Faithful Finisher | Character Development, Christian Podcast, Live Your Dreams, Goal Setting

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 ball game or because I’m at an amusement park and navigating my way to fun rides. The crowds aren’t fun, but the destination is.

Not so for Javan. He’s stuck in a crowd that is gathering to watch an execution. Even worse, the person being executed is his mother. 

Tune in to find out what he sees and feels and hears as he marches with the crowd.

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

**Watch the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass.**

The On-Demand Virtual Experience is now accessible. Master the art of organizing your story ideas in Notion to set yourself up for fiction writing success.

Escape into the Land of Zandador: Get your free D.K. Drake Starter Library

Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:

“I love The Author D.K. Drake Show!” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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:

**Register for the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass.**

The On-Demand Virtual Experience is now live! Master the art of organizing your story ideas in Notion to set yourself up for fiction writing success.

Escape into the Land of Zandador:

Get your free D.K. Drake Starter Library

Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:

“I love The Author D.K. Drake Show!” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 doing what he did. Then I remembered who Micah is and why he felt compelled to do what he did. I thus tacked on the short scene at the end to give you a glimpse into his mind. 

Let’s go to Zandador!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

**Register for the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass.**

Escape into the Land of Zandador:

Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:

“I love The Author D.K. Drake Show!” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 find out why being a NY Times Bestselling author, #1 or otherwise, is not my goal, and find out what goal I am chasing that does motivate me to write great fiction.

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

**Register for the FREE Revolutionize Your Writing Masterclass.** The On-Demand Virtual Experience launches October 11! Master the art of organizing your story ideas in Notion to set yourself up for fiction writing success.

Escape into the Land of Zandador:

Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:

“I love The Author D.K. Drake Show!” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love The Author D.K. Drake Show!” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 be boring. Making it part of a conversation is a much more interesting to share the same information without putting your readers to sleep. 

I thus orchestrated a conversation between Javan and his grandmother as she answers his question: Why does Ravier hate me? Through the answer, we get to know Ravier a bit better, and that helps us understand why he has such a grumpy attitude toward his grandson.

Enough explanation. Let’s go to Zandador!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Get Your Free DK Drake Starter Library here.

Snag one or all of the Dragon Stalker books here.

See the Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors here.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review my show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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:

Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review this show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 to the action and you bore your readers.

We don’t want our readers to be bored or exhausted. We want them to be engaged, to feel like they are right there with your characters experiencing the story as it happens even during scenes like the ones you’ll hear today where you as the author have to set up the next adventure.

Let’s go to Zandador!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Become an Insider and get the D.K. Starter Library for FREE.

Snag your freebie:

Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review my show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 through her publishing company, Action Takers Publishing.

In other words, she knows a thing or two about marketing books. And even though she doesn’t specialize in fiction, the same marketing tactics apply. 

Tune in to hear how her running away from home at age five led to her publishing dream at age 50. Then write down and apply her marketing tips to your own books, and listen in for an interesting opportunity that could help you get published fast.

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Connect with Lynda Sunshine West:

CEO/Founder of Action Takers Publishing

Award-Winning, International #1 Bestselling Author, Speaker

The mission of Action Takers Publishing is to empower 5 million women and men from all over the world to share their stories to make a greater impact on the planet.

If you’re ready to share your story, check out Action Takers Publishing.

Connect with DK: [email protected]

Want to join the League of Adventurous Authors? Send me an email TODAY with "I'm an Adventurous Author" in the subject line.

Snag your freebie:

Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review my show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!

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 [email protected]. Put "Adventurous Author" in the subject line and tell me one fun fact about you in the body of the email. Then we'll chat about whether or not the League is the right fit for you. 

Snag your freebie:

Super Simple Overview of the Publishing Process for Self-Published Authors

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.” If that sounds like something you’d say, please rate and review my show. Your rating and review helps the show get found by other authors with big writing dreams. It’ll take a quick 30 seconds to scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then share what you enjoyed most about this episode.

And if you haven’t already done so, follow the podcast. That way you’ll never miss an episode and will be better prepared to write and publish your novel. Follow now!