C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

11/01/2022 • 7:53 AM 2

NaNoWriMo and Something Extra

Happy November! You know what that means! It’s National Novel Writing Month again! Are you in? I’ve got a couple of suggestions to boost your productivity and achieve your writing aspirations, and other social media news that’s fun.

NaNoWriMo has received some criticism over the years from detractors, but most of those objections are, frankly, kind of snooty. When you create your free profile at nanowrimo.org, you’re signing up to be part of an encouraging writing blitz. Writing is a lonely business, so it’s nice to be part of a community focused on getting a first draft done (or at least much closer to the finish line).

I like their metrics best. It’s easy to log your daily word count and track your progression. Track anything (weight, time, word count), and you will make more progress toward your goals than if you’d gone all loosey-goosey.

I’m doing something extra this year.

I’m looking for more interaction with readers and other writers, so you’ll find me in two new places.

Every day I post to TikTok about the writing life. It’s this blog, but faster. I’ve got productivity hacks, book recommendations, my latest news, my struggles with Amazon, and an ongoing series on what I wish I had known when I started publishing independently twelve years ago.

Come visit me in my blanket fort

on TikTok @therealchazzchute.

But wait! There’s more!

For the month of November, each day at 10:30 a.m. EDT, I’ll be hosting writing sprints for two hours. Between sprints, I’ll be glad to chat and answer questions. We’re going to get a lot done.

Find me on Twitch.

I am RChazzChute.

Today will be my first time streaming on Twitch, so come on over and let’s get some momentum rolling.

~ Find links to all my books at AllThatChazz.com. I write suspenseful, twisty, and twisted apocalyptic epics with heart and killer crime thrillers with muscle. Enjoy!

Filed under: All That Chazz, Twitch, #booktok, #writertok, how do I write a book, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo tips, productivity, Robert Chazz Chute, Twitch, Twitch streaming, writing

08/05/2020 • 3:48 PM 0

Here’s some fun

My Top Five Books

Never ask a writer which is the best book they’ve written. That’s like demanding they choose their favorite child. It’s mean. However, gun to my head, here are my personal top five (and why).

If You Go to Nova Scotia

Do you aspire to improve your Maritime spycraft? Who doesn’t? Here’s how to blend in. For starters, don’t order the lobster.

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute, a suspense writer who pens apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers. Subscribe for all my posts at my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, Books, ex parte press, my top five books, Nova Scotia, Robert Chazz Chute, suspense writer

07/03/2020 • 10:00 AM 2

Updates for Your Writing Life

I’ve been very busy but less productive. The second half of 2020 needs the transmission ripped out and a full overhaul, top to bottom, plus a fresh paint job. New strategies are in the works. In the meantime, please do check out these updates from my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

These links are like oxygen. You can’t do without them for long:

COVID-19 is a Zombie Pandemic

If zombie tropes were a shoe, they’d fit the mess we’re in. Watch me lay out the case for how fiction has become reality.

And not for nothin’, if you write, you will be underestimated. I reply to those who have offended me. Neener-neener-poo-poo! Feel my righteous wrath!

Or as Stephen King put it, “If you write…someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that’s all.”

You Are Not a Cog

Are you working at 100% and killing it or killing yourself? Pleasant news: The rise and grind mindset never really made sense.

Wait for the Turn This Takes

Everything is on fire. Is it over? Will this Independence Day be America’s last? Should we care? This settles it.

Every Evil Thing

Seen on the internet: Did you have a happy childhood or are you funny? (Written to the sound of a great gnashing of teeth.)

The Writing Life: Vicissitudes

Some days you feel like you’re on The Truman Show, desperately trying to escape and, oops! The bridge is out and the nuclear power plant has sprung a leak and you’re thwarted at every turn.

Racing down the spiral

As darkness falls, insomnia slips into bed beside me and poke me in the brain. Follow the horrible, hilarious stream of consciousness. Follow Jenny all the way down the block.

The grim future scenario I didn’t want to write

Apocalyptic predictions to ruin your day, for free!

~ Robert Chazz Chute writes killer crime thrillers and apocalyptic epics. You should really read all his books. It’s reading, but it doesn’t feel like homework. Remember that? Remember reading things for pleasure? Wasn’t that great?

Catch the reading fever at AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, Rant, 2020 predictions, author site, blogging, coronavirus, COVID19, insomnia, reading, Robert Chazz Chute, the writing life, what are zombie tropes, work life balance, world pandemic, writing, writing blog, zombie books, zombie tropes

04/28/2020 • 7:26 AM 1

Not Writing but Coping

We want to accomplish great things, but what happens when we don’t want to do a thing? Managing energy is one key to productivity and energy doesn’t come from an infinite supply.

