katie lee ellison

In this week’s newsletter for the The Shape of Story: A Writing Workshop in Craft, Carolyn and I sent out some killer material about literary friendships throughout the ages and prompts to encourage new ones.

We spent some time thinking about these relationships not only in honor of our own friendship, literary and otherwise, but also because we want to support this phenomenon anyway we can. That’s why we’re offering the 2-for-$200-each special: We want you to foster and grow your literary and writing community along with us. (You can contact me here to find out more about this deal.)

Because lord knows, I don’t know what I’d do without my writer friends to call up for a last minute opinion or edit on a piece that is way too something-it-shouldn’t-be. These relationships are what’s made it possible for me to grow as a writer–and to publish my work.

It so happens that I came across this gem from Alexandra Kleeman and Kathleen Alcott about just such friendships and their benefits.

Here’s a sweet quote I pulled right off the top of the piece that says a whole lot about why these relationships are so important:

Writing can be a lonely profession, but when you meet someone whose mind you trust, whose opinions you adore, and whose brain you’d like to smash into yours until they form a single powerful thinking entity, it’s not so bad. –Alexandra Kleeman

Amen to some hypothetical, theoretical brain-smashing. Have a friend you haven’t brain-smashed with in a while? Get in touch to get started. Or looking to do it more often with some fresh brains? Click here.