In the wake of NaNoWriMo’s timely demise, we’ve decided to create a writing challenge of our own: #FirstDraftFall!
#FirstDraftFall will begin on October first and run through December 13th. The goal is exactly what it sounds like: to create a first draft!
The beauty of this is that you can choose what you’re creating a first draft of: a short story, a novelette, a novella, or even a novel! Whatever you feel inspired to write AND believe you can finish in six weeks.
The challenge will be divided into three sections: Planning in October, Drafting in November, and Wrapping up in the first two weeks of December!
Pre-Celebration
Before the official event begins, we want to get you hyped for your project with our upcoming Writing Roundtable, Writing With Hope: Staying Motivated When the World Is On Fire, on September 21st. This virtual deep dive will explore:
- How to stay motivated to write at all when society seems to be collapsing around our ears
- How to find the determination to keep writing queer stories in the face of rising censorship throughout the western world
- How to write hope into our stories and create visions of worlds where things like queerness and disability are more accepted than they are in our own world
Find out more about our guests and grab your ticket today!
The Main Event: How to participate
How to participate
The #FirstDraftFall hashtag will be used on Bluesky for accountability check-ins and other official content outlined in the Free programming section of this article. You’re also welcomed to use the hashtag to track your personal progress, ask for help when you hit a stumbling block, and generally chat about the challenge!
The one thing we ask is to keep the spirit of community. If you make a #FirstDraftFall post, take a moment to scroll the hashtag and respond to at least one other person talking about their #FirstDraftFall experience. You can celebrate their success, offer a solution to a problem, commiserate on the struggles of writing – any kind of interaction is valid as long as it’s supportive. Remember, we’re all in this together!
For even more #FirstDraftFall programming, join our Sustaining Membership Program! Paid programming will include nightly writing sprints from Monday – Friday, body doubling sessions every Saturday throughout most of the challenge, and monthly workshops. The full details are listed in the Members-only programming section of this article.
Free programming
We’ll provide the following support for 100% free:
October
- Good morning questions on our Bluesky account designed to help you explore four aspects of story planning: building an idea, developing characters, setting your story, and plotting. These will go up every weekday in October.
- Weekly Bluesky check-ins on Mondays where you can share what aspects of story planning you’ll be working on & follow-up check-ins on Fridays where you can share what you’ve accomplished.
- Themed #WeeknightWriters chats on Bluesky on Thursdays at 7-9PM EST discussing the four aspects of story planning outlined above.
- Comprehensive list of story planning resources published right here on our blog and sent out to newsletter subscribers.
November
- Good morning mini pep talks and tips for getting un-stuck if you’re struggling with your draft.
- Nightly writing check-ins on Bluesky from Monday – Friday where you can share your writing progress & snippets from your story.
- Themed writing chats on Bluesky with a mix of drafting-related topics and writing check-ins.
December
- Good morning mini pep talks and tips for getting un-stuck if you’re struggling with your draft.
- Weekly writing check-ins on Twitter and Instagram where you can share your writing goals for the week on Mondays & your progress for the week on Fridays.
- Nightly writing check-ins on Bluesky from Monday – Friday where you can share your writing progress & snippets from your story.
- Themed writing chats on Bluesky – one writing check-in chat & one chat where we’ll be chatting about how to celebrate your finished draft & what to do next.
- Comprehensive list of editing resources published right here on our blog and sent out to newsletter subscribers.
Members-only programming
We’ll also be offering the following bonus content/activities for the folks in our Sustaining Membership program:
October
- All members will receive the following worksheets: character questionnaire/profile, worldbuilding questionnaire, and comprehensive story planning resource list.
- Folks at the Writer tier or above will be able to participate in body doubling sessions/virtual write-ins on October 11th and 25th from 4-6PM EST, hosted in the Weeknight Writers Pro Discord.
- Folks at the Writer tier or above will be welcome to join a First Draft Fall launch party on October 4th at 4-6PM EST and a Getting Ready to Draft party on October 31st from 7-9PM EST, hosted in the Weeknight Writers Pro Discord.
- Community writers will be invited to participate in a Discord-based POV Practice workshop at 12-3PM EST on October 11th where you roleplay as your character answering questions about their life, as a fun way to practice writing from their POV!
November
- All members will be able to access reflections & tracking worksheet package + Writer’s Block Buster worksheet for journaling through tricky scenes and storylines.
- Folks at the Writers tier or above will be able to participate in nightly writing sprints from 7PM – 8PM EST on Monday – Friday and weekly body doubling sessions on Saturdays at 4-6PM EST, hosted in the Weeknight Writers Pro Discord.
- Folks at the Writer tier or above will be able to join social events on November 15th and 29th from 7-9PM EST, hosted in the Weeknight Writers Pro Discord.
- Community Writers will be able to attend a Discord-based mid-month drop-in Q&A on November 15th at 12-3PM EST where they can bring questions/issues they’re having with their drafts & ask for help.
December
- All members will receive a worksheet at the end of the challenge for processing the experience of #FirstDraftFall & planning what to do next.
- Folks at the Writer tier or above will be able to participate in nightly writing sprints from 7PM – 8PM EST on Monday – Friday and one body doubling session on December 6th at 4-6PM EST + a post-#FirstDraftFall social event on December 13th at 4-6PM EST, hosted in the Weeknight Writers Pro Discord.
- Community writers will be able to participate in a Discord-based What to Do Next workshop/Q&A on December 13th at 12-3PM EST.
Want access to our Members-only #FirstDraftFall content?