Write into the Week: April 6, 2025

Elle LaMarca | April 6, 2025 |

“To survive as a writer, you must believe you’re the exception to the rule.”

–Jonathan Franzen

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 scene, reflection or poem in which someone chooses to keep going when it would be easier to quit. What are the circumstances? What keeps the person moving forward? What are the motivators; what are the distractors? Is their drive based in hope, delusion or something else entirely?

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

“Spiders Cry Without Tears” by Diane Oliver. In this short story, you’ll meet Meg, a florist navigating personal challenges, including a past relationship, and the complexities of raising her son. Through Meg’s interactions with customers and reflections on her life choices, Oliver paints a nuanced portrait of a woman seeking purpose and connection amidst societal expectations.

Nonfiction:

“A Bloody Brilliant Sentence: Erotic Linguistics in Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber'” by Ana Hein for The Rumpus. Hein provides a close reading while describing her first encounter with “The Bloody Chamber,” unpacking the sensual power of Carter’s language and the feminist undercurrents of her baroque prose. Through literary analysis and reflection, the Hein explores how Carter’s work awakened her own creative voice and complicated her understanding of storytelling and selfhood.

Poetry:

“Black Forest” by Laura Newburn. I read this one several times, relishing in language that is both haunting and elegant. “Black Forest” moves gently between memory and metaphor, capturing how everyday conversation can stir deeper emotional undercurrents. The emotional weight gathers in the silences between lines.

Listening Recommendations:

From The Writing Life Podcast: “Developing your creative practice with Julia Bird”. In this episode, writer and poetry programmer, Julia Bird, guides you through the process of developing your own creative practice.
From the QWERTY Life Podcast: “The Importance of Motivation in Creativity” Hosts and authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith take on the emotional weight of motivation in the creative process. They introduce their own framework for understanding motivation—including two distinct types they’ve identified—and share honest insights from their recent creative work.

Publishing Opportunities:

Narratively Magazine $5,000 Narrative Prize – Submission Deadline: June 15, 2025. Awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative. The deadline for entries for each year’s award is June 15. The winner is announced each September, and the prize is awarded in October. The winner is widely publicized and is cited in an ongoing listing in Narrative. The prize is judged by the magazine’s editors and, in some years, may be divided between winners, when more than one work merits the award.
The Chestnut Review – Submissions Deadline: June 30, 2025. The Chesnut Reivew (for stubborn artists) is seeking submissions of poetry, prose and flash for their autumn issue. All submissions must be original, unpublished work. Their turnaround time is excellent!

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.

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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 freewriting.

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.