While you can participate in all our events simply through the newsletter posts, you can engage with the rest of us over at the forum. Literary Salon maintains a Slack forum to enable better communication in the various programs. The forum is open to everyone.

This is your invitation: invitation.

There are sections that deal with each of our projects and space to talk about your own stuff, too.

This is the address: theliterarysalon.slack.com, but if this is your first visit to the forum, you’ll need to enter via the invitation.

MmmFA: Mighty Fine Arts is our NaNoWriMo replacement that lasts for months and takes you through three drafts of that novel you’ve been meaning to write (or are writing).

Reading Group: In June, we’re reading Empire’s Daughter by . If you missed your opportunity to get the paperback for free, you can grab the eBook right now for $0.99.

Open-World Stories: That was the third thing! I knew there was something. (I’m kidding, folks. I didn’t forget you.)

Information on all three projects below!

Free Book Promotion

This article is part of Literary Salon issue #3.

You can manage your subscription and toggle sections on or off, right here.

Remember:

The Literary Salon Magazine posts every Wednesday and will give you a chance to revisit anything you’ve missed. Toggle off any sections you don’t want to receive and add any sections that interest you. Take control of your email. Do it here.

Today’s official post is an essay on theme and meaning that may end up being the final chapter in my upcoming Deeper Stories book:

Literary Salon, Summer Style

Open-World Stories

If you’re one of the authors participating in Open-World Stories (Franklin) email me your story’s draft link now if I don’t have it already. JudasDThomas [at] Gmail.com. I’m putting together links of all the stories for the writers to read and vote on. That will go out June 1st or 2nd. Remember not to publish anything. sent you a full breakdown which you can read here. (Please read. This is a challenge to organize, and it will be so much easier if everyone understands what they’re meant to do.)

Don’t know what a draft link is? In your draft, click on the settings button in the lower right.

Then scroll down until you see where it says, “Secret Draft Link.”

Click on Copy Link. Now you’ve got it, and that’s what you email me.

Subscribe now

Reading Group

Start reading. I’ll be in the Forum tomorrow to share some first insights. I’m not setting a reading goal for tomorrow because, if I do, I won’t meet it. Break open the book and get started. We’ll talk starting June 1st.

Still deciding whether to join us? The book stands on its own but its also the beginning of a long series, something you can really dig your teeth into should it prove to be your thing. It’s an alternative-world fantasy without magic.

MmmFA: Mighty Fine Arts

We have an Official Schedule, if you didn’t get my most recent MmmFA post. I’ve removed the original post from April, as that information is now outdated.

In that new post, I explain the purpose of MmmFA like this:

The secondary goal of MmmFA is to take us through three complete drafts of a novel, from initial concept to polished manuscript.

The primary goal is to take each of us, wherever we are in the process of writing our next novel, and bring us to where we want to be. The program has goals and is structured around them, because that’s a necessity, but what you want as author matters more. You don’t have to start fresh to participate. You don’t have to be any particular type of writer, either in process or output. Be who you and create what you desire, using the MmmFA group however you need to help get you there.

Why the name MmmFA: Mighty Fine Arts? It’s a play on a Master of Fine Arts.

Participation is free, both here and at the Literary Salon Forum. You can also choose to support Literary Salon with a subscription; the basic paid subscription is super cheap, and if you want to do more, you can subscribe at the “True Fan” level.

Where we are right now in the program:

Phase 1: First Draft (June - July)

Goal: Complete a rough first draft of 60,000 words or more. (Or less.)

Week 1-2 (June 1-14): Foundation

• Setting writing goals and schedules

• Group introductions and accountability partnerships

• Character development and world-building

• Brainstorming and Outlining or Test Chapters

Current expectations:

Weekly Commitments

• Monday: Submit weekly word count/progress report at the forum

• Wednesday: Check in with accountability partner

Monthly Milestones (for the Main Schedule)

• June 30: First quarter of draft complete

At the forum, someone asked how accountability partners would work. At the time, I hadn’t got that far, but I think it’s best if we pair (or group) up informally. If you hate the idea of an accountability partner, we won’t force it. Otherwise, in the first week or so, see if there’s someone in the MmmFA that you’d be comfortable talking to weekly. Alternatively, reach out to a novel-writing friend, inform them that they’ve been shanghaied into the program, and make them your partner.

There are no word-count goals these first two weeks. Use this time to get ahead or use it to whatever preliminary work is part of your process.

I’d love to hear about your personal goals and process in the forum.

