The Adventurous Author | How to Write a Book, Character Development, Write with Consistency, Creative Writing,Story Structure

026 // Day 21 of the 21 Days of Storytelling Featuring The Dragon Collector, a YA Fantasy Novel: Chapter 18

10 snips

Nov 10, 2022

Dive into Javen's world as he explores the rich geography and history shaping his adventure. The discussion reveals the significance of heritage in storytelling, underscoring the author's growth. Javen's captivating lessons on dragons and humanity spark dreams of future adventures, blending myth and reality. Plus, there's a reflection on the writing process that embraces imperfection and encourages continuous improvement. Discover how a map inspires creativity, making every story a journey worth sharing.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Embrace Imperfection in Writing

Accept that no story is perfect and allow yourself to improve over time.
Focus on doing your best with your current skills and grow with each book you write.

ANECDOTE

Lost Map Inspiration

D.K. Drake used a physical map drawn by a friend to visualize the story's geography.
Unfortunately, after asking her to digitize it, she moved, and the original map was lost to contact.

ADVICE

Join and Apply for Writing Resources

Join an email insider list to get notifications and digital resources like free copies of your books.
Apply early for personalized writing workshops to receive mentorship and growth opportunities as an author.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

And here we are on Day 21 of the 21 Days of Storytelling featuring The Dragon Collector, book one of the Dragon Stalker Bloodlines Saga.

The story snippet of the day is chapter 18, The First Dragon Collector.

Now I’m gonna warn you: this is not a chapter filled with action and adventure. I almost didn’t include this and the next few chapters because I just wanted to get on with the action, but the practical me realized that Javan needed to know the geography of the land and background info of his heritage.

Could I have helped him learn it in a more exciting way? Probably. But this was the best I could do with the experience I had at the time of writing it, and although I did edit this section to break the chapters into smaller chunks, I chose to leave the way I told this part of the story when revising it later on. Why? Because no story is perfect. There are always ways to improve. I wanted to remind myself that it’s okay not to be perfect. I wanted to be content with doing my best with who I am and the writing skills I have at the time of writing any given story.

My mission is to get better with every book, to deliver a better story with each story I write. And when I wrote this section of the story, I had a map that an artist friend of mine drew for me. I referred to the map as I wrote, and that helped me picture it.

I wish I could share a picture of that posterboard-sized map on the blog, but my friend took it with her to create a digital version of the map. Then she moved, and we lost touch.

I’ll work on recreating it with my less than stellar artistic skills and having that for you on the blog. To be notified when it gets posted, be sure to join the Insiders email list at authordkdrake.com/insiders. You’ll also get access to the DK Drake Starter Library when you become an insider, and a digital version of The Dragon Collector is included in that starter library through today.

Today is also the last day for the rest of the year to apply for one of the three available slots of the Personalized Writing Workshops with me. If you want a writing mentor to help you write your story, be sure to apply today at authordkdrake.com/writingworkshops.

Enough preamble. Let’s get to the story, a story that includes a fantastical explanation for the Bermuda Triangle.

Apply here for a Personalized Writing Workshop with Author DK Drake.

Get Your Free DK Drake Starter Library that includes a digital manuscript of The Dragon Collector through November 10 here.

Snag one or all of the Dragon Stalker books here.

Join the Help! My Kid Wants to Write a Book Community here.