I’m Kailey Brennan, a writer and creative based in Plymouth, MA. I’ve been a writer since I was a kid, keeping journals in composition notebooks and writing short stories. I studied English and creative writing in college and am very rarely seen without a book in my hand or in my purse. I think reading is my most favorite thing to do, so it’s not surprising that writing sparked my interest at such a young age.
I’m also the creator and manager of the online writing community, Write or Die Tribe. I created this little space on the internet in 2018 to focus on helping writers succeed by meeting their writing goals, finding jobs that utilize their writing skills, learning from other writers and connecting with like-minded creatives.
I created this community because I lacked writers in my own life after graduating college. The connection one finds with other artists is so important and so necessary to our work and development as writers. Writers need writers! So when I couldn’t find an inclusive community in my hometown or surrounding area, I made my own online. Write or Die Tribe is my passion project —something that is so entirely me but also far exceeds me at the same time. The word tribe to me evokes an image of a tightly-linked community, fueling each other’s passions and helping one another to grow with support and love. That’s been my goal for WODT since day one.
Now, Write or Die Tribe has grown and evolved into more than I could have hoped for in the last year. Writers from all different backgrounds have contributed their words to the blog and essay sections on the website. We have been featuring the work of self-published and debut authors in our In the Spotlight series. I’ve had the amazing privilege of interviewing a number of noteworthy authors such as T Kira Madden, Angie Kim, Alexander Chee, Meghan Daum, National Book Award finalists Kali Fajardo-Anstine and Julia Phillips, Marya Hornbacher, Mira Jacob and so many more.
In the new year, I plan to continue to grow this space and provide more resources aimed at accountability and meeting our 2020 writing goals. Personally, I have been working on an essay collection on and off for quite some time. I plan to get a draft completed in the new year, which I’m very excited about and also completely overwhelmed by. But it’s my goal to get this thing on it’s way by the time I turn 30 in July!
Who/what inspires you?
As a writer, I’m very inspired by movies and books. I love anything with a mood about it. For example, one of my all time favorite movies is Sophia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. I find endless inspiration from that hazy, feminine, moody aesthetic. A book that I read recently that also captured this tone was Heartbreaker by Claudia Dey. Might be one of the best books I’ve read all year.
This is a loaded question, but where do your ideas come from?
My ideas for Write or Die Tribe come from my desire to help writers get better at their craft in any way I can. Since I’m active on social media, I see a lot of what writers are talking about, what they are struggling with and what content they are particularly interested in, so many of my ideas come from these interactions. I also have this personal rule that I follow —if an idea drops into my head, I need to pursue it instead of brushing it away or coming up with reasons why it won’t work. I guess it’s an exercise in trusting my own intuition? Whatever it is, it hasn’t failed me yet!
Are you more of a gardener or an architect? In other words, do you prefer to outline or see how the story unfolds?
I think I’m a little bit of both. My organized, structured self loves to make lists and outlines and maps but I also like being surprised. There is something scary about not having a plan but also so liberating to know that I don’t have to have one.
Who is your dream collaborator? (any creative—artist, poet, writer, etc.)
There are so many authors that I’m dying to interview and speak with for Write or Die Tribe. And also so many I want to learn from and workshop with. Melissa Fobes, Mary Karr, Otessa Moshfegh, Miranda July and Mary Gaitskill are some of my absolute favorite writers and I’d love to work with them in any way, shape or form.
The theme for this season is “transportation.” How does this concept figure into your work?
The essay collection I’m working on focuses on the concept of nostalgia, how some are nostalgic daydreamers, like myself, and others aren’t. How daydreaming and living in the past has affected my life and shaped my memories. This idea of being transported back in time to lament, to remember, to feel the heavy, dreaminess of nostalgia is fascinating to me and I can’t wait to fully delve into this project in the new year.
Kailey Brennan is a writer, blogger and content creator based in Plymouth, MA. She is the creator of Write or Die Tribe and currently writes for Read Poetry, In Her Sight and a handful of other online platforms. Join Write or Die Tribe on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
