The Adventurous Author | Finish Book, Writing Discipline, Creative Writing, Character Development, Christian Podcast

Today I am excited to share a poem with you that I wrote…the prompt for. That’s right. I asked AI to write a poem for the Christian author who wants to write a book but is scared to start. Starting something new can be scary, especially when it’s a big of a dream as a book. But we’ve got God. He’s with us and gives us the ability to craft amazing stories. So listen in with an open heart and let th...

2024 has gotten off to a weird start for me, probably because of the way 2023 ended. But it’s a good weird. Listen in for details. Your friend, DK Next Steps: Register for your FREE ticket to the Thriving Scribes Summit here. HURRY! The Summit runs from January 22-24. You’ll be able to soak up innovative publishing models, writing methods, & strategies from incredible speakers like… 🎟️ Michael...

It’s the final Fantasy Fiction Friday of 2023. I’ve got chapter 40 of the Dragon Collector cued up for you today. In this chapter, Javan finally comes face to face with his greatest foe, King Omri. Throw in a few evil dragons, one of whom is about to eat his mother, and he finds himself in a world of trouble. How is he going to handle these challenges? Tune in to find out.   Your friend, DK Next S...

Merry Christmas! Today I'm sharing the short program I wrote and performed in with the kids at my church entitled Receive.  Enjoy! Your friend, D.K.   Next Steps: Connect: The best way to get in touch with me is to shoot an email to dk@authordkdrake.com. APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE LEAGUE OF ADVENTUROUS AUTHORS: I have opened up the League of Adventurous Authors to new members. We meet live on Zoo...

It’s Fantasy Fiction Friday featuring chapter 39 of The Dragon Collector.  This chapter sets up the big showdown between Javan and the evil King Omri. Listen in to find out how to use the art of suspense to make your fiction great...and to enjoy the story. And because I don’t want to leave you in suspense any longer, let’s go to Zandador! Your friend, DK Next Steps: **Register for the FREE Revolut...

In today’s episode, you’ll hear me share my ideas for a Christmas play I am writing for my children’s church kids to perform on December 10. Normally, I don’t like like to share my ideas with others until I’ve organized my thoughts and have a clear direction for my story.  The League of Adventurous Authors has changed that. In addition to weekly check-ins to share wins and goals, AI art play days,...

It's Fantasy Fiction Friday! I’ve got chapter 38 of the Dragon Collector coming your way today.  In this chapter, you get to meet two new dragons, Dahlia and Eli. Dahlia is the evil king’s Dawn Stalker, and Eli is his Dusk Stalker. You’ll find Dahlia is a bit of a snob, and Eli…well, writing about Eli’s appearance in this scene broke my heart.  Listen in to find out why. Next Steps: **Register for...

As of today, November 2, 2023, you have two months left in the year. 8.5 weeks. 60 days. That means you have time before the end of the year to start a new writing project or make progress on or even finish a project you are already working on. So what do you want to achieve? How will you finish 2023 strong? Listen in for three tangible tips to finish 2023 strong and to hear what I intend to accom...

If you’re not sure how to end — or start — your story, this episode is for you. I’ll share a tip I thought was ridiculous when I first heard of it: bookending. Then I started seeing this technique being used in almost every story I read and movie I watched. Listen in to find out what bookending is, why it's popular, and how to use it like a pro. Your friend, DK Next Steps: Register for the FREE Re...

Happy Friday! I’m reading chapter 37 of The Dragon Collector for you today.  This chapter starts the setup of the events leading to the end of Act II and the final turning point that launches the story into Act III.  In this chapter, Javan finds himself in the middle of a massive slow-moving crowd. Usually when I’m in a crowd, it’s because I’m on my way to an event like a play or a professional ba...

In today’s episode, I share one of the biggest mistakes I made as an author that cost me countless hours of wasted time, disorganized chaos, and confusion. I have a hunch you might be making the same mistake. If so, no worries. I have two solutions for you that will help you save time, bring order to the chaos, and gain clarity for your writing projects. Let’s dive in.  Your friend, DK Next Steps:...

It’s Fantasy Fiction Friday! Today I’m reading chapter 36 of The Dragon Collector for you. I did not like writing this chapter. An innocent kid got hurt, and I couldn’t let my hero help him. As I wrote the middle part of this chapter, I imagined it from three points of view: my main guy Javan, the kid who got hurt, and the villain Micah who hurt the kid. At first I thought Micah was pure evil for...

