What We Give
Published on 2022-12-11
Issue Details
How do we measure ourselves and our successes? Is it by our careers, our creative accomplishments, the knowledge and experience we acquire? Or is it by what we give, what we contribute to our communities, and the sacrifices we are prepared to make for the future of us all.
Featured Stories
Welcome to Issue 10 of DreamForge Anvil
In this issue we travel to Mars, where rich clods of soil break between our fingers; go door to door, selling magic wands and giving away steak knives; and visit a village where only the power of imag...
Hope Notes: Tales of Resilience
In the face of continuing encroachment of civilization, rising sea levels, and climate change, life still finds a way. We take a look at three unexpected success stories of the natural world as it dea...
Eavesdropping Your Dialog
One common problem in story submissions is spoiled dialog. The first paragraph opens with intrigue, the setting is revealed with deft strokes, and engaging prose pulls us right along until… the char...
Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS: Heart’s Desire
Over the decades, Wulf Moon has taken countless workshops, seminars, and writing courses from college professors to New York Times bestselling authors. Many were experts in their genres, yet none of t...
Science Fiction
What Martians Read, by Mary Soon Lee
Mary’s poem evokes a cultural obsession which may come to pass among the first settlers of Mars, as they struggle to bring the cold and sterile tunnels of the red planet to life
Science Fiction, Robots & AI
The Joy Fund, by Susan Kaye Quinn
This story takes place in our native Pittsburgh at the famed Carnegie Mellon University, when a student finds their bank account suddenly enriched by The Joy Fund, a boon meant to help them enjoy thei...
Fantasy, Adventure
Where Rivers Meet, by Indiana Tilford
Humans and nature are fundamentally one and the same. We are interconnected, and though it is natural to leverage our position in the ecosystem, approaching the world with respect or rapaciousness can...
Where Rivers Meet Line Edits
Where Rivers Meet began as one of the stories in a 2022 writing challenge for our DreamCaster writing support group. This was a months long, phased challenge that began with developing a story structu...
Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy
Door to Portal: A Salesman's Story, by Adam Jarvis
Leonard Boxwell sells used wands after the Collapse, a mysterious event which has severely limited the power of magic in the world. Instead of making what few bucks he can, Leonard finds ways to aid t...
Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy
Against the Time Beasts, by Ana Sun
Sometimes, the future hinges on a whisker of a moment. In this flash fiction, we look in on one such moment, as two beings with a troubled past find themselves side by side in “that folded dimension...
Science Fiction, Hard SF
The Express, by Michael Zahniser
On Mars, the ground beneath your feet is a fine regolith, a blanket of loose, heterogeneous deposits covering solid rock. This dust is comprised of silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, and a fair amount of ...
Fantasy, Magical Realism
The Lost Village, by E. E. King
Played on a triple word score in Scrabble, ZOEXLOWN (with the X on a double letter) can give you 105 points! And while there is no official recognition of this Zlovnian word meaning “beautiful flowe...
Thank You Anvil Issue 10
We have so many people to thank! Founders, Kickstarter Heroes, Contributors, Friends, Family, and First Line Readers.
The Spare Man
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. On sale now! Hugo, Locus and Nebula-award winner Mary Robinette Kowal blends rigorous research about life in space with an exploration of glittering high-societ...
If This Goes On
A podcast featuring Cat Rambo, Alan Bailey, Graeme, and Diane Morrison interviewing writers, artists, activists, and gamers.
Chatting With Sherri
Join Sherri as she chats with writers, actors and other artists about their work. A fun relaxing chat with all kinds of amazing exciting creative people.
Super Secrets
Get it now. How to Write a Howling Good Story by Wulf Moon. From NYT best selling author David Farland: "Wulf Moon is showing you exactly how it's done."