First Draft Frenzy 2026

FIRST DRAFT FRENZY

It’s time! November 1st is almost upon us, and it’s time to start jumping into the madness once again! This month is packed full, so check the calendar for all the scribbles happening online and in-person to help you reach your creative goals!

If you want to track your progress with the rest of the crew, join us over at Pacemaker, where you can set a flexible goal and chart your progress via percentage. The link to the general challenge and the ever-popular TEAM CHALLENGE will be posted here once this year’s Theme and Teams have been announced (join us at Kick-Off for that!)

BIG EVENTS

You want major events? Of course you do! And boy howdy are we about to deliver!

KICK-OFF

  • Saturday, October 24; 1:00pm-3:30pm
  • Ferndale Public Library, 222 E 9 Mile Rd, Ferndale, MI 48220, United States
  • Come kick off the November 2026 First Draft Frenzy in style! Enjoy games, acquire swag, and meet others embarking on this month of creative abandon.
  • (Optional) Ice Cream meet and greet at Treat Dreams in Ferndale to follow directly!

MEET AND GREET

  • Saturday, October 24; 4:00pm-5:00pm
  • Treat Dreams, 22965 Woodward Ave, Ferndale, MI 48220
  • Treat Dreams has a wide variety of tasty treats, including vegan frozen stuff, edible cookie dough, and there’s a coffee corner and bakery case as well. If the weather is nice, we’ll hang out at the picnic tables in the parking lot. If it’s wet or cold, we’ll post up inside, most likely at the long tables near the back door. Meet your board members, meet each other, have a treat! All are welcome, whether you’re coming directly from the Kick-Off or not.

FRONT-LOAD FIRST WEEKEND

  • Saturday, November 7th; 4:00pm-10:00pm
  • The Dovetail, 29200 Hoover Rd, Warren, MI 48093, USA
  • Start your month strong right out the gate! Join us after this quirky cafe closes for word wars and wonder!
  • The Dovetail has a full drink menu and a limited food menu, and we encourage participants to purchase if they’re able to support this awesome local business!

MOTOWN MIDWAY MADNESS

  • Saturday, November 14th; 9:00am-3:30pm
  • Macomb Community College, South Campus 14500 12 Mile Rd, Warren MI 48088  J Building (Library) Macomb Room (top floor) 
  • The most popular event of the year! Bring a dish to pass for our potluck, and get ready for word wars, raffles, and friendly team-based competition!
  • While we have extension cords and surge protectors to help everyone get the power they need, please feel free to bring some of your own to help us out!

BOOT CAMP

  • Saturday, November 21nd; 11:00am-5:00 pm
  • Royal Oak Senior Community Center, 3500 Marais Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA
  • You Will Be Productive. You Will Write Many Words. You Will Eat Pizza. The toughest grind of any event in the month, get ready for word war after word war after word war. The pace? Relentless. The wars? Long. The payoff? So much progress. Also? Pizza is provided at the legally-mandated(*) Mid-Event Break. Bring snacks!
  • (*) There are no laws at Boot Camp

WRITING CRAWL

  • Friday, November 27th; 8:00am-11:00pm
  • Locations TBD!
  • Our friends from Flint will be once again holding their writing crawl, travelling around the Metro Detroit area to drink coffee and daringly create. Follow the whole route or just dip in for one stop, and enjoy the ride!

ONE LAST PUSH PARTY (Virtual Event)

  • Monday, November 30th; 6:00pm-11:59pm
  • Your very own home! Zoom link will be HERE and in the Discord closer to the date.
  • It’s time! The last few hours of our Frenzy are here, and whether you’re almost there, blew past your goal a week ago, or are just trying to see how close you can get, it’s time for the last event!
  • There’s a Bog of Eternal Productivity for people who want to grind out the last few hours, or the main room for chatting and socializing between wars.
  • Count down to midnight and get ready to pat yourself on the back for doing something so huge, so impossible, so wonderful for the last 30 days!

THANK GOODNESS IT’S OVER PARTY

  • Sunday, December 6; 12:00pm-2:00pm
  • LOCATION TBD
  • We did it! We made it through a month of hard work and creative outpouring and crossed the finish line! Whether you made your goal or just had fun along the way, come join us at the library for a celebration! There will be games, there will be laughs, there will be a winner declared for the team championship!