Finish Your Draft in a Year: Group Mentoring

What do you need to finish or revise a novel? Strict deadlines, a supportive group of writers to share the struggles and breakthroughs, and an expert mentor for advice, hand-holding and a bit of a push where necessary.

This year-long monthly mentoring programme offers all that and more. It’s for anyone who started a novel and got stuck, as well as writers looking to maintain momentum after finishing a course, and novelists with a draft that needs refocusing and revising.

You’ll spend most of the month pushing your novel forward – with deadlines to keep you motivated, and a bunch of interested classmates for discussion and hive-minding. Bring your questions and concerns to live group sessions with your mentor, and upskill at monthly intensive workshops, run by specialists and targeted at issues we know novelists need at this stage in the writing process. Or quiz the roster of guest authors and publishing experts popping in month by month.

There are directed writing exercises to hone your craft, focusing on short extracts from your novel, which you will share for peer reviewing.

You’ll have regular one-to-one check-ins with your mentor to spotlight what’s going well and what might need more work, plus feedback to help you untangle, rewind and plan next steps.

Story cul-de-sacs? Lost threads? Self-doubt? Stop worrying! We’re here to keep you focused, sharpen your craft and confidence, and get that novel across the finish line.

We recommend you start the programme with at least 10,000 words of a novel.