First Draft FINISHED. Now What...?

Congratulations! You've finished a first draft! It might have taken months - or years even - to complete, and now revising it begins *face palm*

In this masterclass session, aimed at all new writers, we'll interrogate first drafts, define the makings of a second draft and learn the established paths of rewriting towards it. By learning to redraft through the lens of character, structure, conflict, voice, storytelling and more, you'll find a path that best suits you to produce the next draft. There are many ways forward. Learning to rewrite effectively is a prized skill within its own right. This will be a very practical workshops with writing exercises, examples and plenty of group discussion. You are not alone in your worry over rewriting. Not at all.

Incidentally, most full-length novels are redrafted from start to finish at least four times before they're ready for agents or publishers, but every single novel and its writer are different and there is no hard and fast rule. It's a fact that every first draft will need revising before it is submitted to any competition, agent or publisher.

Rewriting from first draft to second can be the most challenging for some writers who find reworking the hardest. So many novels languish as a first draft because beyond the organic, creative, freewheeling writing process comes the editing, refining and redrafting hell which many writers find too daunting. Fear not! Come to this workshop and learn what comes after you write 'the end' for the first time.

After this session (I promise) you'll see your first draft more clearly; where it might need the most rewrites and how you might begin to tackle them. A first draft can feel like chaos distilled but that's okay. We'll make sense of it together. Join me and 10-15 other writers as we go through it.

Date & Timing: 2:30pm to 5:30pm with a quick break in the middle. Doors open at 2:20pm. Please aim to arrive on time as we'll start at 2:30pm. We'll adjourn to the main bar after the session for a few social drinks and conversation. No problem if you can't hang around.

PLEASE DON'T bring any of your own food to drinks to the pub. They'll have my head and we'll never be allowed back.

Location: The Artillery Arms, 102 Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8ND. Closest stations are Old Street, Barbican and Moorgate. Please grab a drink at the bar (they have all the drinks + coffee/tea) and come to the room upstairs.

Cost: £15.00 to pay for venue hire, content, preparation and event organising. Please follow the steps to pay via PayPal when you RSVP. Refunds or credits will only be offered if the meetup is cancelled by admin. Please change your RSVP to 'Not Going' if you can no longer attend as we often have people waiting and we'd hate for them to miss out. Download the Meetup app to manage your RSVPs quickly.

Not sure this is for you? Any questions, please post a comment or DM the organiser.