8-week writing group & new features ✨
Join a writing group hosted by an ex-PRH editor & professional coach, and geek out over new notes and templates features in FDP!
Well, well, well. There’s a lot going on in this newsletter:
It’s a feature release week! So there’s some really useful new stuff in the app, that I’m super excited about: linking notes to scenes, pinned notes in scenes, and a new template in the app. I’ll unpack these towards the end.
Write On Track, an 8-week writing group facilitated by ex-Penguin Random House developmental story editor and Martha Beck-trained coach — Kelly Norwood-Young — begins on the 15th of July (more on that below!)
Write On Track — an 8-week writing group
One of the hardest bits about writing a novel is that it’s lonely work, and since our native habitat is a fictional world no one else knows about yet, it can be hard to meet other writers, share lessons, and create accountability for actually finishing that first draft.
Write On Track is an 8-week writing group, centred around building a sustainable writing practice, balancing writing and life, and getting to that finish-line in one piece.
It’ll be run by Kelly Norwood-Young, an ex-Penguin Random House developmental story editor and Martha Beck-trained professional coach. You’ll love her, she’s fantastic.
Joining the 8-week writing group means you get
1.5-hour weekly group writing sessions facilitated by Kelly, where we’ll use writing exercises paired with group discussion to cultivate consistent writing habits, overcome creative blocks, and nurture your creative process.
A 1-on-1 coaching session worth $80 with Kelly where you can dig into writing/life balance, goal setting as a writer, or any other topics you want to work through with a professional coach.
An annual FDP premium subscription worth $85 (if you already have an annual subscription, this will be added to your account as a credit for when your subscription renews).
An FDP overview session (with me!) where we’ll dive into the app's features and how to get the most out of your premium subscription.
The entire 8-week program, 1-on-1 professional coaching, and annual FDP subscription costs $430.
Why is this group special?
Kelly’s particular blend of editorial and coaching experience means she’s got the perfect mix of skills to help you set goals, balance rest and progress when it comes to writing, and build a writing habit that serves your story.
You’ll get to meet other writers, make writing friends, and possibly even find a group to read and provide feedback on works in progress.
The sessions incorporate fun, personalised writing exercises that not only improve your writing skills but are designed to reignite your creativity and explore new ideas.
What’s the expected schedule?
Week 1: Setting Intentions and Goals
Week 2: Building a Writing Routine
Week 3: Setting Writer Boundaries
Week 4: Playing with Perspective
Week 5: Balancing Perfectionism and Progress
Week 6: Writing Drunk, Editing Sober (a Metaphor)
Week 7: Cultivating Creativity
Week 8: Sustaining Consistency
Details
Dates
15 July — 6 September 2024
Weekly Writing Group Sessions
You’ll choose your writing group time slot when you register, so make sure you can attend the session regularly at that time:
Monday 12pm CEST/ 6am ET
Thursday 6.30pm CEST/12.30pm ET
Are you super keen, but neither of these slots work for you? Reach out to let us know and we might be able to open another slot if there’s enough interest.
1-on-1 Professional Coaching Session
This session can be booked for any time that suits you before the end of 2024.
Register
Sign up for the Monday group here →
Sign up for the Thursday group here →
New features in First Draft Pro (v 1.0.60)
I’m really excited about the new features we’ve added to First Draft Pro, and I recorded a little demo of each one in action:
Add notes to scenes — Until now, notes had to be linked to text in a scene to create a reference link. In our latest release (v 1.0.60), you can link notes directly to your scenes.
Pin notes — Notes linked to your scenes can now be pinned in that scene, creating an expandable view of your note right in your manuscript. This is super useful if you need to reference a note easily as you’re writing.
Romantasy template in FDP — The romantasy novel writing guide we created is officially a template in First Draft Pro! You can start a project using this template and you’ll find all the chapter guides linked as pinned notes in each chapter.
Bonus: Go check out how pinned notes look in dark mode… It’s so pretty.