The idea of being a #1 NY Times bestselling author is not something I’m striving for. I’ve tried to make myself want to achieve that goal because I thought it was what I was supposed to want when I decided to be an author. I even did some research to figure out how one goes about reaching such a goal.  The research didn’t change my mind. As a matter of fact, it made me want it less.  Listen in to...

Farewell, Published Before College.  Hello, The Author DK Drake Show! Listen in to find out why the name of the show is changing and how this fresh direction will help you reach your writing goals faster. Your friend, DK Next Steps: Sign up for the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass. The FREE Virtual On-Demand Virtual Experience launches October 11! Snag your freebie: Super Simple Overvie...

Today’s Fantasy fiction Friday episode is coming to you on storytelling Saturday just to shake things up a bit. In this chapter of The Dragon Collector, we see the first hint of romance for Javan, some backstory on the romance of his grandparents, and some foreshadowing about what’s to come in books two, three, and four. Here’s a storytelling tip for you. Telling backstory with narrative tends to...

Ever heard the terms "WPH" or "Words Per Hour" but had no clue what they meant? Then today's episode is for you. In it, you'll learn what this key writing metric is, six reasons why it's important, and how to calculate it. Listen in! Your friend, DK Next Steps: Sign up for the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass. The On-Demand Virtual Experience launches October 11! Snag your freebie: Supe...

Happy Friday! I’ve got chapter 34 of The Dragon Collector ready for you today.  It’s not an action-packed chapter, but not every chapter in your book should be filled with non-stop action. Your characters need downtime to recover, and so do your readers. That’s why pacing in a book is so important. Go too fast and pack too much in and you exhaust your readers. Go too slow and take forever to get t...

If you’re worried that you won’t have a clue how to market your book once it’s finished and published, this episode is for you. I’m interviewing Lynda Sunshine West, and she shares three effective ways to market your book that don’t cost any money. Not only has she written and published her own #1 internationally bestselling books, she has also launched 25 #1 internationally bestselling books thro...

Ever wonder how AI works and if you should use it to help with your writing? Then listen in to today's episode. In it, you'll hear a snipped of last week's live writing workshop where the League of Adventurous Authors combined ideas to feed chatGPT. The results of the experiment shocked us all. Enjoy! Your friend, D.K. Want to join the League of Adventurous Authors? Email dk@authordkdrake.com . Pu...

Feeling isolated as a teen author? Wondering if you’re the only one who thinks the way you do? Who dreams the way you do? Who understands this crazy desire you have to make up people and worlds and stories? I get it. I felt isolated for years. Decades, really. Which was unnecessary. I didn’t have to feel alone. And neither do you. Today I’m sharing three ways I have learned how to connect with oth...

It's Fantasy Fiction Friday! Today's episode features chapter 33 of The Dragon Collector. Tune in to find out why I wrote the chapter in this specific way, and how it kept me from being bored with my own story. Your friend, DK Next Steps: Sign up for the Writing Workshop on August 23! During this workshop, you will learn the basic principles of the three-act story structure. This three-act framewo...

Sometimes your imagination needs a jumpstart. So I’m going to share — with the assistance of AI — 5 creative writing prompts you can use to start your next story. Let’s dive in! Your friend, DK Next Steps: Sign up for the Writing Workshop on August 23! During this workshop, you will learn the basic principles of the three-act story structure. This three-act framework is the backbone of great story...

On today's Fantasy Friday episode featuring chapter 32 of The Dragon Collector, Javan encounters a BIG problem. Tune in to find out how he responds. Your friend, DK Next Steps: Sign up here for the Writing Workshop on August 23! Connect: dk@authordkdrake.com Snag your freebie: Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I...

Hello, hello! As a Christian author, it’s important to know how to write well. It’s far more important, however, to have a strong faith foundation. The more you know about God, the more you learn about you. And people. Such knowledge allows you to write rich characters that connect with readers.  The foundation of our faith is the Word of God. So we better believe the Word is true.  How can we bel...

Welcome to the fourth episode in the Why Believe the Bible series taught by my awesome dad Harry Schaefer. The underlying premise of the series is that we can verify the truth of the Bible by looking to outside sources such as the historical record to see if what’s in the historical record aligns with scripture. And we find that it does. In episodes 66, 67, and 68, we looked at ways prophetic prop...