Do you ever stop in the middle of some chore and think, wow, these sure are odd times in the Upside Down? Remember the Before Times? Barely.

Not long ago, most of us had no idea how much or how fast the world would change. Worse, we don’t yet know how or how much things will change in the future. Oh, yeah. There’s also that…you know…existential dread thing.

If you’re still adjusting, that’s okay. If you are lonely, reach out. If you are struggling, seek support. I know our culture is often very oriented toward achievement. Do more! Be more! Succeed more! And particularly among our tribe: Write more! Aspiring to achieve is fine but under certain circumstances, head-down grinding and striving become pathological tyranny.

Rugged individualism can only go so far and, in times like these, it’s a dangerous myth. Not everyone is up for our usual workload. Stress tolerance, support, responsibilities, and advantages are not distributed equally. Maybe you’ve turned your energies to something soothing with a short-term outcome, like baking bread. Perhaps your focus has to be homeschooling your kids or taking on the role of a caregiver. Darker: There’s a chance you’re sick or in mourning.

If you aren’t writing now, I want to tell you it’s okay. We cope how we cope. Some will write more, some less and some not at all. Are you eating more? Eating less? Sleeping more or less? Under stress and such strange circumstances, why would anyone expect our appetite for writing should vary?

I recently had a chance to take a marketing seminar. I signed up for it, but as the date approached, I looked at the cost-benefit analysis. I decided I didn’t have the energy to devote to it. I’m not getting a lot of writing done just now. After I deal with taxes and prepare a garden, I think I’ll be able to throw myself into writing more. Until then, I’m prioritizing what has to be done now and managing my energies without too much shame. (A little shame, yes, but not too much.) After I deal with the highest priorities, I expect writing will be a comfort again.

We will each react differently and with varying degrees of patience. What’s not a panic today may vary with time. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Things are stressful enough, aren’t they? I’m not saying wait for the muse, but you may feel too tired to go hunting for the muse.

The coronavirus needs hosts to spread. If you are isolating, please take some solace knowing that every successful day in isolation means more lives saved, fewer carriers, and fewer people falling ill. If you are essential, thank you. I hope you will be safe, receive hazard pay, get better recognition for your service, full health coverage, and better benefits long after this crisis passes.

I’m not going to tell you to stay strong. Instead, I’ll ask you to forgive yourself when you don’t feel strong enough to do something optional.

Recommendation:

The latest podcast from Cracked.com features an interview with Jason Pargin. It’s called Common Beliefs that Make Disasters Worse. It’s an interesting and excellent take on what people and governments get wrong amid disasters (and how we might do better).

The interview is based on Pargin’s article, 5 Common Beliefs That Make Disasters Worse.

Whether you prefer print or audio, both are highly recommended.

Speaking of audio, a reminder:

Lie back and train your body to help ease your mind. You might not want to, but you may need to. Try the audio of my short relaxation exercise with How to make your nervous system less nervous.

Next step:

If you’re on the edge of writing again, but the energy is not quite there, it might be time for a dopamine detox. Check out a video about that. It’s called How I Tricked My Brain to Like Doing Hard Things.

Whatever your state of mind, you’re loved and needed. Take care of yourself.

Be safe. Much love,

Chazz

~ Robert Chazz Chute writes apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers. Check out all his work at AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, COVID19, writing, writing advice, All That Chazz, allthatchazz.com, books, coping with isolation, coping with the pandemic, how to cope with not writing, isolation, Robert Chazz Chute, stress, stress management, stress relief, the writing life, what to do in isolation, writing

04/17/2020 • 7:57 AM 0

Your Health, Reading and Writing

**My blanket fort (for audio, writing and hiding).**

Greetings from the Blanket Fort!

I’ve been in isolation for over a month now. One or another, none of us are immune to this experience. If you’re finding life difficult, the World Health Organization has recommendations for your physical and mental health.

You can access their many helpful suggestions here:

WHO Healthy at Home

Speaking of health, all our medical concerns naturally focus on COVID-19 now. However, the problems we had before the coronavirus continue even while we’re distracted.

Ryder is a sweet little girl undergoing cancer treatment. I’m sure you understand the pain and stress this causes Ryder and her family. I think of them often. Dealing with these issues is tough enough without the pandemic in the mix.

If you can help Ryder and her family, they have a GoFundMe here:

Help Ryder Show Cancer Who’s Boss!

Thank you!

