Do you have a favorite shape? Mine is the circle. A perfectly symmetrical, balanced circle. Preferably in color. 

Appreciation for circles has been traced back to forty thousand years ago, and circles remain a dominant shape in our world, from architecture to art. But more than that, they have the potential to spark joy, too. Ingrid Fetell Lee has spent years researching joy and found that shapes and color bring more happiness to our daily lives. A few colorful circles in our physical spaces can make all the difference in the world. 

Metaphorically, Merriam-Webster (2020) defines a circle as a “group of persons sharing a common interest or revolving about a common center” and I find that to be a useful metaphor for thinking about our reading and writing communities, too.

In fact, I like to call them reading and writing circles. 

What Are Reading & Writing Circles?

Reading and writing circles literally enclose circles of readers and writers together to focus on common interests of books, readers, and reading and notebooks, writers and writing. 

There are three different kinds of circles:

  • our innermost circle of readers and writers,
  • our middle circle of connections based on our literate passions
  • our outermost circle of reading and writing networks. 

Let’s draw your reading and writing circles so you can see them come to life on the page. Grab a piece of paper and draw a picture of yourself in the center (and yes, stick figures are welcome).  

First, draw a circle around yourself and label the circle with your closest reading connections. Who do you talk to about books most often? Family? Colleagues? Friends? 

Second, draw another wider circle around the first and label it with the readers and writers you connect with outside of your trusted inner circle. Your local librarian? Your favorite bookseller? Readers from your book club? Bookish friends online? Virtual writing group members?

Third, draw an even larger circle around your entire image and label it with those that bring you reading and writing inspiration, even if you never meet in person. These might be authors and illustrators you’ve ‘met’ through Twitter or Instagram, publishers you follow on social media and fellow book lovers on your favorite reading platform.

Why Do Reading & Writing Circles Matter?

The more we read, the more we write and the more people we connect with in the process…the better our actual lives become.

Once you can tangibly see your reading and writing circles, it’s time to think about how you can broaden them…and your life, too. 

Consider this:

  • Which circle of reading and writing connections was the most robust and why?
  • Which reading and writing circle might need a bit of a boost and why?
  • What goals might you set for yourself to broaden your reading and writing communities as a result?

Once you’ve identified which reading and writing circle needs a bit more literate love, you can purposefully focus your energy there to intentionally grow your circles and your literate life. 

And, if you’re looking for concrete guidance on how to do just that, then join Get Lit(erate)! It’s my digital community where we spent time talking all things books, reading, notebooks and writing. You’ll get book lists, printable writing stickers, book clubs, literary society sessions, on-demand coaching for your literate life, quarterly planning sessions and much, much more!