Write into the Week: October 5, 2025

Elle LaMarca  |  October 5, 2025  | 

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
–Cicero

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: Gardens, Libraries & Needs

Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” I’ve always loved that pairing — something that grows, and something that grounds. Yet when it comes to writing, it’s easy to lose sight of what we actually need vs. what we think we need. We fill our days with advice and aspirations: more structure, more time, better discipline, a new notebook, a different chair. Is all of that sometimes true? Sure, but often what our writing needs isn’t another rule, ritual or other people’s advice.

This week, ask yourself honestly: what does your writing need right now? Not what you’ve been told it should need, not the tidy answer you’d give in a workshop or post online, but what it craves, what it’s truly hungry for. How can you feed your creativity? Maybe it needs stillness. Maybe it needs play. Maybe it needs to be left alone for a while. Maybe you do. There are no wrong answers here. Only truth.

Whatever your answer, trust it. Every writer has their own garden and their own library. What’s inside of yours? What does your work need to root and bloom?

Writing Prompt:

Find a quiet moment and ask your writing what it needs. Not what you want from it, but what it wants from you. Then write down whatever answer comes first, even (especailly!) if it surprises you. Follow that thread for a page or two and see where it leads.

Reading Recommendations:

Fiction:

  • “The Huntress” by Sofia Samatar. Unfolding like a fever dream, this flash piece is part myth and part memory. Fear and fascination blur in the shadow of a creature that is both monstrous and tender.

Poetry:

Nonfiction:

Listening Recommendations:

  • From NYT’s The Book Review Podcast: “The Sunday Special: The Books We Read in School” – Gilbert Cruz, the editor of The New York Times Book Review, is thinking about the books he read when he was in school. Cruz talks with the Book Review editor Sadie Stein and the author Louis Sachar about the books they read when they were students, and ways to encourage young readers today to keep reading.
  • From The New Yorker Fiction Podcast: “Karen Russell Reads Louise Erdrich” – Novelist Karen Russell joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Stone,” by Louise Erdrich, which was published in The New Yorker in 2019.

Publishing Opportunities:

  • American Literary Review – Submission Window: October 1 – December 1. Open call for poetry, fiction, and essays submissions. Any topic. Each genre closes after the first 300 submissions. So, submit ASAP!
  • Third Coast Magazine – Submission Deadline: October 31, 2025. Open to submission this month in poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama.

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.

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.

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Elle LaMarca

Elle LaMarca is a writer, novelist, and curriculum specialist at Writers.com, where she develops new courses in all genres, and teaches courses on creative mindset and sustainable writing practices. She also writes the weekly Write into the Week newsletter and hosts the accompanying Monday live sessions, where writers gather to set intentions, write in community, and begin their creative week with momentum. Originally from the Buffalo, New York area, Elle now splits her time between Kailua, Hawai‘i and the Netherlands. An avid traveler, she has lived in and explored more than 40 countries, experiences that continue to shape both her storytelling and her perspective on creative life. Before joining Writers.com, Elle worked as an educator and curriculum designer through Teach for America, teaching in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Boston. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from George Mason University and an M.A. in Education from Johns Hopkins University. Elle is passionate about well-crafted sentences, memorable metaphors, and helping writers build a steadier relationship with their creative work. She is currently at work on a novel about the complexities of female friendship and a collection of personal essays about creativity, travel, and the search for belonging.

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