In the meantime, here’s your weekly round-up of articles from my sister site, AllThatChazz.com:

In the Works has a cover reveal for the fifth book in the Ghosts and Demons Series and recommendations for reading material for your isolation bunker. This post features the incomparable Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days and Dirty Deeds series. Losing yourself in a book is a great escape. Use that escape hatch!

Next up, What to Read in the Apocalypse, including a hat tip to Weep by Eoin Brady. My next book is a prequel to This Plague of Days and it’s set in Ireland. Mr. Brady’s zombie story is set there, too! I’m enjoying the complexity of his world-building. Recommended!

Finally for this week, Managing Pandemic Stress harnesses the 3A Triad of Stress Management. Don’t let the bastards or your existential dread get you down! I hope you’ll find this piece helpful.

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute. I write novels about the end of the world and killer crime thrillers. Find the book links, subscribe and enjoy them all at my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, authors, book reviews, COVID19, This Plague of Days, apocalyptic books, Armand Rosamilia, book recommendations, covid-19, crime thrillers, Darkness Visible, dirty deeds, dying days, Eoin Brady, Healthy at home, How to help Ryder, how to manage stress, pandemic, Robert Chazz Chute, stress management, stress relief, This Plague of Days, Weep, What to read in isolation, WHO, WHO Healthy at Home, world pandemic

01/19/2019 • 9:32 AM 0

Your Useful Saturday Updates

all empires fall cover #2

All Empires Fall: New Cover Reveal

I changed the cover on this SF anthology. This post tells why.

I love this collection. You will, too. You can get it for free on Amazon tomorrow (Sunday, January 20.)

BookBub Release Announcement

Are your books listed on BookBub? When you gain followers there, BB can help you gain traction and awareness. Also, this service doesn’t cost authors a thing.

After I released The Night Man recently, BookBub contacted me with this reminder:

“Ask other authors to recommend your new release on BookBub! Their recommendations will reach all their US BookBub followers, increasing your visibility and helping you reach new fans.”

Claim your BookBub author profile here.

Feel free to recommend The Night Man to your BB followers! Thanks!

Do You Feel Trapped Sometimes?

Times are tough but escapist fiction can still reflect reality. Many of us feel trapped financially and that’s the case with my characters in The Night Man. Medical bankruptcy is the trigger that gets all the other triggers pulled in the story.

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute, a suspense writer. If you want to inject some fuel in my fiction engine, pop over to my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, Books, publishing, All Empires Fall, BookBub, Bookbub author profiles, books, cover reveal, fiction, novels, Robert Chazz Chute, Science Fiction, suspense, The Night Man, updates

08/21/2018 • 6:45 AM 3

Writers, Writing and Finding Our Way

I didn’t publish for a year and a half. I was always writing but I’d lost my way. Things got grim for a long time before I found the way out of my storm. A side hustle went away. The demands of an extra job to pay taxes made my hands ache. A business deal went sideways. I felt betrayed. My day job was hard on me physically and arthritic pain woke me at night. Bad health and worries about the future made me an insomniac. Then came the tide of anxiety attacks. Those drowned me. Overwhelming anger and frustration made it hard for me to catch my breath. I was dying and plastering on a happy smile.

A stress leave from my day job reminded me how much solace I found in writing. Abandoning a book I’d been wrestling with for nine months, I started writing fiction I loved. It was good, but I hadn’t learned my lesson yet.

Too soon I was back on the day job. I felt like someone who had gone too far down the wrong road to turn back. Then on March 29, I needed emergency surgery for a detached retina. A gifted surgeon saved the vision in my left eye but the recovery was trying. After two weeks, the doctor told me I was safe to return to my normal routine. “Go live life,” he said. But I didn’t want to go back to my normal routine.

I couldn’t continue with my day job indefinitely. I loved some of my work in healthcare but I needed more of a return on my emotional, financial and health investments. At work, I was a cog in someone else’s machine mired in professional obligations that could often be silly or onerous. Surgery reminded me I was mortal. Time is short. I had to work at what I was meant to do. I was a writer first.

Luck was on my side. I’d published many books and some were selling. I found the exit from the day job. Early last year I was involved in four businesses. Now I just have one job. I write in a coffee shop every day. That’s a great privilege. I’m in the brain tickle business again full-time. We live by our wits. Bills must be paid and that is truly scary. I’d tried to escape the gears of the machine once before. I failed then. I’d written plenty but I hadn’t learned enough about ads and marketing. Though I couldn’t make my writing life work in 2011, now, I think I can.

