First Draft Detroit News – October 13, 2026

Hello Drafters!

October sure is flying by, holy macaroni! Are you all ready for November? It’s coming sooner than you think!

First Draft Frenzy!

This November is our third 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 is still a secret (that link still leads to the 2025 challenge but it will be updated for 2026!), but we’ve got awesome art that I can’t wait for you all to see!

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.

If you don’t feel as if you want to participate numerically but still want the perks of companionship, you are also more than welcome to join Just For The Vibes. You’ll still get sorted onto a team, but you don’t have to feel the pressure of writing/creating a bunch to compete.

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. We’ll have the first batch of names sorted for Kickoff (next Saturday! more details to come in this email) so if you’d like to see your name on the list that early, please do fill out the questionnaire linked above!

Upcoming Events

Get ready for a whole bunch of fun! The festivities kick off next Saturday, then 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!

Kickoff/Ice Cream Social

Kickoff is first:
Ferndale Area District Library
222 E 9 Mile Rd
Ferndale, MI 48220
October 24, 2025
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
There is parking in a lot directly behind the library. It is paid. This is not the fault of the library. The city of Ferndale controls the parking. Please do not leave a bad review for the library. It makes the librarians sad, and we do not want to make the librarians sad. We like librarians.

PLEASE NOTE: KICKOFF IS NOT A POTLUCK. Food is no longer allowed in the Ferndale meeting room. (womp womp)

Following Kickoff is our Meet and Greet Ice Cream Social:
Treat Dreams
22965 Woodward Ave
Ferndale, MI 48220
October 18, 2025
4:00 to 5:00 PM
Who doesn’t love ice cream for dinner? Join us after Kickoff at Treat Dreams and enjoy some delicious ice cream and additional socialization! Talk more about the plans that you’re making for your November project. Will I get a different flavor this year? Unlikely! Come try to talk me into something that ISN’T salted butterscotch!

Treat Dreams is closing soon (sad, sad times) but we’ll have this last hurrah there before we have to find a different Meet and Greet location for next year!

Frontload First Weekend

The Dovetail in Warren is once again generously allowing us the use of their space to try to cram in as many words as possible in this first weekend of November. The food and coffee are tasty, the vibes are wacky (in the best way!), and we’ll have plenty of creative sprints to keep you rolling.
The Dovetail Cafe
29200 Hoover Rd
Warren, MI 48093
November 7, 2025
4:00 to 10:00 PM

Scribbles

Scribbles are our more low-key creative get-togethers. We have 4 every month (except December please we just want to sleep) but in November we have more!

You ready for the November list? You sure? Let’s go! (Note: for the rest of October, only the Dessert Oasis scribble on the 13th and Owen’s scribble on the 30th are going to be happening. This list is for November!)

• Monday: none yet 🙁
• Tuesday: Online (Discord) with Deirdre, 5-7 PM
• Wednesday: Dessert Oasis (Ferndale) with Chesnaye, 4:30 to 7:30 PM
• Thursday: Road Less Traveled Books (Farmington) with Erin, 4:30 to 6:30 PM
• Friday: The Fern Cafe (Royal Oak) with Owen, 5 PM to 7 PM
• Saturday: None yet because we’ve got a bunch of big events!
• Sunday: Online (Discord) with Beth, 8 AM to 10 AM; Blue Hat Coffee (Farmington) with Erin, 1 PM to 4 PM

If you want to host a scribble then feel free to let one of us know! You can absolutely host an online-only one just like Beth and Deirdre, or you can host an in-person one. Be the scribble you want to see in the world!

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