First Draft to Final Draft with Gerry Boland 2025

This new series of Wednesday morning writing workshops at The Dock will be of interest to all writers of poetry, fiction and memoir who wish to develop first drafts and move them in the direction of a final draft.

The workshops run on consecutive Wednesday mornings from 11am – 12.30pm, commencing 17 September and ending 19 November. The 10-week course fee is €120.

Each Wednesday, short pieces of writing (maximum 2,000 words per participant, or 3 poems), submitted in advance to the course facilitator, will be read and analysed and constructively critiqued by the facilitator, and by the participants. The workshops are different to the typical writing workshop in that the focus is on developing already written material, not on writing new material, though there may be the occasional writing exercise, arising out of a specific critique. 

Participants are asked to sign up to all ten sessions, even though their own work may only be featured once or twice during the ten weeks, the rationale being that every piece of writing that is critiqued by the group will be a learning experience for all, and not just for the writer whose work is being read and analysed.

Gerry Boland is a poet and author with ten published books. He has edited a variety of publications, including two recent anthologies for Roscommon County Council. He has wide experience of leading writing workshops in poetry, short fiction and memoir. For several years, he has been offering a one-to-one mentoring service to writers.