
The Adventurous Author | How to Write a Book, Character Development, Write with Consistency, Creative Writing,Story Structure
Hey, Time-Strapped Author!
Wanna write great fiction?
BUT writing is hard because you…
- Have NO TIME because you work a full-time job or go to school full-time
- Doubt your writing ability
- Are unsure how to write the kind of captivating stories you love to read.
Then welcome to The Adventurous Author, the podcast for underdog authors on a mission to achieve legendary feats in the publishing world but have to overcome impossible obstacles, limited time, and paralyzing inner skepticism along the way.
Through these episodes, you will…
- Gain confidence in your author identity.
- Master the process and structure needed to write captivating stories EVEN WITH limited writing time.
- Learn to use AI effectively and ethically to constantly improve your writing skills and story quality.
I’m your host Bonnie Jean Schaefer.
Under my pen name of fantasy author D.K. Drake, I write action-packed, wholesome adventures without the snooze-worthy fluff.
But as your personal writing coach, I’m here to unlock YOUR narrative prowess, guide you in crafting spellbinding tales, and navigate the wild world of writing with AI.
Adventure awaits, so ignite your imagination, latch on to that dragon swooping overhead, and let the storytelling quest begin. It’s time to play in our own fabulous fantasy worlds.
Latest episodes

Jul 15, 2025 • 8min
Why Grok 4 (or Any AI Advancement) Makes Your Human Creative Identity More Valuable Than Ever | 206
Grok 4 dropped last week with powers that would have fried our brains twelve months ago: PhD reasoning, quarter-million-token memory, live web claws—the works.
Cue the collective panic: “Will anybody even need human writers now?”
Hard stop.
The truth is the exact opposite: The sharper AI becomes, the more priceless a human creative identity is—if you know how to wield it.
In this episode you’ll discover ⬇️
The Creative Identity Principle—why every new AI upgrade multiplies whatever you bring to the table (mediocrity or genius).
The three core elements of an un-stealable creative identity (convictions, character, mission) and how they steer any collaboration.
A simple 3-question pre-prompt ritual that prevents “AI bland-wash” and keeps your voice unmistakable.
Real-world “wrong vs. right” examples so you never hand the steering wheel to the robot.
A future-proof mindset that turns every AI release into rocket fuel for your calling.
Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jul 8, 2025 • 4min
Know Your Genre’s Tropes — Then Twist Them | 205
You wouldn’t sprint through an airport without paying attention to the signs. So why write a story without knowing your genre’s rules?
In today’s episode, we’re unpacking:
✔️ Why genre tropes aren’t creative handcuffs—they’re your storytelling GPS
✔️ The secret to delivering what readers crave without sounding cliché
✔️ How to twist tropes strategically (instead of confusing your reader)
✔️ A 15-minute challenge that helps you master your genre starting today
🎯 Whether you write romance, fantasy, thrillers—or mix them—genre tropes are your map to reader trust, story clarity, and creative confidence.
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jul 1, 2025 • 37min
The Character Development Conversation Every Writer Needs to Hear with Stage Actress Megan Smith | 204
Ever wonder how actors bring characters to life with such depth and emotion?
In this behind-the-scenes conversation, we dive into the character work of Megan, a gifted actress who played Maria in The Sound of Music. You’ll see exactly how she took lines off a script and turned them into a fully embodied human being—and what fiction writers can learn from that transformation process.
Inside this episode:
✔️ What theater taught her about building believable backstory
✔️ Why understanding your entire cast matters when shaping your main character
✔️ How rehearsals mirror the writing-and-revision process
✔️ Why letting your characters “play” in different scenes leads to stronger stories
✔️ The surprising ways secondary characters shape the protagonist’s arc.
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 24, 2025 • 4min
Write Like You're Catching a Train: The Power of Deadlines | 203
Ever notice how fast you can move when you're about to miss a train? What if you brought that same urgency to your writing?
In today’s episode of The Adventurous Author:
✔️ Why fake deadlines create real creative results
✔️ How time pressure activates your inner pro
✔️ A timed writing challenge that forces focus and execution
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 18, 2025 • 5min
How Finishing What You Start Changes Everything | 202
I crossed the Day 101 finish line—but the real transformation begins here.
