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

You've done the hard work. You've gotten your novella's foundation written, and now it's time to write that first draft. If you want to write that draft fast and get it done in six weeks or less, listen in to learn three things you should do and four things you shouldn't do. 

Your friend,

DK

Connect: [email protected]

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“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!

It's Fantasy Fiction Friday! Today I'll be reading chapter 30 of The Dragon Collector. Enjoy your trip to the Land of Zandador. 

Your friend,

DK

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

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“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!

Have you ever been slapped by a tree? I have. But it’s usually because someone in front of me on a hike in the woods moved a branch out of the way only to have it snap back and slap me.

So annoying when that happens.

That was the start of the inspiration for the action that happens in the chapter from The Dragon Collector that I’ll read for you today. I took that inspiration a few steps further when I developed the idea of crooked trees and tree tremors that Javan learns about in this part of the story.

This was a fun chapter to write. I hope it’s a fun one for you to listen to. Let’s get to the Land of Zandador!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Snag your freebies:

D.K. Drake Starter Library

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

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“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!

When I decided I wanted to be a writer, I realized I needed some training. Since I learn best by reading, I did what made sense and what was within my budget to get that training. I bought a book.

But it wasn’t a book about novel writing. Frankly, I didn’t think I had the patience to write a novel. I wanted to be able to write a manuscript fast that focused on the action without getting bogged down with describing details. In other words, I initially wanted to be a screenwriter. I figured that since I imagined my stories as movies anyway, I should learn how to write scripts for movies.

I thus began studying screenwriting. I picked up a habit in studying screenwriting that has served me well with novel writing. I’ll explain what I mean and why I pivoted to novel writing in today’s episode. Let’s get to it!

Your friend,

DK

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“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!

It’s Fantasy Fiction Friday! After about a four month pause, it’s time to resume the reading of The Dragon Collector.

Today I’ll be sharing chapter 28, Mertzer.

In this chapter, you’ll get to witness a Dragon Stalker at work hunting his prey. You’ll also be introduced to new animals like raxens and gorzelles. I totally made these creatures up, and I can’t wait to share them with you. 

It’s time to enter the Land of Zandador!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Snag your freebies:

D.K. Drake Starter Library

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!

Today we’re continuing the Write a Novella in 18 Weeks series.  Here in week 5, the challenge is to write a full outline in 15 steps.

In the past, I would write this step outline by jotting down the action steps in scene one, then the action steps in scene two, then the action steps in scene three.  I thus ended up with a lot of steps after this outline.

But I’ve recently finished reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.  In it, she shares the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet, which she also refers to as your structure cheat sheet.  I like structure.  I like experimenting with ways to improve my storytelling skills.  And I like that it’s divided into the standard three acts, and subdivided into 15 sub-steps from there. 

So I gave it a go and outlined my story according to her beat sheet.  I enjoyed the process, and it took me less than three hours to complete.  I also found that thinking through my outline in this way enriched my story, so thank you Jessica Brody for writing this book.  If you haven’t read this book, I recommend it.  I don’t know Jessica and am not getting any kind of kickback for promoting her book.  I just think you’d benefit from reading it.

In the meantime, I want to share her outlining process so you can make sure your story has the structure it needs to keep your readers turning pages.  Let’s get to it!

Your friend,

DK

Check out the related blog post.

Next Steps:

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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!

The summer writing season is officially upon us! If your writing plans include busting out a novella this summer, then this episode is for you. I’m picking up where we left on in the write a novella series, and we are on week four.

If you missed the action steps for weeks 1-3, check out episodes 43, 45 and 47.

Those episodes focused on getting the foundation of your story in place regarding your market research, premise statements, setting, and character development. Today we’ll start building your story framework with phase one of the outlining process.  Let’s get to it!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

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!

These two things I’m about to share with you don’t cost a dime but have the power to change the way you feel and how fast you write.  

Ready for today’s fun episode to learn two weird things you can do to speed up your writing success?  Let’s get to it!

Your friend,

DK

Next Steps:

Snag your freebie:

Super Simple Overview of the Publication Process

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

“I love DK and Published Before College.”

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!

I've got a super short episode today to highlight the super simple overview of the publishing process.

Connect with me: [email protected].

To succeed as an author, you do need to build the character muscles of diligence and discipline so that you sit and write at specific, consistent times each week.  How do you do that?  What do you work on during these weekly writing practices? Who will keep you accountable?

You start by following a five step process that we’ll explore in today’s episode.  You break each step of that process into actionable tasks.  And you ask a friend or family member to keep you accountable.  

If you want me to keep you accountable and on track toward your writing goals, you can join the League of Adventurous Authors.  It’s open at an exclusive price to founding members right now.  We’ll meet weekly to set actions for the week, track our progress and celebrate wins.  You’ll also get training to build your writing skills and have access to Q&A sessions with me. This round of membership is only open until next Friday.  When it reopens in August, the price will be higher.  So get in now while the price is the lowest it will ever be.  The link is in the show notes for you.

So what is this five step process you need to go through to get from idea to published?  Let’s explore that right now.

Interested in joining the League of Adventurous Authors?  Shoot me an email, and I'll respond with details!  Email me at [email protected].