Write into the Week: October 12, 2025

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”
–Fran Lebowitz

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: Read, Think, Write

The full quote from Fran Lebowitz is actually, “Think before you speak. Read before you think. This will give you something to think about that you didn’t make up yourself.” It’s a witty reminder that reading expands the boundaries of our own imagination. Reading gives us access to thoughts, worlds, and voices beyond the limits of our personal knowledge, our own minds.

As writers, we run the risk of getting caught in the echo chamber of our own minds. We spend so much time taking words and crafting them into original sentence, paragraphs, and chapters that we may forget to refill the well. Reading is one of the best and simplest ways to do that. It asks us to step outside ourselves, to let someone else’s vision form in our minds, shake up our assumptions, and to remember that language is a living exchange. Isn’t a deep love for reading why many of us wanted to be writers in the first place? 

This week, before each of your writing sessions, take a few minutes to read—something, anything. This is not as homework or meant to be research; this is nourishment for your creative brain. Let another writer’s ideas and voice remind you that good writing doesn’t come from isolation. It flourishes through connection.

Writing Prompt:

Choose a sentence or short passage from something you’ve read recently. Select something that struck you, even if you’re not sure why. Copy it onto a blank page, and then begin writing beneath it. Let the borrowed line act as a starter, a gateway to your own words.

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

• “An Interview with Sue Amos” Award-winning novelist Sue Amos discusses her novel, Teardrop, shares her top tips for writing historical fiction, and discusses why it’s so important to embrace the revision and editing process.

Poetry:

• “More Alive, More Sensual, Smarter, Younger, Weirder, Older, More in Love: An interview with Tilsa Otta.” by Farid Matuk. It’s always an interesting read when one poet interviews another. Otta discusses what it’s like to be a poet whose work is both immediate and outside of time in today’s chaotic world.

Nonfiction:

• “Turning Academic Research into Popular Non-Fiction: Interview with Hetta Howes” Academic and author Hetta Howes discuss the creation of Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife, her debut nonfiction book, and how she utilized her skills as an academic researcher to write it. 

Listening Recommendations:

• From Always Take Notes Podcast: “#216: Viet Thanh Nguyen, novelist and academic” – As a huge fan of Nguyen’s, I adored this episode! The hosts speak to the author of The Sympathizer about his early life and writing career. 
• “Adrienne Rich: Essential American Poets” – Listen to recordings of essayist and poet Adrienne Rich, including an introduction to her life and work. 

Publishing Opportunities:

• The Baltimore Review – Submission Deadline: November 30, 2025. Open call for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions. As most of their submissions come in at the last minute, they ask that you submit early, if possible!
• The Arkansas International’s C.D. Wright Emerging Poet’s Prize – Submission Deadline: October 31, 2025. Open to poets who have not yet published a first book. $1,000 prize and publication! 

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

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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