Writer's Diary 2027 Companion

More room for the writing year.

The diary has to stay still once it is printed. This page doesn't. Here you'll find extra planning sheets, more detailed resources and current information to use alongside your Writer's Diary 2027.

Keep this page bookmarked. Permanent resources will stay here, while dates, deadlines, submission windows and other time-sensitive information can be updated as the year goes on.

Start here

What do you need?

Go straight to the part that is useful now.

Plan your writing

Different projects need different plans.

Use as much structure as is useful. A novel, a short story and a collection do not need the same plan, and not every writer needs to work in the same way.

Diary

Daily writing planning sheet

A roomier A4 sheet for deciding what matters in today's writing session and leaving yourself a clear next step.

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Diary

Expanded project planning sheets

The diary's project-planning approach with more room for priorities, milestones, next actions and notes.

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Diary

End-of-project review

Note what worked, what changed and what you want to remember before beginning another project.

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Project

3, 6 and 12-month project plans

Choose the timescale that suits the work, from a concentrated three-month project to a plan that runs across the year.

Choose a plan

3-month project plan For a shorter project or one concentrated stage of a larger one. 6-month project plan For work that needs a broader structure across several months. 12-month project plan For substantial work that needs room for drafting, revision and interruptions.

Novel

Novel in a year

There is no single right way to spend a year writing a novel. Choose the route that comes closest to the way you work.

Choose a route

Planner route For writers who prefer to establish the novel's shape before sustained drafting. Discovery-writer route For writers who find the novel by writing it, then discover its structure in revision. Fast draft, long revision For writers who want a complete rough manuscript early and more time to reshape it.

Fiction

Novel and fiction planning

Use the sheets that help with the part of the novel you are working on rather than filling in a complete planning system.

Choose a worksheet

Overall structure See the whole novel before breaking it into individual scenes or chapters. Chapter / scene planner Work through what happens, what changes and what the scene makes necessary next. Character planner Build around desire, pressure, contradiction, relationships and change. Research planner Keep research useful to the manuscript rather than letting it take over the writing. Revision planner Diagnose first, then revise in passes so that large problems are dealt with before small ones.

Non-fiction

Non-fiction book planner

Define the book's purpose and scope, organise research and map the chapters, drafting and revision.

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Short form

Short fiction and poetry

Lighter planning sheets for compact work, without forcing a short story or poem through a novel-sized system.

Choose a planner

Short-story planner A light plan for finding the story's pressure, movement and ending. Poetry planner A loose working sheet for image, movement, sound, shape and what the poem is discovering.

Collections

Plan and sequence a collection as a book rather than simply gathering individual finished pieces.

Choose a planner

Short-story collection planner Look at range, recurrence, sequence and the role of each story in the whole. Poetry collection planner Shape a collection through sequence, recurrence, contrast and movement.

Get some writing done

When you're ready to write.

Practical ways to begin, keep going or make time for the work.

Writing Sprint Timer Choose a time, start the timer and write. Start a sprint → Daily writing prompt A fresh starting point each day. Open today's prompt → Writing Rooms Protected writing time online, alongside other writers. See upcoming rooms → Workshops and courses Current WritersGroup teaching, workshops and longer sessions. See what's on →

Develop your writing

Articles about writing.

Practical pieces on craft, process, revision and the writing life. The articles from the diary are here too, along with additional pieces.

Diary

Finishing what you start Taking a project from enthusiasm to completion.

Read

Diary

What is this piece actually about? Finding what sits underneath the plot or subject.

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Diary

Reading like a writer Looking at other people's writing to see how it works.

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Diary

How to diagnose a manuscript before rewriting it Work out what needs fixing before you start rewriting.

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Diary

The sentence that explains the sentence before it Spotting explanation the reader does not need.

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Diary

Researching literary agents properly Finding agents who may actually suit the work.

Read

Browse all articles

Get published

Agents, submissions and opportunities.

Current deadlines, submission windows, agent information, competitions and literary events.

Competitions and prizes Deadlines, prizes, fees and entry details. Explore

Submission opportunities Magazines, journals and presses accepting work. Explore

Recently opened Submission windows and new opportunities. See what's new

Literary agents Agents, interests and current submission information. Explore

Submission resources Use the research sheet before submitting, then keep a clear record of what went where.

Agent research sheet ↓ Submission tracker ↓

Publishing scams Warning signs and current guidance. Read guidance

Literary events and festivals Dates, locations and booking information. Explore

Workshops and courses Current WritersGroup workshops, courses and writing sessions. See what's on