First Draft Detroit News – November 27, 2025

Hello Drafters!

WE ONLY HAVE THREE DAYS LEFT. Are you panicking yet? I’m definitely panicking. It’s okay. It’s fine. We just have to breathe. One word or sketch or stitch at a time, right?

As it is the final week, there isn’t a lot of news to share, but there are some very important changes for the Black Friday Word Crawl, so please do pay attention to the changes for the first two locations!

Upcoming Events

We’ve still got plenty more coming for you to enjoy! The festivities continue all through November until we finally breathe a sigh of relief in early December and cry the collective cry of Thank Goodness It’s Over! Remember that you can find these and all our other events linked on our Events page!

Black Friday Word Crawl (Please note the location changes!)

This is a great way to knock out a ton of words if you’re up against your goal, and it supports local businesses on a day when so many might use huge corporations instead, so if that floats your boat… It works its way up from Detroit to meet up with Owen at The Office then keeps going, so you’ll have plenty of company for your words! This is quite the list, so get ready:

Dessert Oasis (DETROIT LOCATION)
1220 Griswold St, Detroit, MI 48226
November 28, 2025
8:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Saturn Cafe
700 Seward Ave Ste 2, Detroit, MI 48202
(Located in The Abington Detroit)
November 28, 2025
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Java Hutt Ferndale
165 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale, MI 48220
November 28, 2025
2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

The Office Coffee Shop (crashing Owen’s Scribble)
402 S Lafayette Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48067
November 28, 2025
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Bin Castle Coffee House
28924 Van Dyke Ave, Warren, MI 48093
November 28, 2025
9:00 PM to 11:00 PM

One Last Push Party

Happening In Real Life once upon a time, our One Last Push Party is now virtual! Join us over Zoom for word sprints between casual conversation, or silent work-only breakout rooms. Whatever you need to meet your goals, we’re here for you!
Zoom Link to be posted on website
November 30, 2025
6:00 PM to 11:59 PM

Thank Goodness It’s Over Party

We did it! We survived! Met your goal or not, come celebrate and unwind. Share stories, play games, and learn the winner of the 2025 Team Championship. We’ll be in the basement, and there’s an elevator available just inside the east entrance (facing the parking lot). Parking is free all around the supremely charming Downtown Farmington district.
Farmington Community Library Downtown Branch
23500 Liberty St, Farmington, MI 48336
December 5, 2025
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Scribbles

Sadly, it is time to go back to our regular Scribble schedule. (Audience aww noises.) Please do check the Discord or send an email if you’re curious about the December Scribbles—the only one I know for sure is still happening is mine at Road Less Traveled Books! (And rumor is that Erin is also kicking around the idea of a weekend Scribble in the new year… stay tuned!)

• First and Third Wednesdays: Dessert Oasis (Ferndale) with Chesnaye, 4:30 to 7:30 PM
• Second Thursday: Road Less Traveled Books (Farmington) with Erin, 4:30 to 6:30 PM
• Final Friday: The Office Coffee Shop (Royal Oak) with Owen, 5 PM to 8 PM

If you want to host a scribble, please let us know! You can absolutely host an online-only one over Discord, or you can host an in-person one. Be the scribble you want to see in the world!

First Draft Frenzy!

This November is our second annual First Draft Frenzy!

But Erin, what’s that?

So glad you asked! The First Draft Frenzy is our annual create-a-thon, happening every November. The goal is to create something new, from start to finish (or whatever you get done, because progress is success here) from November 1 to November 30. If you recall, First Draft Detroit grew out of the former Detroit region of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), so this is naturally an extension of the events and support we provided under that name.

We want to encourage creativity, no matter what form that takes. Writing a novel? Great! Drafting a comic book or graphic novel? That’s awesome (please show us your art)! Painting a series of portraits? Please also show us your art. Crocheting a bunch of little bits and bobs? We want to see that too! All that matters is that you begin that project on November 1 and work on it until November 30 (or beyond). Have any more specific questions? Please do not hesitate to reach out! You can either reply to this email, or touch base on Bluesky, Instagram, or Discord (all linked at the bottom).

Are you having that Team Championship again?

We sure are! The theme this year is Seasons of Stories. We are inspired by the Anishinaabe, who believe in a season for every task, and winter is the season for storytelling! We will embody that with our creative work this year: a story in each thing we create.

The Team Championship is a friendly intra-group competition, meant to foster productivity through Seeing More Number Go Up. Obviously, you get to watch your own completion percentage climb, but through the magic of the Team Championship, you get to watch the completion percentage (on average) of your team go up, too! We All Love Seeing Number Go Up.

How do I join the Team Championship?

You simply fill out the Highly Scientific Sorting Questionnaire here, and The Algorithm will sort you onto one of three teams. Erika (aforementioned Algorithm) is going to keep sorting new members periodically, so be sure to fill out the questionnaire if you’d like to join a team, even if it’s for the vibes!

Once Erika has added you to a team, you will receive an email with links to our Pacemaker challenges for the season. There will be one overall one for everyone to see and compare with, and then three separate ones for the team championship. May the best team win (that is obviously Team Lynx)!

Donations

As a reminder, we are a 501c3 nonprofit, which means any donations you make to us are tax-deductible! We have several avenues available for you to donate to, if you’re interested:

1. Kroger Community Rewards (search for First Draft Detroit)
2. Paypal: firstdraftdetroit@gmail.com
3. Cashapp: $firstdraftdetroit

If you desire the shiny gold donor role in our Discord sever, do any of the above (including signing up for Kroger Community Rewards) and let one of Da Board know! (Remember the NaNo halos? This is our version! It turns your name gold and everything.)

Find us online!

As always, you can reach us via this email and in several social media-type places!

• Discord: http://discord.gg/GZxdWjs
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstdraftdetroit/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/firstdraftdetroit.bsky.social

Creatively Yours,
Erin
Director of Community Engagement
First Draft Detroit