—Thaddeus Thomas

P.S. Feel free to DM me with any questions, either in Substack or the forum. I might not know the answer yet, but it will tell me what answers we need.

Book Sales Promotion

A 6-Month Group Novel Writing Program

June - November 2025

With an alternative schedule for a slower pace: June - March.

This article is part of Literary Salon issue #2.

Program Overview

Before it’s implosion, I respected NaNoWriMo but always as a spectator, never a participant. I didn’t see its goals as fitting my process. For MmmFA, I want to serve people who loved NaNoWriMo, but I also want it to be a space for people who like me, who just didn’t fit.

The secondary goal of MmmFA is to take us through three complete drafts of a novel, from initial concept to polished manuscript.

The primary goal is to take each of us, wherever we are in the process of writing our next novel, and bring us to where we want to be. The program has goals and is structured around them, because that’s a necessity, but what you want as author matters more. You don’t have to start fresh to participate. You don’t have to be any particular type of writer, either in process or output. Be who you and create what you desire, using the MmmFA group however you need to help get you there.

Why the name MmmFA: Mighty Fine Arts? It’s a play on a Master of Fine Arts.

Participation is free, both here and at the Literary Salon Forum. You can also choose to support Literary Salon with a subscription; the basic paid subscription is super cheap, and if you want to do more, you can subscribe at the “True Fan” level.

Subscribe now

It’s time for Substack to help support your desire to write a novel and not just distract you from it.

— Thaddeus Thomas

• Program Structure

• Group Structure and Accountability

Note: I used Claude 4 for the initial draft of the main writing schedule. I’m not a fan of AI in the creative arts, and while I consider this to be different, if its use here bothers you, I understand.1

This schedule is different from the initial one in the article where I proposed the idea for MmmFA, and I’ve added alternative schedules for writers with different needs.

Program Structure

Phase 1: First Draft (June - July)

Goal: Complete a rough first draft of 60,000 words or more. (Or less.)

Week 1-2 (June 1-14): Foundation

• Setting writing goals and schedules

• Group introductions and accountability partnerships

• Character development and world-building

• Brainstorming and Outlining or Test Chapters

Week 3-8 (June 15 - July 31): Writing Sprint

• Momentum Writers: Daily writing target: 1,304 words will produce a 60,000 word draft.

• Daily Polish Writers and Slower Pace Writer:

  • The Daily-Polish alternative runs from June 15 - September 30. Your goal is two drafts—a slower, more polished first draft and then a final draft. 560 words a day will produce a 60,000 word draft.

    • In October and November, you’ll work on a final, polished draft with the Momentum Writers.

  • The June 15 - September 30 alternative is also appropriate for anyone who wants or needs to write at a slower pace. This will allow you to complete a first draft by the end of September.

    • Your second draft dates are October 1st - December 31st.

    • Third draft: January 1st - March 31st.

    • Personally, I plan on using the Slower Pace schedule.

• Weekly check-ins with accountability partners

• Forum discussions for motivation and troubleshooting

Phase 2: Second Draft (August - September)

Goal: Complete structural revision / character development

Slower-Paced Alternative: October 1st - December 31st

Week 9-10 (August 1-14): Assessment and Planning

• Read-through of first draft (no editing yet)

• Identify major plot holes, character inconsistencies, and structural issues

• Create revision plan with specific goals

Week 11-16 (August 15 - September 30): Structural Revision

• Rewrite problematic scenes

• Strengthen character arcs and motivations

• Improve pacing and story flow

• Add or remove scenes as needed

Phase 3: Third Draft (October - November)

Goal: Polish prose and prepare final manuscript

Slower-Paced Alternative: January 1st - March 31st

Week 17-20 (October 1-31): Line Editing

• Sentence-level improvements

• Dialogue refinement

• Show vs. tell analysis

• Style consistency

Week 21-24 (November 1-30): Final Polish

• Proofreading and copy editing

• Final read-through

• Formatting for submission

• Celebration and next steps planning

Group Structure and Accountability

Weekly Commitments

• Monday: Submit weekly word count/progress report at the forum

• Wednesday: Check in with accountability partner

Monthly Milestones (for the Main Schedule)

• June 30: First quarter of draft complete

• July 31: First draft complete

• August 31: Revision plan and first revision pass complete

• September 30: Second draft complete

• October 31: Line editing complete

• November 30: Final draft complete

Next Steps After Completion

• Manuscript evaluation and feedback

• Query letter and synopsis writing workshops

• Continued critique group participation

• Planning for the next writing project