In the wake of NaNoWriMo’s many failures over the past two years, 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!
How to participate
The #FirstDraftFall hashtag will be used on Bluesky, Twitter, and Instagram 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 on our social media accounts:
October
- Good morning questions designed to help you explore four aspects of story planning: building an idea, developing characters, setting your story, and plotting
- Weekly 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 7-8PM EST discussing the four aspects of story planning outlined above
November
- 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 with a mix of drafting-related topics and writing sprints
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 sprints chat & one chat where we’ll be chatting about how to celebrate your finished draft & what to do next
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 plotting tools resource sheet
- Folks at the Writers tier or above will be able to participate in body doubling sessions on Saturdays from 4-6PM EST in the Weeknight Writers Discord, starting on October 19th
- Community writers will be invited to participate in a Discord-based POV Practice workshop at 1-4PM EST on October 12th 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
- Folks at the Writers tier or above will be able to participate in nightly writing sprints from 8PM – 9PM EST on Monday – Friday and weekly body doubling sessions on Saturdays at 4-6PM 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 16th at 1-4PM EST where they can bring questions/issues they’re having with their drafts & ask for help on
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 Writers tier or above will be able to participate in nightly writing sprints from 8PM – 9PM EST on Monday – Friday and one body doubling session on December 7th at 4-6PM EST + a post-#FirstDraftFall social event on December 13th at 7-9PM 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 14th at 1-4PM EST
Want access to our Members-only #FirstDraftFall content?