The Writer’s Diary: Round Two, Data-Driven Drafting, and Queue-Side Chapters

It's getting technical

​We’ve officially hit the business end of March. It’s been a fortnight of technical tweaks and steady progress, and I’m feeling a real sense of achievement as the "data" starts to back up the creative effort in the pond.

​Round Two is In the Bag

​The biggest milestone this week is that Memory Letters has officially been submitted for Round 2 of the Open Novella Contest.

​The requirement was to reach 8,000 words by the end of the month, but I’ve managed to sail well past that. I’m currently sitting at over 22,000 words. Jane’s story is reaching a fever pitch, and having the bulk of the required writing done so early has allowed me to really focus on the tension of the prose.

​The Mobile Studio & Writing on the Move

​One of the reasons I’ve been able to maintain this pace is my "platform-agnostic" approach to the craft. I’m a firm believer that the best time to write is whenever you have a spare minute.

​Whether I’m on my Windows laptop at my desk, lounging in the living room with my Samsung tablet, or out and about with phone, the story is always with me. In fact, I’ve been known to draft entire chapters while standing in queues for theme park rides! If I’ve got my phone in my hand, the work doesn't have to stop. It’s a great way to turn "dead time" into productive milestones.

​A Writer’s Dashboard

​To keep track of all this multi-device progress, I’ve recently shifted my workflow entirely into Google Docs. Being a bit of a tech enthusiast, I’ve written a custom automated script for my Memory Letters document.

​It isn’t just a simple word counter; it provides a comprehensive breakdown of the story as I write. The script handles:

• ​Chapter-by-Chapter Tracking: Monitoring the flow and length of every scene.
• Goal Progress: Real-time updates on how close I am to my defined targets.
• Reading Time Insights: Helping me understand the "pace" from a reader’s perspective.
• ​Contest Milestones: It actually flags exactly where the specific narrative milestones fall within the text.
• ​The "Countdown" Logic: It tells me exactly how many days I have left and calculates the precise words-per-day I need to write to hit my goal.

​Seeing the data behind the narrative, tracking pacing and word-count trends, adds a really satisfying layer to the process. It feels like having a digital assistant in the pond with me, ensuring I never fall behind.

​"Sanctorum’s Veil" Getting the Tech Treatment

​I was so impressed with how the script helped my ONC progress that I’ve now moved Sanctorum’s Veil also over to Google Docs. I’ve set it up with a similar automated script for analytics. 

This script has subtle differences in that I'm tailored it for novel writing instead of a novella contest. I've also added a dynamic goal tracking function. I can set a target word count on what in calling the Details tab and the script is clever enough to pick this out. 

Even though the Veil is on a strategic pause, having it prepped with its own dashboard means I can pick up exactly where I left off with full visibility.

The Writer’s Diary: Round Two Bound and Galactic Surprises

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Building a Mystery

It’s been an intense fortnight in the pond. When you’re in the ‘zone’ with a particular story, it can feel everthing els fade into the background. That has certainly been the case lately as I’ve been living almost exclusively within the world of Memory Letters.

​Round Two: Qualified!

​I am absolutely thrilled to share that Memory Letters has officially qualified for Round 2 of Wattpad's Open Novella Contest!

I've had a number of posts on Wattpad from readers too, with amazing feedback. 

​The requirements for this next stage are to reach the 8,000-word mark and submit before the end of March. Because of the ‘sprint’ I’ve been on, I’m currently sitting at over 18,000 words with nine chapters fully drafted. It feels brilliant to be heading into this deadline with so much momentum. Jane’s discovery of the ‘stranger’ she buried is taking some dark, claustrophobic turns, and I’m finding the techno-thriller elements are really clicking into place.

I've updated the cover with the 2K sticker Wattpad have created and sent to all qualifiers.  (Attached here is the new cover) 

​First Look: The Renth Trilogy (HFY)

​In my last post, I hinted at a new project inspired by the "Humanity First" (HFY) stories I’ve been reading and consuming via audio stories. Now that I’ve spent some time in the planning phase, I have a few more details to share about this upcoming trilogy.

