My first writing workshop

⭐️ a dream come true ⭐️

I received this text from my hype girl McKinsey at 6:46 a.m. on Tuesday:

“Happy workshop day! Excited for it!”

Half an hour later, I received this from Jillian:

I logged some work in the morning, took Chloe to the pool, went to Aldi for some cheese and crackers, picked up Starbucks (thanks, Jillian!), hopped in the shower, popped a pizza in the oven, welcomed the babysitter (Andy was at a food show in CT), and drove down the hill to our sweet little town library. I teared up over and over throughout the day as I thought about how lucky I am to have such supportive friends.

Ten people came—five established friends (three friends from Exhale drove from other counties in Maryland!), one new friend, and four complete strangers. I was delighted!

I briefly explained a few types of creative writing styles: found poetry, freewrites, and letters. We practiced each style and had time to share. The 90 minutes flew by!

Afterward, my Exhale friends came over for wine, cheese, and chocolate-covered caramels.

😍😍😍

Kim hand-delivered a sweet postcard that I’ll treasure forever.

It’s a gift to create alongside these women and have them by my side during the workshop.

❤️

If you’re craving a creative community, I can’t recommend Exhale enough. You can also join me and my writing partner, Laura Bass, this fall as we go through The Artist’s Way and Walking in This World with small groups of women. We’d love to have you!

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Thank you for capturing my workshop so beautifully, Aleen!