The First Draft

Write your novel in six months
Join our lovely little online community to support you through starting, middling, finishing and beyond
Take your novel plan and turn it into a 50,000+ word first draft
Finish the course with a solid manuscript

Bash out your first draft with step-by-step guidance, support, inspiration and the best writing community in town!

Writing the first draft of a novel is an epic, exciting, and sometimes daunting undertaking — but you definitely don’t have to do it alone! The First Draft course will make even the most ambitious writing project feel totally doable by breaking the mammoth task of novel writing down into manageable chunks, and offering advice, support, tea, biscuits and silly gifs, every step of the way.

There’s no one single way to write a novel, which is why we’ve brought together a huge collection of flexible approaches, techniques and ideas to help you find the best way to write YOUR first draft. Whether you’re a planner, a pantser, or an ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’ writer, The First Draft course is packed with options to suit everyone, along with practical exercises, examples, and prompts to keep you going.

We also have the most AMAZING online writing community for 24/7 chat, feedback, critique, troubleshooting and general writerly shenanigans!

Let us help you walk your story idea through The First Draft and come out the other side with a novel.

“Writers’ HQ got me writing again after a break of nearly 20 years. They are amazing! A motivating, practical, friendly course with exercises to do and a nice positive forum to discuss how it’s all going.” CATHERINE A LEIMER

Get instant access when you join the most word-writing, tea-drinking, story-slinging, biscuit-dunking, productivity-boosting, super supportive writing community this side of the internet

Woohoo yeah do it do it yeah woo etc and so on

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Choose Your Own Adventure

Make 2025 your best writerly year yet
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