Week 1: Pledge Your Goal

The first step when preparing for a challenge like WorldEmber is to set a goal. After all, working towards a specific goal tends to be way more motivating than just writing aimlessly!  

1. Set a word goal and your area of focus

How much do you want to write this month? The goal of WorldEmber is 10,000 words, but you can decide to aim higher if you feel up to the challenge! Download this pdf to pledge your goal:  

Make your pledge!

 

2. Choose your area of focus

You know how much you'll write—now's time to decide what you'll write about! Look at your world, and pick your area of focus. Here are some examples!  

• Fauna and flora in your world
• Magic systems, items, and factions
• The traditions and history of a culture
• Expand on the worldbuilding from your NovelEmber project
• The setting of your upcoming campaign

  To choose an area, you can consider the following:  

• What are you excited about? If you feel excited about an area of your worldbuilding, follow your instincts! It’s easier to keep your motivation up if you write about a topic you enjoy.
• If you have an ongoing or planned story (novel or campaign), pick something that will be useful for it. This will give your worldbuilding a sense of purpose, motivating you throughout the challenge. Otherwise, make a list of directions you could go in. Look at your world map, read your meta document or world primer, and find an area that seems interesting to you.
• Or how about creating a whole new world? Starting from scratch means you can write about basically anything, which is great for a wordcount-based challenge like WorldEmber.

  Once you have chosen your area of focus, take a moment to review any related articles! This will warm up your creative muscles and maybe even give you some inspiration for next month.  

3. Create or update your meta

The meta document is all the information about your world that isn't part of the world. It will help you stay on track, keep you motivated, and will prevent inconsistencies in your worldbuilding.   If you're starting a new world, create your meta now! And if you're writing in an existing world, review your meta and consider creating a specific mini-meta for the area you'll explore during this month. Here are a couple of resources to help you out:  

• How to stay focused with the meta
• Worldbuilding mini-meta: a small but solid foundation

  To submit the homework, create a Generic Article with the pledge document and explain what your area of focus will be!