Are you looking for professional support and a strong peer network to help you start or finish your book or refine your first draft? If you're working on a first draft or a draft that just isn't working, Writers SA's First Draft program can help you shape your novel and stay on track.

Fortnightly in-person** group meetings starting Wednesday Feb 14, access to quarterly workshops, feedback and consultations, and group support will get you another step closer to completing your novel by the end of the year. Facilitator Rachael Mead will also offer expert advice in the way of characterisation, plot, setting, dialogue and so much more! This program is best suited to writers working on longer-form pieces of fiction in any genre and/or memoir. See Rachael's bio below for her areas of expertise.

Session topics include:

• Introduction – getting to know each other, our projects and setting intentions.
• Synopsis and chapter outlines – analysis session. Seek and destroy plot holes and clichés.
• Character development and arcs – crafting interesting and authentic characters.
• Plot – structure, narrative arc, tension and conflict. Pacing your story and finding what is at stake.
• Opening pages – the prime real estate of the novel. How to hook your reader and start in the right place.
• Dialogue – more than just conversation. How to write good dialogue and make it work in your story.
• Editing – finding your strengths and weaknesses. Using sensory detail and learning the basics of editing your own work.
• Reaching the end - submission strategies and publishing timelines.

The 2024 program includes: 

• 8 x 1.5hr fortnightly group meetings (dates are below)
• Access to a wide selection of workshops with six credits to use across our online and in-person events. (T&Cs apply)
• One in-depth consultation about your writing project with a Writers SA staff member
• An expert critical reading of your first three chapters plus one page of feedback
• One Work Space writing intensive day
• Access to a private online space to share work and ideas with your peers*

Meeting dates: 5:30 to 7.00pm Wednesday February 14, 28, March 13, 27, April 10, 24, May 8 and 22.

If you have completed your first draft and/or are further along on your writing journey, our Manuscript Incubator online program might be for you.

Venue: Meeting Rooms 1 (The Lenzerheide) & 2, Mitcham Library, 154 Belair Rd, Hawthorn SA 5062

Members $890 / Non-members $1390

—Writers SA members must be logged in to receive/view the member discount.

—If you are a member of another state based writers centre or a member of SCBWI SA, please contact [email protected] at least five working days before the program commencement date to get a code for the member price.

—Payment plans can be negotiated with a $300 deposit and $10 admin fee by emailing [email protected]

*Program Terms and Conditions

—The six workshops refer to both digital and in-person sessions and include: three 1.5-hour workshops, two 3-hour workshops and one 6-hour workshop. The workshops may be selected of your choice or by recommendation from Writers SA. You must use these credits in 2024. Outstanding credits will not be held over. These cannot be exchanged for any other service or refunded. There will be a maximum of two credit-holders at each event until a minimum number of paid participants is reached and will be on a first-come-first-served basis after emailing [email protected] to lodge your request. If the workshop is at capacity for credit-holders, you can opt to pay for the workshop or join a wait-list until the event reaches the minimum number of paid participants.

—Participation in this series does not guarantee publication.

—In depth consultations and First Feedback will be carried out by a relevant staff member of Writers SA (excluding December and January) and must be submitted by November 2024 or forfeited.

—Private online space is for participants and Writers SA staff only and is self-led by you. Rachael may not be in this group. You can ask questions and share work in this group, but all official requests to Writers SA must be by email.

**all meetings are anticipated as in-person and will not be recorded. Email [email protected] to discuss further if you think in-person attendance could be an issue for you.

About Rachael Mead

Rachael Mead is a poet, novelist and arts reviewer living on Peramangk country in South Australia. She has an Honours degree in Classical Archaeology, a Masters in Environmental Studies and a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide.

Her debut novel, The Application of Pressure, was published by Affirm Press in 2020 and her second novel, The Art of Breaking Ice was released in July 2023. She is also the author of four collections of poetry, the most recent being The Flaw in the Pattern published by UWAP in 2018. In 2022, she was awarded the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship in the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and was also a recipient of an Australian Association of Authors Mentorship.

Rachael mentors emerging writers and regularly works with Adelaide Hills Council, Writers SA and Adelaide University’s Coetzee Centre teaching workshops in life writing, nature poetry and fiction. She’s judged fellowships and awards for organisations such as Australian Poetry, Red Room Poetry and the Hunter Writers’ Centre.