New Year's Resolutions 2023

As the new year approaches, many of us take the opportunity to reflect on the past year and set new goals for ourselves. For writers and worldbuilders, this often means identifying areas for improvement and making resolutions to work on them in the coming year. Whether you're looking to improve your craft, build a more immersive world, or simply be more productive, there is always something for everyone to think about at the turn of the year.

This year, for me, a lot of my goals relate to organization and design.

This Year's Goals

Goal #1:

It's a bit serendipitous that the New Year's Resolution challenge asks us to read other people's articles for inspiration because I had already begun to put together a list of goals for the upcoming year, many of which have long been inspired by others' articles, such as Stormbril's article about Togae. Ever since I first joined World Anvil, I've wanted to create an interactive story narration, if you will. I've fiddled with various pens in CodePen for over a year, but never got it quite right. Stormbril's interactive interview in this article is not only neat, but it's very similar to what I had in mind. I've put off going through with it and creating it because I (ahem!) discovered this article and didn't want it to seem like I was copying. But I think there's enough of a difference in what my intent is that I should be ok. It'll happen. This year.

Goal #2:

After learning that the main people I was sharing my content with accessed my world from a mobile device, I started learning about responsive web design and quickly fell down a rabbit hole of information. I've been wanting to create a new theme for my world, and decided when I reworked my styling, I was going to start from scratch and design my world to be mobile-first. One of my goals for the new year is to re-theme my page, with a focus on responsiveness. I want to ensure that my world's style is consistent and visually appealing across all devices. By updating the CSS theme for my world, I hope to create a more immersive and engaging experience for my readers no matter how they access it. TJ Trewin's wonderful CSS Theme Reference is a handy tool for this!

Goal #3

Another goal I have is to create a theme to submit to the devs. As someone who has fallen in love with designing themes and layout, I am excited at the opportunity to add to the theme's list for World Anvil. The process of creating a theme is a challenging and rewarding one, as it involves finding the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality. I am confident that my passion for design and attention to detail will help me create a theme that users will love, and Amy Winters-Voss has some awesome articles about creating a theme over on Hacks and Help. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share my creation with the World Anvil community and see it being used to style the amazing worlds that are being built on the platform.

Goal #4:

Just about any page on Ethnis is amazing, but in this particular article, the Banners in Ademal's world were described in great detail, with a wealth of information about their history, culture, and politics. Yet, despite the depth of the information, the article was still visually appealing and easy to read. This approach is effective in keeping readers engaged and interested in the content, even when there is a lot of information to cover. In my own world, I will strive to present information in a similar way, focusing on both style and substance.

Goal #5

Like Ademal's article, I've taken away from this article that it's important to present information in an aesthetically pleasing way while also keeping it simple and easy to understand. The deities in Satrium's world were presented in a visually appealing way, with beautiful styling and a clean layout. Additionally, the information provided was clear and concise, without being overwhelming. This approach is effective in engaging readers and making the content more accessible. As before, I will strive to present information in a similar way.

Goal #6:

Fall really set the tone and style for their world. They had a beautiful dark theme and futuristic styling that was both visually appealing and immersive. The combination of these elements really drew me in and gave me a sense of what to expect from the world. In 2023, I will strive to create a theme that captures the essence of my world in a similar way. Whether it's through theme, styling, or both, I hope to create an aesthetic that engages readers and sets the stage for my world.

Goal #7

I adore everything about them, but TJ Trewin's timeline is detailed and fleshed out, providing a clear and cohesive history for Melior. This helped to create a sense of depth and believability for the world, which is essential in immersive storytelling. Besides, their presentation is just jaw-dropping. History is probably where I lack the most, so I will focus on building out a more comprehensive timeline for my own world. This will involve doing research and carefully planning out the major events and historical periods in Eivrall's history.

Goal #8:

This next timeline is just... wow. Damion Otter's timeline for Ravare should be the standard everyone strives for in their own worldbuilding efforts. Their timeline is thorough and well-developed, providing a clear and cohesive history for the world. It was clear that a lot of time and effort had gone into creating this timeline, and it really paid off in terms of the depth and believability of the world. I will strive to create a timeline that meets this standard of excellence.

Goal #9

I really appreciated the way Stormbril styled the Comprilith to be like an interactive tour. It was an innovative and immersive way to present the information, and it really drew me in. As someone who is seeking to make my own world as interactive and engaging as possible, I was inspired by this approach and will definitely consider using something similar in my own worldbuilding. Anything Stormbril makes is like a candy store for inspiration, and I am always excited to see what they will create next. In my own world, I will strive to find new and creative ways to make my world more interactive and engaging for readers.

Goal #10:

Ethnis is just drool-worthy, period. Ademal is a wizard, period. This article is formatted excellently and I just... j-just... Hope to reach somewhere near this level of organization. It might be a stretch, though... My husband tells me often that I need to hire an assistant. *wipes forehead* I can do this! I will strive for this level of organization for the rest of my life! I really appreciate Ademal's spacing and use of the grid system. If there's one thing I can definitely do, it's get down with CSS, so maybe it's not so far-fetched after all?

My Take

For me, I want to strive for Stormbril's creativity, TJ Trewin's clean layout and accessibility, and I think that Ademal is just that. These are probably the three most-visited worlds I read, and for good reason. I encourage anyone who hasn't visited these worlds to go ahead and do so, and soon! I promise, you'll be inspired in your own worldbuilding, just like me.

Special Goals

This section was completely spontaneous, but I felt the need to create it. I have Annie Stein to thank for that!

In 2023, I will adamently work to overcome my perfectionism and put more content out!

Goals

Rather than writing without knowing what I want, I'll try to set specific goals each time. I'm hoping to publish my book, so I will be expanding my knowledge of the publishing industry. I should seek feedback to get a fresh perspective and identify areas for improvement. I'd like an accountability partner. Being held accountable can be a great motivator.

...more

Practice self-care

Character development

Finalize story plot

Update art portfolio

Celebrate achievements

Write consistently