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427 E Colorado Ave
Colorado Springs, CO, 80903
United States

719-520-1899

SURVIVING YOUR FIRST DRAFT

 

SURVIVING YOUR FIRST DRAFT
INSTRUCTOR: BETH ILER

Most writers don't stall on ideas. They stall in the middle of the draft, when the work stops feeling exciting and the inner editor gets loud. Using Page One to Done as a foundation, this eight-month course gives writers a monthly rhythm of learning, drafting, and accountability. Students write during every session and leave each month with a clear next step.

Who it's for: Fiction and nonfiction writers at any level who have started a project and want to finish it, or who keep abandoning drafts partway through. The monthly pace is designed for writers with full-time jobs and limited writing time.

Format: Eight monthly sessions, about two hours each. Every session after the intro includes dedicated drafting time. Implementation sessions also include group troubleshooting of individual drafting issues.

What you'll learn:

  • Set a sustainable drafting schedule and word count goal

  • Separate drafting from revising and quiet the inner editor

  • Recognize and work through common stall points

  • Apply the book's methods directly to your own manuscript

  • Define "done" for a first draft and know when you've reached it

Session outline:

  1. Intro: Goals, project overviews, and how the course will work. Students set their drafting targets.

  2. Book Discussion: Group discussion of Page One to Done, with students choosing which strategies to try first.

  3. Implementation 1: Put the first strategies into practice. Drafting time, then individual issue discussion.

  4. Implementation 2: Continue applying the book's methods. Drafting time, then individual issue discussion.

  5. Implementation 3: Tackle mid-draft stalls and momentum. Drafting time, then individual issue discussion.

  6. Implementation 4: Keep momentum through the middle of the draft. Drafting time, then individual issue discussion.

  7. Implementation 5: Push toward the finish. Drafting time, then individual issue discussion.

  8. Wrap-Up: Celebrate progress, define "done," and plan what comes after the first draft.

MATERIALS
Bring a copy of Page One to Done (read before Session 2), a laptop or notebook for in-class writing, and the project you want to work on. No supply fee. Handouts will be provided, including a drafting schedule worksheet and a stall-point troubleshooting guide.

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Beth Iler is an independent editor, journalist, and author with a BS in Journalism and an MA in Publishing. With over ten years of editing experience, she brings versatility and precision to every project. She enjoys hiking, going to poetry slams, and Swedish metal concerts. She reads way too many books at one time, from poetry to weird medical non-fiction. But her true love is fantasy and myths.