In today’s final integration episode of The Adventurous Author, we go deep into:
✔️ The internal rupture that writing daily begins to heal
✔️ The difference between chasing goals and pursuing mastery
✔️ Why Proverbs 10:9 holds the key to long-term creative peace
✔️ The practical next step: crafting your personal Finisher Code
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 17, 2025 • 8min
101-Day Challenge Finale: Why Daily Writing Is an Author’s True Professional Credential | 201
The 101-Day Challenge is complete—but the transformation has only begun.
In today’s powerful final episode of The Adventurous Author, we unpack the truth that daily writing isn’t a hobby or a productivity hack—it’s a public declaration of identity. And if you’ve shown up for 101 days in a row, you’ve built something no contract or algorithm could ever give you:
💥 Unshakable self-trust.
Inside this finale, you'll discover:
✔️ Why you’re more credible now than most published authors
✔️ How daily discipline dismantles imposter syndrome
✔️ The spiritual truth behind finishing what you start (Luke 16:10)
✔️ A final writing challenge to solidify your author identity forever
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 16, 2025 • 6min
Daily Writing Proves You're Pre-Famous (Not Invisible) | 200
Ever feel invisible as a writer?
You're not. You're pre-famous—and the work you’re doing today is building the strength to carry the spotlight before it finds you.
In today’s powerful episode, we uncover:
✔️ Why showing up daily is a public declaration in private
✔️ How obscurity is not a punishment—it’s preparation
✔️ The biblical blueprint for building strength before visibility
✔️ A bold writing challenge that makes your words roar with truth
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 15, 2025 • 6min
The Broken Clock That Taught Me How to Finish a Book | 199
You don’t need to speed up to hit your goal of finishing your book.
In today’s episode, I reveal how a broken digital clock taught me the most powerful writing lesson of the year: you can’t fast-forward your way to mastery.
Inside, you’ll discover:
✔️ Why rushing the journey sabotages your integrity as a writer
✔️ How daily writing literally rewires your brain to trust the process
✔️ A simple writing challenge to build momentum and beat burnout
✔️ What to write today even if you don’t have a book project yet (I give you the first sentence)
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 14, 2025 • 7min
The Confidence Killer Every Writer Faces (And How Daily Writing Fixes It) | 198
You say you're a writer… but does your schedule agree?
For years, I told myself I was a writer—called, gifted, meant to steward stories for Kingdom impact.
But I wasn't showing up daily. And that misalignment started killing my confidence. Quietly. Slowly. One excuse at a time.
In today’s episode, I unpack the painful truth that misalignment between your actions and your assignment erodes your integrity.
And I share the one decision that restored my creative confidence: writing every day. I also discuss:
✔️ Why misalignment silently kills your confidence
✔️ How daily writing restores personal integrity
✔️ The real reason you feel like a fraud sometimes (and how to fix it)
✔️ A powerful challenge to close the gap between what you say and what you do
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.

Jun 13, 2025 • 6min
How Daily Writing Creates Professional Authors | 197
Still waiting for that magical moment where you finally feel like a “real” writer?
That moment isn’t coming.
In today’s episode, I share what I’m learning about mastery during my 101-Day Triple Crown Challenge—and why the only way to become who you’re called to be is to start before you feel ready.
Inside this episode:
✔️ Why the “ready room” is a lie
✔️ What daily writing actually trains (hint: it’s not just your skills)
✔️ How to grow through action instead of waiting for permission
✔️ An immersive writing challenge to prove mastery in motion
🎧 Listen now.
Keep the words rolling and the adventures unfolding,
Bonnie Jean
Next Steps:
🔥 Adventurous Enough for a 101-Day Mega Challenge?
START TODAY at LeagueOfAdventurousAuthors.com. No cost. Except relentless commitment.
Because the difference between ‘wanting to write’ and ‘being a writer’ is simple… you write.
Escape into the Land of Zandador (the books I write under my pen name of Author D.K. Drake): Purchase one or all of the Dragon Stalker Bloodline Saga books on Amazon.
📢 Subscribe & Review:
If this episode gave you a wake-up call, share it with a fellow writer and drop a review! Your feedback keeps this show alive and thriving.