​The story centres on the first contact between humanity and The Renth.

​The Renth Empire is an ancient, sprawling civilisation that views itself as the pinnacle of galactic evolution. The Renth are tall and many limbed with four arms and four legs. When they stumble upon our solar system, they expect to find a primitive race ripe for "uplifting" (or, more accurately, subjugation). However, they’ve made a catastrophic error in judgement. They’ve mistaken our lack of interstellar presence for a lack of capability.

​The trilogy will explore what happens when an empire built on superiority meets a species that doesn't just refuse to bow—but possesses technology and a "never-say-die" spirit that defies every Renth law of physics and sociology.

​Seeking a Home for Horror

​While the novels are moving forward, I haven’t forgotten my shorter works. I’m currently looking for the right options for my sci-fi horror short story, Only Three Pills Left.

​It’s a dark, punchy piece that I’m really proud of, and I’m now on the hunt for the right anthology or literary magazine that caters to that specific blend of speculative fiction and dread. 

If anyone has recommendations for markets that are currently open for submissions, do let me know!

The Writer’s Diary: Round One, Future Trilogies, and Corrupted Blooms

Image by John Kristensen from Pixabay

Busy, busy, busy

It’s been another productive f.ortnight in the pond. There’s a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from being "ahead of the curve" on a project; it opens up breathing room you didn't know you needed, and allows other ideas to start getting the attention they deserve.

​ONC Round One: Submitted!

​The biggest news this week is that Memory Letters has officially been submitted for Round 1 of the Open Novella Contest.

​I’ve kept up a steady pace with this story and I’m currently sitting at over 13,500 words. This is fantastic because I've just started Chapter 7 and I'm already over the milestone for the March deadline. Having that word count "in the bank" made the submission process much less stressful than in previous years. Jane’s journey into the truth behind her husband’s life is getting more intense by the page, and I’m really enjoying the process of writing this UK-based techno-thriller. I'm learning a lot too because I'm having to research cybernetic security and spies. It's all fun! 

​February Reflections

​Now that we’ve moved into March, I’ve also been looking back at the launch of The Concorda Files. It has been a whole month now since release and I am so incredibly proud of this book's success so far. I’ve sold a few copies throughout February, and I’m genuinely, genuinely grateful to everyone who has picked up a copy or shared it. Seeing a project move from a contest shortlist to a published reality is a feeling that never quite gets old.

If you've read The Concorda Files, I'd really love to hear your thoughts and would be really grateful for a review either on Amazon or on Goodreads. 

​The Next Frontier: A New Trilogy?

​With Memory Letters moving so quickly, I’ve found some spare time to start outlining a totally new project. I've been binge reading & listening to a ton of Humanity First (HFY) stories.... yeah, the F here is not usually for the word "first", but I like to use swearing sparingly. 

So many of these stories are perfect for the daily commute! And I've been inspired to have a go myself. The idea was a short story at first, but the scope is growing! What started as a single idea is now looking like it might need to be split over three books. There’s something so compelling about writing humans as the outliers in a wider galaxy, and I’m having a lot of fun mapping out this broader universe.

​Breathing Room

​Also, the extra time I've generated has also allowed me to "check in" on my other projects. I’ve been able to dive back into Sanctorum’s Veil a little to edit some of the existing chapters. It’s a nice change of pace to switch from the high-speed drafting of the ONC to the more deliberate, careful work of polishing a WIP.

​Back to the Tabletop

​Finally, I’ve been flexing my world-building muscles in a very different way by creating a new D&D campaign called The Corrupted Bloom. I'm actually running a campaign with four of my friends based on the ideas, and their interactions have helped me shape what I'm writing. Hopefully, I'll be able to release this for others to play too.

There’s a lot of crossover between campaign design and novel writing—both require that sense of "what’s around the next corner?"—and it’s been a great way to unwind after running after my ideas for everything else I'm doing.