New Year's Resolutions 2024
Introduction
After reeling from my first World Ember and all the turmoil through the festive season, finally we are in 2024! Happy New Year everyone! I have mentioned this in the World Ember Prepartion Homework article I updated just after finishing my 10,000 words, that World Ember was a blast for me and an eye-opening experience on seeing how much effort and love the community gives to that event, world building and fellow Anvilists alike. To summarise there are several things I realised and glaringly obvious improvements I need to make:- While breadth is important to world building, it is equally important to focus on an engaging read instead of being an information dump.
- Make articles more presentable and visually pleasing takes as much effort and time as actual writing.
- Need to make much more use of simple text styles and layouts as part of the article style.
- Need to prepare the groundwork more with respect to aps, dates, images, icons and organisation.
Article Reviews
Throughout World Ember 2023, I have skimmed through some articles that piqued my interest and also to get a handle on what sort of articles are expected and the standards that are out there. So here are 10 articles that I deem interesting to put my thoughts, which consist of the reason why I picked that particular article and a short critque of each article choosen. Please like all the articles mentioned and if you wish to follow the world or author then I have also put there links too.Cosmic Bloom.
Condition Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Solaris.
Author: Nnie.
My thoughts:I choose this article because its the highest liked in the Condition special category for World Ember 2023 and also by a fellow World Builder that I follow and admire. It was interesting and insightful that just a simple organism could cause such a variety of outcomes when it is situated on a spaceship.
I particular enjoyed on the straight-forwardness yet horrifying manner that the article lays out causes, symptoms and cures of the disease. Also the simple short use of the spoiler feature to 'warn' readers that the following entry in what is seems to be in a medical manual was a nice touch.
The Book of the Unquiet Dead.
Document Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Kohtalo.
Author: Drunkenpanda951.
My thoughts:This was picked randomly and also I wanted to read an example of a Document article based on an Important book.
This article is a hidden gem if nobody has got around to reading it, the mixture of original text, annotated by an angry adventurer, and commentary from the author was a great, easy and enjoyable read. The layout and use of quotes, shout-out boxes and blacked out portions of the text gave it a sense of time without using any form of dating. Also the imagery shown perfectly matched the content. Only downside is I just wished it was longer.
Palisade Battalions.
Formation Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Ethnis.
Author: Barron.
My thoughts:I picked this article as it is the highest liked military formation for World Ember 2023 and wanted to see how the author formats and organises the article.
There is a reason that this is the highest liked military formation article, and a underdog contender for one of the best articles of World Ember 2023. Everything from the content, layout and the use of text types and imagery is at such a high standard that it is something to inspire to as a budding world builder like myself. The article conveys extremely well the formation from its history to examples of the daily life of a lowly recruit, it also without info-dumping tells me a brief insight into the world itself.
High Orcish.
Language Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Changing Stars.
Author: Magejosh1.
My thoughts:Interesting title that peaked my interest as I was browsing through the Language special category of World Ember 2023. I hoped this will be enlightening.
The thing about this article is despite the lack of clear layout, fancy visuals and lack of giving any vocabulary, grammar or sentence structures, it still provides an incredible insight into this language with such character. It reminds me that articles should not be purely info-dumping and ultimately be engaging to the readers, and in terms of language world builders need to make it feel alive and full of depth. Which is what this article does brilliantly and on a side note the in-world author of this passage sounds like an Orcish fanboy!
Sins.
Myth or Legend Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Resai.
Author: Jandis.
My thoughts:I briefly skimmed this article during World Ember 2023 event and was extremely impressed with the layout and content. So I am going back to properly review.
This article is the pinnacle of world building and one of the best articles I have read thus far! From the layout and variety of quotes, the content of the myth itself showcasing a series of linked catastrophes in reverse order. The level of detail and dedication to bring this myth to life and yet keep it shrouded in mystery is rarely shown even in established fantasy authors. I highly recommend everyone to check out this article and follow this very talented world builder.
Taesu's Reconquest of the Xuzou Dynasty.
Military Conflict Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Emaxus.
Author: Eraellas.
My thoughts:This is a randomly chosen article within the Military Conflict and the title sounded interesting.
Overall it was an enjoyable and it introduced the conflict and to a lesser but concise introduction to that part of the World. Information was clear and the narrative sounded very like an historian's point of view which was very appropriate. It shed a light on the inadequacies of my own Military Conflict article and that I have learned that good quality writing as shown in this article trumps quantity. Well Done!
Graeco-Buddhism.
Organisation Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Terra Occidentalis.
Author: Kefkejaco.
My thoughts:This caught my eye within the Organisation category as my world has influences from Indian and Greek culture and religions especially Hinduism with a heavy focus on Karma; which features predominantly in Buddhism too.
First off this is a well written article that uses a in-world author to report on his findings on his expedition to the East. The concept of the religion itself is well balance mix between classical Buddhism and Greek Mythology, with the added commentary on the reality of what general and devoted practitioners actually follow. Especially the part of melding the creation Greek myth with the Buddhist's cycle of rebirth was a deft touch. This article again amps up the quality with clear layout, narrative and suburb use of imagery.
Emdow.
Tradition Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Elema.
Author: Valcin.
My thoughts:The title sounded interesting so I will see what it is about.
Throughly enjoyable and concise article to read about a festival celebration about the Goddess of Yumi; whom is a Goddess of the Darkness, Love, Secrets, and (Scary) Beasts. I enjoyed that all aspects of the Goddess' influence is shown within this festival and that it has changed and adapted throughout time and mentions of regional differences. The festival sounds like a amalgamation of Halloween and Valentine's Day celebrations and traditions and gives a unique take on these. Overall I found it was a solid read, though the layout was formatted that well and the lack of imagery and different text styles would be beneficial to be included.
Krire.
Settlement Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Avagus.
Author: ILikeThisSite.
My thoughts:The lowest viewed article on the Settlement special category for World Ember 2023.
Firstly the concept of a city based on an coalition of downtrodden peoples and species which shared a common goal and religion is very interesting and aspiring. Though the content is slightly disjointed and confusing at times; the spelling and grammar mistakes makes it more harder to comprehend the author's intention, it is clear a great deal of passion is put into this city's concept. I would suggest to split up the article into clear sections, with sub-headings and page break lines, and just have a brief review of the text for any mistakes. Overall I enjoyed the article and wish the author to keep on writing!
Sandfishes.
Species Special Category World Ember 2023.
World: Iastarene.
Author: Frod0_baggins.
My thoughts:A random article from the world builder that scraped into the leader board with a total word count of 10,002 words.
I don't know why but I love this article, its so cute and silly and yet so easily immersive without even trying, Kudos to the creator! The article while short conveys everything that needs to be known by this interesting accidental magical happenstance, the author does this with a clean clear layout, use of styles and original imagery. On that note, I really want a sandwich one!
New Year's Resolutions 2024
I have learnt alot from World Ember 2023, this article review and from the community overall. I wish to thank everyone that has read and/or liked articles and have given me feedback, tips and suggestions. All has been a great help! Now onto the plan for 2024, I will denote a theme for each month; some will be tied to specific event or what is happening on that month. So here are my goals for 2024:Oath Month (January)
Beast Month (February)
War Month (March)
Fool Month (April)
Campaign Month (May)
Study Month (June)
Summer Dawn Month (July)
Summer Dusk Month (August)
Journey Month (September)
Home Month (October)
Hearth Month (November)
Ember Month (December)
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That sounds like some very astute takeaways! I'm so glad you had a blast this WE, and I hope this year will turn out to be more of the same. Theming each month is a very fun idea. Also, thank you for the nice words about my work!