The Writer’s Diary: Ruthless Edits, Expansion Strategy, and Entering The Shortys

Writing, Deleting & Writing Again

It has been a fortnight of structural surgery, narrative expansion and contest entering in the pond. 

Sometimes being a writer means knowing when to wield the delete key without mercy, when to leave the big projects alone in favour of something else and also pulling long-dormant lore out of your head and finally giving it room to breathe on the page.

And it was my birthday too ... yes, I completed another successful spin around our sun. Here's to many more!

The Big Three: Edits and Refinements

Progress across my primary focus projects has been steady, if occasionally dramatic:

• Sanctorum’s Veil: I made the executive decision to completely delete the original Chapter 13. It was only OK, and it simply wasn't working; the pacing felt off, and it didn't serve where the story needed to go. In its place, I’ve drafted a brand-new Chapter 13 and I have added roughly 995 fresh words instead that fit the narrative far better.
  
  Total Word Count: 17,999
  
  
• The Void Between: Progress has been a little slower here as I work through the intricate sci-fi mechanics, but I’ve added another 500 words to keep the momentum going.
  
  Total Word Count: 3,900
  
  
• The Whisper in the Margins: I have completed Chapter 4, I think. This story is shaping up nicely and now there are two incidents deeping the mystery in quick succession. 
  
  Total Word Count: 5,221

Forever Jupiter: A Different Modular Approach

While Sanctorum’s Veil, The Void Between, and The Whisper in the Margins form my main trio of WIPs, I am treating the novel-length expansion of Forever Jupiter as a completely separate beast.

Instead of a traditional linear rewrite, I am approaching the expansion work like a series of interconnected short stories. These will eventually be woven into the existing novella framework, with appropriate edits to blend it all together.

I kicked off this process by writing a brand-new Chapter 1! All the additional lore I'm putting down now was actually all in my head when I wrote the original version back in 2022, but I stripped it back so I was able to hit specific contest word counts. Now, James Hamlin's world is finally getting the full scope it deserves.

These additions also open up the world to give me aa potential for writing aaEsequel, or sequels. Only time will tell.

Entering The Shortys with Borrowed Time

On the contest front, I’ve officially submitted my recent short story, Borrowed Time, into The Shortys on Wattpad!

For those who haven't caught the story yet (it is free to read on Wattpad), it’s a tight, time-slip mystery following an author writing in a quiet café. Suddenly, time freezes completely around him, and he finds himself faced with an impossible choice: lend an hour of his own life to a mysterious stranger. It was a blast to write, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs with the judges and readers.

The Failing Writer's Podcast Flash Fiction Contest

Another contest I entered was the annual flash fiction contest from the (IMHO) best writer's podcast out there. I have entered two stories here --  one about a woman forced to use "the umbrella defence" and the other about prophetic baked goods.

The challenge here is to write a flash fiction piece no more than 300 words long, and to include a specific phrase -- to learn the rules and the phrase, you will need to listen to the episode. I'm not giving any clues here.

The Writer’s Diary: Creeping Fog, Sci-Fi Drafts, and Expanding Jupiter

Taking it easy?

It has been a slightly quieter fortnight on the main manuscript front, but that certainly doesn't mean the desk has been idle. While the major novels and novellas took a brief backseat, my creative energy shifted into horror anthology submissions, audio production, and foundational sci-fi world-building.

Shifted Priorities on the Main Lineup

Progress on my big WIPs was deliberately light these past two weeks:

• The Whisper in the Margins: I added roughly 400 words to Rollo Whitglade's investigative mystery. I'm keeping the gears turning nicely.
• Sanctorum’s Veil & The Void Between: Both took a short pause while I focused on short fiction and audio edits, but they remain queued up for the next drafting push.

Fresh Creeping Dread: The Fog that Knocks

My biggest triumph over the last fourteen days was writing a brand-new short story titled The Fog that Knocks. Sitting at just over 2,100 words, it’s a tale built entirely on atmosphere and slow-burn, creeping dread.

Previously, I was creating a new story called The White Rider, but I got a little lost in the weeds on it, so I've paused it for now. 

Interestingly, a beta reader for The Fog that Knocks recently introduced me to a term I hadn't come across before—'creepypasta'—which refers to those modern, internet-born urban legends and eerie horror stories shared online. They described The Fog that Knocks as a Doctor Who variety of the genre, which I think is a brilliant way to frame it!

​I’ve already designed a custom cover for the story to set the mood, and you can see that as my image for this ppost. Again, I have not used GenAI, and I am very pleased with the outcome here.

I’m also excited to share that I have officially submitted The Fog that Knocks to an open call for The Phantom Pulse, a fantastic horror anthology magazine. Crossing my fingers for good news from the editorial team!

The cover image I created as a "just for me and my friends" thing, because at no point is there a hint that the submissions form asked for any art work.

Audio Master Classes & New Sci-Fi Seeds

Work on Memory Letters hasn't stopped, either. I’ve been wading through the master audio files for the upcoming audiobook, splitting the tracks into clean chapter files and making detailed notes on any tiny audio tweaks needed before the final launch.

Between audio checks, I’ve also drafted the foundations for two brand-new sci-fi short stories:

• Letter to My Past Self (~700 words)
• Am I Still Human? (~800 words)

Both are early-stage concepts, but they are already offering some really interesting premises to explore for my upcoming Kindle Short Reads initiative.

Building the Foundations of Forever Jupiter

Finally, I’ve been spending quality time mapping out the world-building for the novel-length expansion of Forever Jupiter.

I hit a moment recently where I realised there were key aspects of the world’s history and mechanics that I had completely forgotten to detail. I've spent the week fleshing out these underlying world-building notes. Whether these specific background details make it directly into the final narrative or stay hidden behind the scenes, having them mapped out is going to make the actual drafting process infinitely easier and far more cohesive.