The Wild Draft: A 6-Month Novel Writing Cohort

What It Is

The Wild Draft is a six-month small-group experience for writers ready to conjure their wildest (or first) draft. This is a high-touch experience designed to help you finish a draft of your novel—and believe in it. We meet biweekly from June through November, building your novel through craft lessons, feedback, accountability, and creative discipline. 

This cohort is for anyone with a story idea who craves community, structure, and the guidance of an experienced writer and writing coach. Through thoughtful support, creative experimentation, and an emphasis on writerly joy (because we all need that!), you’ll write a complete draft—the one that’s been living inside you, waiting for space to emerge.

The draft you complete here is just one outcome of the journey. What you’re really building is a creative practice: a way of thinking, noticing, and returning to the page with intention. The pages are evidence, yes—but the real magic is what you’ll carry forward: deeper trust in your voice, a framework for finishing things, and a rhythm you can return to again and again. 

This experience is a container for your full creative growth. You’re not just investing in a draft. You’re investing in your writing life.

Who This Is For

You have a story you can’t stop thinking about. Maybe it’s just an idea, a voice, a fragment—or maybe you’ve started this novel before but never made it all the way through. You’re craving structure, creative momentum, and the kind of community that makes writing feel alive again.

You don’t need a perfect outline or a writing degree. You just need the willingness to show up, embrace the mess, and keep going.

No matter what your novel genre is (or could be!), this cohort is here to help you take that story and turn it into a draft—your first, your fiercest, or your most unfinished one yet.

You’ll Thrive in This Cohort If You Are:

• Ready to explore, commit, and finish a draft

• Open to feedback, revision, and discovery

• Curious about your own voice and process

• Excited to be part of a creative community

• Able to dedicate 4–6 hours per week to writing and reflection

• Willing to hold things loosely and trust the journey (even the messy middle)

Why work with me

• I’ve spent the past six years immersed in the writing and publishing world—as the founder of Write or Die, I’ve built a thriving community of writers, interviewed hundreds of authors about their process, and helped countless creatives shape, submit, and share their work. Through my collaboration with Chill Subs, I’ve guided writers through the often-intimidating world of querying and finding the right agent.

• I’ve been where you are. I spent four years writing, revising, and querying—and when I finally landed my agent, it happened in just three months, because I had done the groundwork. I know the emotional highs and lows of the process, and I bring real, lived experience to every step of the journey.

• I specialize in the early stages of writing—the messy first drafts, the false starts, and the breakthroughs. I love helping writers tap into their creative rhythm, stay accountable, and build sustainable practices that last well beyond one project. I’ll offer clear, thoughtful feedback on your opening pages, treat your work with care and attention, and support you through the inevitable ups and downs of the creative process.

• My own writing partnerships have been essential to my growth—I know how powerful it is to have someone in your corner. I bring that same spirit to the writers I work with.

If you're craving honest support, clear guidance, and a mentor who shows up with both strategy and heart, I’m here to walk alongside you.

What’s Inlcuded

• 13 biweekly live Zoom calls combining traditional and unconventional craft lessons—featuring writing exercises, readings, and creative assignments—with time for open discussion, check-ins, and community connection. Part workshop, part creative circle. 

• One 1:1 session with Kailey (scheduled when it makes the most sense for you during the cohort) to dive into your project, answer questions, or focus on any area where you need extra support. (1 hour) 

• Feedback the first 50 pages of your manuscript: an editorial letter highlighting your strengths and areas that need attention plus margin notes. 

• A personalized revision roadmap

• Accountability check-ins and structured support

Cohort Timeline

June —Orientation, project mapping, embracing messiness

July — Act 1: stakes, setup, characters

August — Act 2, Part 1: escalation and discovery

September — Act 2, Part 2: deepening tension and pivots

October — Act 3: endings and prepping for final push

November — NaNoWriMo support + wrap-up and what's next

By the End, You’ll Have:

• A completed (or near-complete) draft

• A concrete plan to revise and move forward

• A clearer sense of your voice, story, and writing process

• The tools to support a writing practice that feels grounded, consistent, and uniquely yours

• A community of writers who’ve seen your project grow

About the Instructor

Kailey Brennan DelloRusso is a writer from Plymouth, MA. She’s the founder and editor-in-chief of Write or Die Magazine and a columnist at Chill Subs. She is represented by Creative Artists Agency. You can find her newsletter, In the Weeds, or catch her on Instagram and TikTok.