iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 13h

I’ve been a bit quieter recently for a number of reasons. One of them is a side project: trying to build an app I’ve been envisioning for a while. If you’re creative and ever think it might be fun to dabble with code… It’s not. It really is not.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/10/2026

Your current crisis is a 15-second scene in the book of your life. When you’re inside a hard week, dealing with a rejected draft, or a stalled project, your brain acts like a person lying face down on the floor. You can’t see the landscape.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 09/10/2026

What actually are distractions?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 08/10/2026

One of the ironies of being a writer working in the spare hours between life and work is that you kind of hope it will make you time-rich one day. I sometimes wonder why we live so much for the future. The fact that I get to indulge my hobby now, in the present, maybe means I'm time-rich already.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 08/10/2026

Substack is full of people giving away magic. Every week I see creators launching journals and anthologies, hosting competitions, running podcasts, and organising community groups—all out of pure passion and generosity. It’s inspiring to watch.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/10/2026

Question When does a novella stop being a novella and start becoming a book? My story, Deciduous and Evergreen, is now 28k words. I expect it will reach at least 35–40k before all is said and done.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 06/10/2026

I’m continuing work on the next chapter of Deciduous and Evergreen, my spooky cli-fi novella. If you like prophecy, magical realism, and buddy movies, I’m hoping this will be right up your street. Aiming for a Halloween finish. 🎃🤞

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 06/10/2026

Are deadlines just manufactured stress, or the reason things gets finished? I set a hard one: Deciduous and Evergreen is due by Halloween. As of today, I’ve finished the third-to-last chapter. What’s the better move: start sharing soon, or keep it quiet and release it all at once when it’s done?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 05/10/2026

Where else does a public footpath lead past sights like this? Wimpole House and gardens are gorgeous: walled gardens, a farm, a second-hand bookshop (I couldn’t resist), and the house to explore. This is why I love living in England.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 02/10/2026

One of my favourite feelings as a writer is that moment when your own story makes you emotional, reminding you of your own life. It’s when you know your pickaxe has hit something true and real. Those are always the best bits of any story.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 01/10/2026

I like to read a lot of non-fiction to supplement my fictional writing. It sounds backwards, but often the real world is the greatest inspiration, even for our made-up ones. A recent book, however, has been beneficial in another way: Deep Work by Cal Newport.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 30/09/2026

Would you use a writing app whose AI teaches story theory and organises your book, but never writes prose for you? 🤔

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 29/09/2026

I’m sharing a bit of creative work tonight. I used to post a lot on my wine Instagram, but paused when I joined a wine company to handle their marketing. I think I’ve found a safe pivot—here’s a mockup banner. What do you think?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 29/09/2026

The stage I enjoy most is when you have a vision for a piece, but you’ve only just started, so it still looks garish and obnoxious. But it also bristles with potential.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 25/09/2026

I finally fixed my teenage Les Paul guitar this weekend. Holding it again brought back a feeling that, as an adult, can be easy to forget: that raw, hair-standing-on-end awe when you’re fifteen, hit a single screeching high note, and feel the whole room vibrate.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 25/09/2026

A 50-row plot spreadsheet won't save your draft. Trust me, I am knee deep in this process myself. Standard writing advice tells you to lock down every mechanical beat before drafting. But planning every single second in a spreadsheet is how scenes turn stiff, flat, and robotic.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 24/09/2026

I’m thinking of writing a book about why a being from the 5th dimension would be so much more ethically advanced than us—and how that creature is posing as a child’s imaginary friend.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 16/09/2026

The smartphone is a little black space where your creative focus goes to die. Yesterday, after a gruelling work event, I felt like a rabbit in the headlights, exhausted, overwhelmed, and staring down a massive task list.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 16/09/2026

I almost wrote a three-page exposition dump about magic leaf piles last night. I needed the reader to understand how the magic in Deciduous & Evergreen actually works once the prophecy comes true. But every time I had my main characters explain it, the scene felt stiff and clinical.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 16/09/2026

I watched the Fred again.. set today, and it reminded me what a creative flow state actually is. It’s the moment when the boundary between the maker and the instrument completely disappears.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 14/09/2026

Most people plan holidays using travel blogs. I plan them using mystery novels. I’m currently mapping out a surprise trip for my sister and me. She has no idea where we’re going, but my writer’s brain refuses to build a standard itinerary. I’m staging an atmosphere.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 14/09/2026

Amazon sometimes feels like an endless marketplace, but it is sorely lacking in depth. Yesterday I went to Baggins Book Bazaar in Rochester, the largest second-hand bookstore in England, and what a treat it was!

