Twelve weeks. Twelve story milestones. A first draft you can finish.
Eli Ryder leads 8–15 writers through weekly story milestones, accountability check-ins, process conversations, live writing sprints, and a new word-count goal. Participants should expect to draft roughly 5,000–8,000 words between meetings.
The event and the wider program
The event and the wider program
Event practicalities
Twelve meetings, one complete drafting plan.
This course brings 8–15 writers together for 12 weekly sessions. Each meeting includes an accountability check, a conversation about writing process, a lesson on the next story milestone, a live writing sprint, and a spoken word-count goal for the following week. Participants should expect to write roughly 5,000–8,000 words between sessions.
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FrequencyTwice per year12-week course -
Group size8–15 writers12-week course -
AccessOpen to all · course · ,200 public / $600 members12-week course -
PlaceIn person · Rosedale, Austin, TexasAustin neighborhood -
BookingVenue details shared after booking
Build the novel in story-sized milestones.
The syllabus moves from character, setting, and inciting incident through escalating conflict, midpoint, crisis, resolution, and next steps. Each lesson gives the week’s pages a specific job.
Session details
Expect to write between meetings.
Participants usually set a target of 5,000–8,000 words for the week. The next session begins with an honest check-in, includes a live sprint, and ends with the next commitment spoken aloud.
Session detailsInside the room
Eight to fifteen writers are on the same deadline.
Instructor Eli Ryder teaches a character-first route through idea, setting, inciting incident, escalating conflict, midpoint, crisis, resolution, and revision planning. Ryder is an Austin Community College Associate Professor of Creative Writing, a published horror and science-fiction writer, a playwright, and a Roswell Award honoree. The course is designed for writers ready to make a serious drafting commitment; enrollment is separate from membership.
The cohort can see whether the pages are moving. Writers compare what helped, name what stalled, and return to the manuscript before another week passes.
More ways into the club