Writers talk about satisfying readers, serving and delighting them. We don’t talk much about the selfish part, the stuff that’s just for us. It’s hard to express the joy of writing fiction, that buoyant vibe that sifts through your brain when you see the movie in your head. It’s a lot of fun turning phrases, spinning the yarn, twisting the plot and discovering what’s next. We get to create. Not everyone does.

I’m not part of someone else’s machine anymore. At 52, I’ve taken control. My father’s about to celebrate his 92nd birthday. I hope I inherit his longevity because I’m just getting started.

I’ve got three books of science fiction coming out over the next three weeks and two more thrillers this fall.

Here’s the first of my new apocalyptic trilogy.

GRAB YOUR COPY of AFTER Life INFERNO HERE

The deep vaults of a virology lab have lost containment. They will call this Apocalypse. We call it Revolution.

From the author of This Plague of Days comes a new zombie apocalypse trilogy about nanotechnology gone horribly awry.

AFTER is a biomimetic stem cell capable of enhancing intelligence, health and longevity. Weaponized using brain parasites, it becomes an agent of biological warfare capable of transforming 70% of humans into rampaging killers. No one is safe. Take a deep breath. Get ready. Fight to the death. You might even have to fight beyond death.

Torn between regret and heroic aspirations, Daniel Harmon is a noob whose job is to stop the monster epidemic before it begins. As his Emergency Task Force moves in to secure the Box, the body count rises. A dark conspiracy at the crossroads of corporate greed and science will change our fate forever.

The Revolution has begun. On which side will you fall?

~ AFTER Life Purgatory will launch August 27 and AFTER Life Paradise will be off the leash September 3.

Robert Chazz Chute’s author page is AllThatChazz.com. You’re welcome to find more fun there.

Filed under: All That Chazz, new books, publishing, robert chazz chute, Science Fiction, Writers, writing, #amwriting, After life, books, Health, love of writing, writers, writing

07/03/2016 • 5:25 PM 3

The Joy of the Staying the Hell Home

Most writers I know are trying to get out of their day jobs so they can write and do nothing but write. I’m in a bit of a different situation. I have four jobs. My wife, AKA She Who Must Be Obeyed, has three. We have plans to change that crazy trajectory but, for now, this is how we live.

Getting pulled in so many directions can be stressful, but it must also be said that we’re generally pretty enthusiastic about all we do. Nonetheless, precautions must be taken so exhaustion and burnout do not burst our overtaxed hearts. Not working ourselves to death is generally a good thing. That’s why I’m on vacation this week.

It’s not the sort of vacation where I lounge on a sun drenched beach. Who needs skin cancer? I’m not touring castles. I mean, castles are cool, but all that walking and bad food? Pfft! It’s not the sort of vacation where I fly anywhere. Especially since 9/11, air travel is a nightmare. I’m not enthused about the ordeal of going through security, allowing people to be rude to me and getting packed into a tube with irritable strangers for a death-defying trip on Air Schnitzel. I am staying the hell home.

This is a writing vacation and I couldn’t be happier. On the first day, I piled up 6,802 words. That might be a personal best. I can focus on creation and do nothing else. I don’t worry that I left the house unlocked or the stove on. I don’t have any other tasks looming overhead. What luxury!

When the economy went south, someone invented the term, “staycation,” to make a virtue out of poverty. We all need vacations though we don’t all get them. I am grateful for this opportunity. Don’t hate me because I’m relaxed. I’ve worked hard for this.

I know the story I want to write and it’s going great. It’s going so great, in fact, that I am about halfway through a new novel. I’ve committed to completing the first draft this week. The bulk of the rest of this year will be devoted to editing and publishing the many book projects I’ve managed to pile up in the last six months. You may call me lots of nasty names, but you can’t call me lazy.

I am always reluctant to take any time off but She Who Must Be Obeyed insists and she’s always right. Without fail, I return to work fresh and full of new energy and new ideas.

My vacation’s writing schedule is full. I know it’s not a vacation in the truest sense. I really mean that I’m down to doing one job: writing stories to melt hearts, tickle brains and make you say: ah-ha, ha-ha-ha, oh my gawd and wowzers (repeatedly, in no particular order.) Since I’m used to juggling four commitments, one job seems remarkably easy, especially when that one job is writing. I love writing. I’ll even get more reading done this week, too.

I’m having a great time. If you want to talk, email or dance the samba, I’ll be available next week. If you haven’t had a pure writing vacation this year, I urge you to plan one if you can. When I make the big move back to having one job and one job only, every day will be like this: coffee, couch and laptop. Writing is the one job from which one can never really retire. Happily so.

Love and kisses to all (substituting man-hugs where appropriate.)

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute. Catch all my sexy hexy texty epic weirdness at AllThatChazz.com.