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/09/2026

Story is the thing that brings readers to the seats, but emotion is the thing that locks them in for the show. There is no feeling quite like the moment a scene stops being a drafting task and hits a live wire.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 12/09/2026

Today I’m participating in an “at home” writing retreat organised by fellow Substack author Johanna C. Eschwald. So far, it’s been a really great experience. It’s rare that I give myself an entire day to dedicate to my creative practice, so this already feels like a real treat.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/09/2026

Life is the greatest teacher of story. Today I have had (as they might say in the Irish language) a mood come upon me—a certain tension that feels both unexplainable and vital. A feeling that grips the chest and won’t let go. Until, of course, it does.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/09/2026

If you over-think your first drafts, change the medium - not your mind. I’m in the final sprint of drafting my Halloween novella, and every single scene starts right here with the friendly touch of pen to page, and my hand resting on a notebook.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 11/09/2026

I caught myself staring like a child in the middle of Victoria Station yesterday. I was walking through the grey, hurried commuter crowd when I stumbled upon the Belmond Pullman vintage train.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 10/09/2026

It turns out having no signal in a stadium can be a gift. Last night I saw Bon Jovi at Wembley — the same stage that hosted Queen’s legendary set, and countless others.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 09/09/2026

I am having a cheesy day of rock n roll shenanigans before I go and see Bon Jovi tonight. Here is a Hendrix outfit in the meantime 🤘

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 08/09/2026

If you are going to treat live art as background noise, please just stay home. I was at a live gig in London this weekend, and half the room talked over the performers the entire night. They paid to be there, yet they couldn't give the stage their focus.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 08/09/2026

Technical perfection is the most boring thing an artist can achieve. I saw a Led Zeppelin tribute band this weekend. They were technically flawless—every note, every beat, mathematically correct.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 07/09/2026

In the last few days, something has happened that counts as a first time for me.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 04/09/2026

I am writing a secret screenplay for my sister, and she has no clue she’s the lead actress.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 04/09/2026

Automated book templates are ruining the calming effect of reading. Standard EPUB margins are designed for data density, not human eyes. They crowd the text, forcing your reader's eye to sprint across the screen.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 03/09/2026

I am turning 37 this month, and as such, I woke up feeling trapped by my own expectations. I cripple myself some days mourning the gap between where I am and where I 'should' be at this age. But the future ideal is a myth!

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 03/09/2026

Most character profiles ask what your protagonist has in their pockets. That’s static data, not a human. You’ll learn more about your protagonist by asking: How do they physicalize a lie? Do they over-compensate with intense eye contact, or do they suddenly start inspecting their fingernails?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 03/09/2026

I put my partner before my writing, and I feel bad about it. As creators, we are so wrapped up in our daily algorithms; publish post, compose notes, write 1000 words - that stepping away for a couple of days into the real world feels jarring. We confuse resting with failing.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 02/09/2026

I once led the design of an entire fictional American football league, complete with 8 teams from around the world, a full roster of players, and a detailed backstory of the league and its founding, set in the year 2250. Sometimes I am tempted to revisit it. Would you like to learn more?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 02/09/2026

**My mission statement for everything related to my writing and art.** Joy in the process, creativity as a skill, wonder as a feeling.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 06/03/2026

The steam clears at 7pm UK. 🐇💧 Hec'ten and his human commander survived the explosion, but the real danger is what's hidden beneath the pipes... and the order to cover it up. Read it here: graemesatlas.substack.com #SciFi #WritingCommunity

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 28/02/2026

Reading Stephen Fry’s Mythos for research. Did you know Athena was born fully armored from an axe wound in Zeus's head? 🤯 Prepping for an Ancient Greece segment in my sci-fi serial, The Strings of Us. Make it make sense! 🐇 Read my notes: substack.com/profile/1669... #SciFi #Mythology #AmWriting

substack.com

Graeme Brandham (@graemesatlas)

What am I reading currently I have started reading Mythos by Stephen Fry, a Uk author, TV personality, and all round clever sort. It is a re-telling of the ancient Greek pantheon and mythology. Thin...

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 27/02/2026

An intense work week! I was feeling pretty burnt out and anxious about the many things I ‘should be doing’. So I went back to my masterplan document and had a look at what I could do. "Refill the well. Read books, watch films... Creativity is not an infinite resource." Thanks past Graeme.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 26/02/2026

At 7, my Grandma blew my mind: people actually draw worlds for a living. 🤯 In 1 hour, I’m taking a massive step to bring my own sci-fi universe to life. What movie/book made you a storyteller? #Worldbuilding #WritingCommunity #SciFi #Booksky

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 25/02/2026

100 subscribers! 🎉 To celebrate, I’m testing a new community-powered launch model for my sci-fi serial, The Strings Of Us. Think indie pub meets co-op. Full details drop tomorrow at 6pm GMT! 🌌 Come join the Guild over on Substack: graemesatlas.substack.com #WritingCommunity #IndiePub #SciFi

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 31/10/2025

Deciduous and Evergreen: Part 4 is live. My Halloween Speculative fiction, where we explore a strange historical prophecy that is suddenly coming back to life for three young adults. open.substack.com/pub/graemesa...

open.substack.com

Deciduous and Evergreen

Part 004 of a spec-fic Halloween adventure.

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 27/10/2025

Do you ever feel brave enough to do writing that spins a yarn on social commentary? To be a bit Dickensian?

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Graeme Brandham @graemebrandham.com · 27/10/2025

Deciduous and Evergreen: This is a new short story I’m writing for spooky season, Inspired by that feeling you get from movies like Casper, Hocus Pocus, and Stranger Things, all wrapped in the folkloric texture of a book like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. graemesatlas.substack.com/p/deciduous-...

open.substack.com

Deciduous and Evergreen

Part 001 of a spec-fic Halloween adventure.

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