2023 Worldbuilding Review
Reflecting on my worldbuilding from last year and taking stock of inspiration for the year ahead!
Last Year's Reflections
- Burnout reduction - I did a lot better with managing my burnout this year and saying "no" to things I didn't want to do. When I got flu & covid back-to-back in December I was still able to just about finish my 10k words because I dropped my perfectionism in my final article and did a literal brain-dump for my Magic article and it was just a big, unformatted list. I felt happy with it! It's still worldbuilding, and I can polish it later.
- Core concepts - I changed the way I worked on things and tackled the important articles first like Folks before expanding into individual ones.
- Feedback - I got some really useful group feedback from my worldbuilding friends that has helped me to see areas of improvement I can work on.
- Art production - Compared to the previous year, I didn't create so many art pieces or designed assets and it's something I really enjoy being able to showcase. I still made some great work, like my map of Anvil and my quick sketches for Gauntlet, the card game that I made during WorldEmber.
- Focus areas - I have a big world map and I want to know the overviews of what goes on in each country. I wanna do all the thiiiiiiiiiiiiings! But also I really want to connect all of my existing worldbuilding more cohesively.
- Liveliness - I would like my world to feel more lively and talk more about the folks and characters and how they interact with each other in the world. I want to populate the world with more species, too!
New Year's Resolutions
My new year's worldbuilding resolutions for 2023 are:- Get tidy - I will tidy, polish, and expand upon my existing articles and make sure that their lore is lively and interconnected with the rest of the world.
- Get shiny - I will make art, designs, concepts and shiny worldbuilding as I continue to find new and exciting ways of doing things.
- Get out there - I want to share my work more! I really love inpsiring others and showing people the methods I use to make things. I'll be sharing lots in my social spaces but also sharing my not-so-top-secret plans, tips and techniques on my blog!
Reading Inspirations
Irates
World: Symbols of Power | Author: NaelinHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Embedded maps with clickable parts are amazing for storytelling
- Isolated island images give great visual context when talking about regions
- Large and small maps help to get a sense of scale and location in the world
Entering the Shattered
World: Shattered | Author: CatobleponHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Colour coding can make it easier to identify recurring concepts
- Cato's art is amazing even with using one colour and in blocked out shapes
- Coloured text is great for emphasizing key words and drawing attention to things
Simple Cybernetics
World: Luridity | Author: DaniHere's what you can learn from this article:
- You can always include puns and easter eggs AND make them a unique part of your worldbuilding
- Consider how the people in your world see themselves (positively and/or negatively) and what they desire because of this
- Think about what conditions and symptoms the inhabitants of your world have to live with and how they manage their daily life
The Logbooks
World: Hislariya | Author: SimoHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Journal snippets can tell you a lot about characters AND the world they live in
- Inventory lists provide an excellent slice-of-life depth to the world
- Documenting the passing of time makes the world feel lived in
Ghostbuster
World: Shedim | Author: QurilionHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Quotes are a great way of formatting articles and introducing dialogue or other perspectives
- Explaining different planes of existence in context to a profession is a great way of introducing or reaffirming broad concepts
- Professions provide a great slice-of-life for how different people interact with each other
The Qualic Scriptorium
World: Istralar | Author: HanHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Quotes are an excellent way of voicing questions and opinions about the world
- Big and mystical concepts don't have to be explained in every detail to be understood
- Think about what common questions people would ask about your article and address them in advance
Fei
World: Solaris | Author: Annie SteinHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Leading art and a short description with some facts tells me instantly what the article is about
- Including different quirks about a species and how they interact with others can make them more memorable
- Articles can be short and interesting that keeps your attention and makes you want to read more
Xiuthan
World: Cathedris | Author: StormbrilHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Describing how a character's clothing evolved tells so much about their personality and history
- Explaining the history of a character can evoke great empathy
- Unexplained things left to the imagination turn horrors into unforgettable nightmares
Blue Syndrome
World: Dark Lord Seduction Plan | Author: Amélie I. S. DebruyneHere's what you can learn from this article:
- Using a newspaper format creates an immersive slice-of-life experience
- Icons really add to the visual storytelling in the article
- Explaining how the condition affects people and how it can be treated makes the world feel alive and real
Voidclaimed
World: Vazdimet | Author:Here's what you can learn from this article:
- Starting with a dialogue quote creates instant immersion to the world
- Articles don't have to be lengthy to be interesting, and further reading in connected articles makes me want to read more
- Ending on an impactful sentence can leave you thinking deeply on the topic of the article
Upcoming Events 2023
Jan: | Reading challenge Unannounced competition WorldEmber awards ceremony |
Feb: | Unannounced flash challenge |
Mar: | Unannounced competition WorldbuildingCon World Anvil's Worldbuilding Awards (WAWA) |
Apr: | Adventure april |
May: | Unannounced competition |
Jun: | Summer Camp prep month |
Jul: | Summer Camp |
Aug: | Reading challenge Flash challenge Summer Camp Awards Ceremony |
Sep: | Unannounced competition |
Oct: | Spooktober World Anvil Birthday Stream |
Nov: | WorldEmber prep month Mapvember |
Dec: | WorldEmber |
Thank you! <3 Congratulations on getting to 10k despite all the stress and sickness and best wishes for your creative goals for the next year!
Thank youuuu!