in-Essays” by CJ Hauser. I picked this book up at a literary festival last year, and just finished reading it. I’m a sucker for a book that explores the complicated concept of family. The story will stay with you, and the writing is excellent. Read an excerpt here.

Listening Recommendations:

From Selected Shorts Podcast: “Generation Gap” – Host and writer Meg Wolitzer offers up three stories that cross generations. Have a listen, and consider the tools each writer employed to craft their unique story.
Listen (and watch) Andrea Gibson read her poem “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps“

Publishing Opportunities:

The North American Review – Submission Deadline: November 1, 2025. Currently accepting submissions the Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize and the James Hearst Poetry Prize. More details and submission guidelines available on their website.
The Colorado Review – Submission Deadline: March 31, 2026. Currently seeking poetry submissions. Poets can submit up to 7 poems, totaling no more than 20 pages. They welcome long form poems of up to 10 pages.

Residency & Retreat Opportunities:

The Philip Roth Residence in Creative Writing – Application Deadline: February 1, 2026. Currently accepting applications for residencies in fall 2026 and spring 2027. A unique offering! This residence offers up to four months of unfettered writing time for a writer working on a first or second book in ANY literary genre (poetry, nonfiction, fiction, hybrid works, graphic fiction, etc.) Accepted residents are provided lodging and a stipend of $5,000.

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

Scheduling Note: There will be no Monday Writing Into the Week sessions on Mondays October 27th or November 3rd.

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.

Join us on Instagram for more writing inspiration!

We’re sharing writing tips, creative prompts, and a steady stream of encouragement—follow us @writersdotcom. Click below to check out one of our latest posts on writing creative nonfiction.

Posted in: Write into the Week

Elle | Community Manager

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.