James ~Yes Mum, I’m still doing “the writing bit”~
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jamesfinegan.bsky.social
James ~Yes Mum, I’m still doing “the writing bit”~
@jamesfinegan.bsky.social
440 followers 340 following 190 posts
Wannabe Author. Writes a lot of fantasy and a thruppence of sci-fi. A lover of Shakespeare, space, and sudoku. Married to an absolute lad. He/him

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jamesfinegan.bsky.social
James ~Yes Mum, I’m still doing “the writing bit”~ @jamesfinegan.bsky.social · Aug 16
Ryan & Albert live 200 years apart - but once per day a time-slip lets them meet. Now they need to solve the mystery of Clarence Hall before they accidentally change history!

Oh… and try not to fall for each other in the process!

NOT TECHNICALLY GHOSTS

#PosterPit #W #YA #F #R
Movie-style poster for Not Technically Ghosts Ballroom divided in two by blue energy. Left half shades of gold a silhouette boy casually leans against divide. Right half monochrome silhouette boy leans his head back on divide. Top of poster fading font: Not Technically Ghosts Top text - from the queer mind that will (eventually!) bring you Spirit Rider The Royal Problem Below title - Congrats on finding the guy of your dreams! (Less congrats on him living 200 years away!)Quotes in film festival style wreaths - “Fake dates” “Defying fates” “Heartwarming YA” “Dumbass x Bookworm”Bottom text - This is that part at the bottom of movie posters which I think more than anything else makes them Look like movie posters there are supposed to be names of people involved in the production but I already did that with the Spirit Rider Poster so this one is mostly just filler sorry I couldn’t think of a good joke no wait “knock knock” “WHo’s there?” “To” “To Who?” “No, no, it’s - To Whom” Ba-dum Tiss
Reposted by James ~Yes Mum, I’m still doing “the writing bit”~
cpashton.bsky.social
IT'S HERE! Five fairy tale retellings like you've never read before. 4.7 stars on Goodreads

Be daring - grab your paperback or ebook today
books2read.com/NotYourEverA...

#indieauthor #fantasy #fairytale #anthology #beautyandthebeast #cinderella #redridinghood #shortstory #novella #booksky #booktok
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Urrgghh edit my stupid important book or have nerdy fun writing my Doctor Who script? Decisions decisions…
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #amediting
November 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
October 25 Wrap-up!

✍️ Good start on Not Technically Ghosts part 2 edits!

👨‍💼 On the path to getting new day-job!

🔀 Mostly fixed a Not Technically Ghosts side plot that had been bugging me!

#WritingCommunity #amediting
Me (blond pale goblin, wearing skeleton design black jumper, offering a semi smile that suggests I’m doing this under duress), background corner of a large clock, white wall. Overlaid text: October 25 - wrap up — Good start on Not Technically Ghosts part 2 edits! — On the way to getting new day-job! — 99% fixed a Not Technically Ghosts side plot that had been bugging me!
October 31, 2025 at 11:32 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Very happy with work done today. Been dithering for some days over a side plot that just wasn’t hitting as I wanted. Nearly scrapped it (again) but after tweaking a scene and planning changes ahead - looking good now! Benji lives to see another day!
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 28, 2025 at 1:29 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Hmm writing (another!) new scene I QUITE like... but that I'm 70% sure I won't include in the book. Still, nice to have as backstory. May incorporate elsewhere.
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
At last - x2 new scenes finished. A very necessary extra 3200-ish words, but I'm happy with the additions. Getting into one of my favourite sections now, looking forward to *these* edits!
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Close to being done on x2 new scenes I’ve needed to add. Happy with how they’ve come out but eager to get on with actual editing again!
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Always feels counterintuitive to add scenes during editing but these last couple feel really needed. Letting the plot breath and organically get the mains where they need to be.
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Welp if I keep writing much more of this I’ll have no choice but to count Witch-wip as my new side project! (Christopher does NOT approve of me arranging pages on his side of the couch)
#WritingCommunity #amwriting
Various handwritten pages and doodles arranged over a black couch. Standard issue cat staring unimpressed in the foreground.
October 14, 2025 at 11:14 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Edits on this particular scene have been fighting me all week. Needed to add a new part, but dithered between it being a few lines or a whole new section. Well now it's TWO new sections. Ho hum.
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Had a deleting day - found a subplot that I'm not happy with. Plus it was a tiny bit cliché and stretched credibility. Cut! There's 3000-ish words back
#WritingCommunity #amediting
October 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
So I'm officially shelving my first book, Spirit Rider: The Royal Problem -- but I'm not sad, no woe-is-me stuff!
(cont.)🧵
October 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
And that's a wrap on edits for Part 1 of Not Technically Ghosts! Part 2 is a LOT meatier so can't decide if it'll be easy to do big cuts, or I'll agonise over every scene??
#WritingCommunity #amediting
a picture of a girl on a slide with the words so fun
Alt: Gif - thorough unimpressed woman slides down a slide. Text: So fun...
media.tenor.com
October 4, 2025 at 6:13 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
September 25 Wrap-up!

