Write into the Week: May 4, 2025

Elle LaMarca | May 4, 2025 |

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”

–Barbara Kingsolver

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 piece where the real meaning lives beneath the surface. Let your character, speaker, or narrator say one thing while feeling another. Consider using gesture, silence, or metaphor to reveal what’s truly going on beneath the words.

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

“One of a Kind” by Shirley Chan for Wax Wing Magazine. In this flash fiction piece, Chan writes about two lives moving through heartbreak, travel, and quiet transformation. A souvenir mug becomes the quiet thread connecting love, memory, and the beauty of building a life with someone piece by piece.

Nonfiction:

“The Wild, Sublime Body: Learning how to be human” by Melissa Febos for The Yale Review. In this essay, Febos reflects on her evolving relationship with her body, exploring the tension between societal expectations and personal identity. She invites readers to consider the profound connections between physicality and the human experience.

Poetry:

“Desire Corners Me in the Quiet” by Theo Legro for Plume. In this quiet, yet stunning poem, desire doesn’t arrive with spectacle. Instead, it creeps in through the everyday. Each image carries the weight of what’s unsaid, and the ache of needing more than you can ask for.

Listening Recommendations:

From The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast: “The Problem with the Blank Canvas Protagonist“. The hosts offer smart, specific feedback on two novel queries—one literary, one historical—diving into emotional resonance, plot clarity, and the importance of vivid, connected characters. A great listen if you’re polishing your query or want to better understand what makes a compelling first impression with readers and agents.
From Poetry Out Loud, a lovely collection of poets reading their work. Hearing poets read their own work brings the poem’s voice to life, revealing tone, pacing, and emphasis that you might miss on the page. For writers, it’s a valuable way to deepen your ear for the musicality and magic of language.

Publishing Opportunities:

Prairie Schooner’s Creative Nonfiction Summer Essay Contest – Submissions Window: May 15-August 1, 2025. Open to all creative nonfiction essay types of up to 5,000 words. Winner receives $1,000 cash prize and publication.

Residency and Retreat Opportunites

The Gentle House Retreat by Tupelo Press – Application Deadline: Opening/Rolling. Located in Port Angeles, Washington, the Gentle House offers a sustainable writer’s retreat for poets, playwrights, and songwriters in the foothills of the Olympic National Park. They strive to give the writing resident the creative space and time to work without the distractions of daily life. Residences are one or two weeks in length.

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.

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 about love.

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.