Welcome to Issue 1 of DreamForge Anvil. Our purpose here is to deliver engaging stories while also examining the craft of storytelling. We go behind the scenes to uncover editorial suggestions, how the author revised their work, and even to take a look at the line edits leading to the final draft. Let’s take a look at our offerings and their authors in Issue One.

You live in a world filled with more knowledge, wealth, freedom, and technical prowess than ever before. And yet you may think it’s all going to hell in a handbasket. Why is this so?

When starting on an adventure, it’s good to have a realistic appreciation for the journey ahead. My purpose in these essays is to examine the basics of short story writing from a very specific perspective.

Over the course of 2021, we’ll be examining stories from many angles, including hooks, exposition, pacing, conflict, character, plotting, and more. Of course, that’s a year in the making. Patience is a rare human virtue, so let’s jump in with an overview to get you started.

The starry oak was one of the rarest of the great trees, and it had a sizeable hollow—almost a perfect circle. It was too small a passage for an ordinary man. For a dwarf, though, even in armor, it was only a tight squeeze.

Being human has never been about finding the perfect balance with nature or with one another. It's about problem solving and working together against against all odds.

As the world grows warmer and wetter, other species will undoubtedly take advantage of our changing climate, and the most evolutionarily successful group of organisms in the universe may be...

For something to thrive, something else must be consumed. Or is it possible to circumvent the cycle wherein the energy to sustain life is taken from a living thing? What would such a world be like?

We have so many people to thank! Founders, Kickstarter Heroes, Contributors, Friends, Family, and First Line Readers.