Filed under: All That Chazz, self-publishing, writing, writing advice, publishing, Robert Chazz Chute, summer vacation, taking time off, writing

05/29/2016 • 10:17 PM 3

How to keep moving forward.

My wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, deals with a lot of sad, difficult and traumatic situations in her noble work. She helps a lot of people but it’s not easy. To combat the downside, she keeps what she calls a perk file. That’s where she holds on to commendations and thank you letters from those she has helped. Writers should have a similar file.

As an author, you will have disappointments. It’s inevitable. As I wrote in a post below (The Writer’s Curse) we are imaginative and therefore perpetually dissatisfied. Copy and paste your fave reviews to a special file for those dark days to come. When the disappointments arise, reread those five star reviews and fan letters. Cherish them and keep going.

I’ve often thought about quitting, especially when I’m overwhelmed. (Quitting isn’t always a bad idea, either. More on that in a coming post.) I did stop writing completely for almost five years. Those were not good years. For me, the dissatisfaction of not writing is worse than the bad writing days.

This week, a reader reminded me why it’s important to keep going. Stories are powerful. I replied, thanking her for being a reader, of course, but her letter is too important an inspiration not to share with fellow writers. She wrote:

Dear Robert Chazz Chute,

I read zompoc because I need to read something that takes me away from my reality – a genetic condition that slowly transformed the woman who could turn somersaults in mid-air to the woman in a wheelchair.

Fortunately,my sense of humour is intact.

Friends, family and NHS have stuck with me, so I’m lucky compared to most disabled people.

And the connection with This Plague of Days?

It distracted me from my pain – always present unless I’m asleep.

Yep. Stories are that powerful.

Even when they’re stories about unrelenting terror.

This Plague of Days is an epic piece of writing.

But you know that already.

I just felt like telling you that I know that too.

And thank you for writing something that set me free, for a while.

~ I am Robert Chazz Chute and I am often sad. I get misty reading this letter, but in a good way. I am less sad this week thanks to this reader. You can check out all my stuff at AllThatChazz.com, or just read and reread this letter to get inspired to write something epic that distracts readers from their pain. Distracting us from pain is, I think, what it’s all about.

Now I’m off to write more. Thanks again, to all the readers.

Filed under: All That Chazz, publishing, Writers, writing, writing advice, writing tips, books, readers, Robert Chazz Chute, writing, zompoc

01/18/2016 • 10:22 AM 0

The Movie of Your Book

People are still reading books, so don’t freak out. Humans are still voracious for good stories. However, that doesn’t mean they want to read words on paper or pixellated pages. We have a lot of competition for our inky offerings. Who has time to read a book when Netflix, Facebook videos and YouTube offer so many diversions to suck up our potential reading time? It makes sense that we leverage that video competition instead of merely combatting or denying it.

Sell more books by selling the movie of the book, too.

You’ve written a book or maybe a bunch of books. Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon are doubling their offerings of original programming. They need stories. Maybe they need your stories. If you’re beating your brains out trying to make money on online bookstores alone, it’s time to think about expanding your repertoire to screenwriting.

If you’re interested in doing this, get a program to format your script correctly. Scrivener can do it. Final Draft is the industry standard. Final Draft will cost you about $250. Celtx is a free script program (with some paid upgrades for a small fee.) None of the above are terrible.

Amazon made the free StoryWriter App to make the formatting task easier, but it has one other little feature that is intriguing. In addition to saving your work anywhere you want, Storywriter includes a button to submit your screenplay directly to Amazon Studios. Yes, Amazon is serious about competing with Netflix by making it easy to send them scripts. Their desperate search for more original programming and the next big hit means another barrier to the gatekeepers has fallen.

This is not to say that getting a movie made is at all easy. It’s a complex endeavour. Odds are against your grand success, just like with anything creative. But we aren’t writers because it’s easy money. We’re writers because we have stories to tell and we want to reach a wide audience. Video means a wide audience.

Of all my books, I have two series that would best lend themselves to film adaptation, the Hit Man Series and Ghosts and Demons. One is a crime thriller and the other’s quite Buffy. Both would be fun to write so I’m fitting scripts into my publishing schedule this year.

If you dig this, be sure to subscribe to the Scriptnotes podcast. On Scriptnotes, two working screenwriters educate, explode myths and comment about the art and business writing movies.

I’m not saying it’s easy. Nothing’s easy. I’m saying it’s possible. Maybe it’s for you.

~ I am Robert Chazz Chute and I write suspense, mostly about the apocalypse. Check out all my happy diversions from your doom at AllThatChazz.com.