Chad Grayson

writing

The State of Things

            I’ve been doing a deep dive into worldbuilding lately because that’s where I identified I most needed to level up. And I have so many ideas for worlds, characters, and stories that the hard part is realizing that I can’t do everything at once, and I know from experience that I can’t draft more than one book at a time. So, I used my favorite coping strategy, making a […]

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What We Talk About When We Talk About Writer’s Block

Whenever I see a list of questions people have for working writers, ‘How do you get over writer’s block?’ is near the top. I understand why this is such a common question. A lot of people seem to deal with this issue, and until I figured out my process, it happened to me a lot. Writer’s block can be a lot of things. For me, it was happening because I

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My Favorite Craft Books

                I’ve read a lot of writing craft books over the course of my life, and I thought it would be interesting to talk about my favorites. In general, I don’t like books that are very proscriptive. The ones who give you one correct path you must follow to accomplish your goal. The best ones help you think about things in new ways, and help you put your work

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Preview of Curse of the Onyx Heart

Tilii Eldarion rarely ventured into the human district, but this morning he had a reason. One of the library’s patrons, a certain Mister Edgerton Sharpe, had a rare book he wanted to donate to the collection. He was house-bound due to an injury to his legs, and Librarian Silverthorn hadn’t wanted to trust this errand to a messenger, so Tilii, her trusted assistant, had been dispatched. Tilii didn’t mind. If

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The 5 Stages of an Author’s Career

The other day my writing group was discussing a post by Dean Wesley Smith, about five levels in a writer’s life. It was focused on their skill level, and while I found it valid, it also didn’t speak much to me. I started thinking about the various levels there are to a writer’s actual career (and I use the term loosely). There are five distinct stages to this, with a

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Flight of Ideas

A lot of people like to ask writers, and other creative types, ‘Where do you get your ideas?’ And that is, in many ways, the wrong question. I, like many other writers, have a thousand ideas before breakfast (to plagiarize Lewis Carroll). Coming up with ideas is not the problem. At least, it’s not the problem the way the people who are asking about it mean it. Ideas kind of

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Blade of Shadows, Wings of Light Preview

here is a preview from Blade of Shadows, Wings of Light. The book is available now in ebook and paperback. Get it here. There was no safety to be had. Weaving in and out of the struggling mass of people were two tall figures. They were dressed in dark armor, with spiky helms fitted to their heads. They looked like refugees from a fantasy movie. They seemed unaffected by whatever

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Cover Reveal: Blade of Shadows, Wings of Light

In the final stages of getting this book uploaded, but for now here is the cover and blurb for the giant urban fantasy novel, the first book in a new series. Who—or what—is Jack Bainbridge? Jack Bainbridge thinks he’s just an ordinary college student, studying to be a teacher. But if that’s true, why have the Reaper of Strife and his warriors come to capture him? Rescued by a Holy

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Book Giveaway!

I am giving away five paperback copies of my books to people who promise to leave an honest review at Amazon, goodreads, or any other place you like to do that. If you want in, send me a message through this website (there’s a contact form at the top of the screen) with your name and address, where you would leave the review, and which book you’d like. If I

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5 Things I’ve Learned About Writing Since Doing it Full Time

               It’s been four years, almost exactly, since I devoted myself to writing full time. And, in many ways, it’s gone well, even if I am by no means a bestseller. I’ve written eight books in those four years, and released five of them, with two more to come out later this year. And I’ve learned some things along the way, mostly about how my process works (or doesn’t). So,

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