✍️ NEARLY finished Not Technically Ghosts (part 1) edits!

🚴‍♂️ Got on a new health kick!

🧙‍♀️ Started a new witchy wip! (Madam Quail’s Totally Legitimate Witching School Where Absolutely No One Gets Eaten)

#WritingCommunity #amediting #amwriting
Me (partially blond pale goblin offering a half smile), background laptop on wooden table. Overlaid text: September 25 - wrap up — NEARLY finished Not Technically Ghosts (part 1) edits — got on a new “health kick” (80% successful??) — started a new wip! Madam Quail’s Totally Legitimate Witching School Where AbsolutelyNo One Gets Eaten
October 1, 2025 at 11:48 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Very happy with this unplanned pov shift. Had gotten too stuck on the idea all switches need to have a kind of symmetry. Now this quite pivotal scene gets half each!
#amediting
September 23, 2025 at 1:30 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Into edits for the final scene of Part 1 of Not Technically Ghosts! Splitting POVs, bringing elements from later to now, more feelings, more details - onwards!
#amediting #WritingCommunity
September 20, 2025 at 5:51 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Edits getting good now! Had disliked underwritten this story felt in places. Done a lot of enriching work so far. Just hoping there’s some fat to trim in the middle and pull the wordcount back!
#amediting #WritingCommunity
September 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Had the chance to read CP’s high-tech Red Riding Hood story that’s part of this collection - and people are in for a TREAT! Better believe I’ll be buying my copy on day one!
cpashton.bsky.social CP Ashton - querying FIREFLY x PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN @cpashton.bsky.social · Sep 12
🥿 a heisty Cinderella
🥀 a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast
✨ a fairy tale crossover Frog Prince
🗡️ a dark fae Hansel and Gretel
☣️ a high-tech Red Riding Hood

What more could you want?

Snag your #ARC! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

#writingcommunity #sff #fantasy #scifi #fairytale 💙📚🖊️
Graphic shows the elegant black front cover of Not your ever after, an anthology of crooked fairy tales and reads "coming nov. 6th' 'In this collection, beloved stories are reborn with fantastical twists and fierce imagination. Uncover wicked magic, cunning heroines, and secrets lurking beneath the surface of every enchanted world. Be warned, this is Not Your Ever After." "sign up for a free advance copy and help spread the word!"
September 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Edits flowing well now on Not Technically Ghosts but damn if I can’t get this new fake/not-witch-school-wip out of my head! Might be one where I need to write the opening chapters to get it out of my system.
#WritingCommunity #amwriting #amediting
September 12, 2025 at 12:40 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
No no hush brain, I need to focus on editing and NOT my shiny new wip idea. But ughhhh the fresh worldbuilding and ending already planned 🤤

Working title:
Mistress Quail’s Totally Legitimate Witching School Where Absolutely No One Gets Eaten
#WritingCommunity #amediting
September 9, 2025 at 7:16 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Alright I’ve got the full layout for every pseudo-chapter/ switch in Not Technically Ghosts. Much easier now to see where things can and NEED to shift for better flow ahead of the bigger edits.
#WritingCommunity #amediting
Numerous typed cutouts arranged into 5 rows of varying length on a wooden floor
September 8, 2025 at 11:40 AM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Making ‘story cards’ to represent each switch/pseudo-chapter of Not Technically Ghosts to get a proper visual of how the story all hangs together. Already finding parts ripe for cutting / reworking!
#WritingCommunity #amediting
September 5, 2025 at 12:34 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
Possibly approaching some big macro edits for Not Technically Ghosts, shifting story-beats etc. Currently a clear divide between happy fun times and then sudden plot, stakes, and peril. Need to redress the balance…
#WritingCommunity #amediting
September 3, 2025 at 12:20 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
August 25 Wrap-up! (Do I do that now? Guess we'll see at end of September? What is this pose??)

✍️ Off to a good start with Not Technically Ghosts (part 1) edits
🏠Moved house (not writing, but big stuff)
🖼️Took part in a bunch of #pitch events

#WritingCommunity #amediting
Me (vaguely blond goblin-boy in white and orange stripy t-shirt) giving thumbs up. In background open laptop on dark couch. Picture of London visible on wall. Text overlaid in purple bubbles: "August 25 - Wrap-up" "Started Not Technically Ghosts (Part 1) edits!" "Moved house!" "Took part in a bunch of #pitch events!"
August 31, 2025 at 4:08 PM
jamesfinegan.bsky.social
As nerdily fun as it was, I've spent FAR too many days wrangling the formulas in my Magnovalis Royal Family Tree spreadsheet -- now I need to get back to work on Not Technically Ghosts edits. You know, my supposed MAIN project *sigh*
#WritingCommunity #amediting
August 30, 2025 at 2:53 PM