2023 WorldEmber - Reading & Resolutions

The end of WorldEmber signals the end of the year, and with both we have a reading challenge and opportunity to reflect. In this article, I review my big successes of 2023, plan some goals for 2024, and share some of my favorite WorldEmber articles from worlds that inspire me.
Click to skip to the reading list

2023 in Review

This year was the Year of the Anvil for me. I went from having 0 worlds to having 2, with a lot of work put into both. From never using Discord to being active on the WA server most days. From near-zero CSS experience to creating my own theme. From having a crusty Obsidian Portal even my players barely visited, to a fleshed-out World that strangers enjoy reading.

Statistics

I'm here to become a better storyteller and share my progress along the way. Quantity isn't the goal, but writing a lot is a necessary step through the journey. So here are some easy numbers to look back on next year and see what's changed. Stats courtesy Brigid.

wow that's a lot of stars

Created: April 26, 2023

65 followers

222 articles, 93 draft

119,000 words, 537 per article

499 total likes, 2.25 per article

You Are Here Now

Created: ???

19 followers

30 articles, 16 draft

15,000 words, 494 per article

14 total likes, .5 per article

Events

• Won the Under the Sea challenge hosted by Annie Stein and Qurilion
• Participated in my first Summer Camp, winning a diamond badge and the organization prompt.
• Participated in the Treasured Companions challenge, earning an honorable mention.
• Participated in my first WorldEmber, reaching my word count goal twice over.

Creations

• Created this world in April and its custom CSS theme over the summer.
• Created a prose world, You Are Here Now, in June and started publishing a novelette.
• Had two features on the advent calendar, one from this world and one from my prose world.
• Learned how to create custom posters, badges, emblems, and more.

I favor discipline and perseverence over inspiration and motivation, but World Anvil has helped supply so much of the latter two that the former two have become a breeze. It's been years since the last time I was this excited to keep writing, and now I get to carry that excitement with me into 2024.

2024 Goals

Janet's comments on my article during the Summer Camp awards stream solidified a goal in my head: Every article I write should tell a story and make clear the topic's purpose in the larger narrative of the world.
Just as every scene of a novel should push the plot forward, every article should express facets of the plot. This has been my goal ever since, and is something I look forward to practicing more of in the coming year.
(Also trying to be more concise and to-the-point, with mixed success...)

"It was written in a way that helped you understand how it would be used in the storytelling itself. It was concise, it was to-the-point. I totally got why it was there, what it was, how I could use this to tell a great story."

— Janet Forbes, SC2023 Awards Ceremony

Goal Highlights

If you want to know the specifics on what I plan to do and when, I've created a Development Timeline article to go into those details and keep me focused. I'll update it as the year goes on. I don't expect to meet most of the deadlines on this, but I look forward to seeing how far I get.

wow that's a lot of stars

• Continue writing about the Gal Pals
• Develop psionics, space pirates, and the horrors of space
• Partake in Summer Camp, WorldEmber, and other events

You Are Here Now

• Comple Monstrous book 1
• Get at least 30% through Monstrous book 2
• Add missing character vignettes

...and tidy up my CSS to make both worlds consistent and mobile-friendly!

2023 Badges

Camp Chill (ID 4574878) by Rin Garnett

Cozy Cottage Enclave badge by Rin Garnett

2023 Superlatives

(Note that these exclude meta articles like event prep)

Longest Article

Gamma Radiation

Most-Liked Article

Bry

Most-Commented Article

Psionic Discipline Personality Quiz!

Most-Viewed Article

Mother of the Stars

Most-Used Template

Character

2024 Lessons

	Use white space around articles and between sections to make them easier to read.
	Focus articles on the most vital points that demonstrate the topic's importance in the world.
	Use containers and icons to direct the reader through the article.
	Write from in-world perspectives, even unreliable ones, to help immerse readers.
	Follow your enthusiasm and your joy will come across in your writing.
	Be bold in your creative decisions, it's worth it.
	Get detailed, when required.

Reading List

As part of my WorldEmber prep, I listed 6 worlds and 7 authors that inspire me. For this challenge, it seemed only suiting that I showcase a couple WorldEmber articles from them and share how they inspire me.

Solaris

Solaris is a well-deserved recipient of a trophy for how gorgeous it is. It's light, airy, and makes wonderful use of white space to let the article breathe on the page.
The concept of "white space" carries into the content. Rather that covering every little detail, Annie and Sky share just the key points that tie everything together. It keeps their articles short, makes details stand out more, and leaves readers with the kind of questions that make them keep reading.
To demonstrate, I picked an article from Annie about a highly-respected role that requires those who take it to forgo their own identities. From Sky, I picked a ship with fun details on how it feels to operate in different atmospheres.

Dark Lord Seduction Plan

Like Solaris, DLSP has a light and airy feel to its visuals. All articles are in-universe pieces, such as newsletters or recruitment flyers. It overall has an irreverent tone, with articles promoting ideals that sound rather awful actually. This sort of unreliable narrator adds comedy and levity to learning about the world.
Amélie uses containers and icons to present information in accessible and easy-to-read ways. My picks from her WE articles include one about a university that doesn't even attempt to hide its nepotism, and one about a mischievous cat and what future it may have...

Rosepetal

I mention often how much I love Rosepetal's theme: the round corners, faded edged, and soothing colors mimic the soft and delicate nature of a rose's petals.
Nimin writes every article from in-universe perspectives and shows an impressive attention to detail. Etymology, taxonomy, evolution, and more, all laid out in clear, organized sections with means to follow links and keep reading. Everything from the width of the page to the language used makes me feel immersed in the Rosepetal galaxy every time I'm there.
My two picks here are an article about an ideographic writing system, and another about a major galactic state and its culture. Despite the latter being labeled a "word salad", it's still well formatted, organized, and full of interesting information.

Yonderverse

All of our worlds are labors of love, but the Yonderverse exudes the joy Mochi has with creating it. When they reached a point this WE where they weren't enjoying what they were writing, they stopped and changed directions. That's inspirational on its own - to recognize when we're on the wrong path, and to find the right one again.
There's no shortage of potential articles to feature here, but I've gone with a species and some prose. The Abyssal Merfolk live deep underwater, and their anatomy is appropriate for creatures that survive at such depths.
And of course I showcase a prose article. I will always showcase good stories!

Shattered (& Daeliha)

Shattered was a significant design inspiration for my prose world. Instead of black with bright colors, I used white with bright colors. This is another award-winning world, in this case for its ground-breaking (hehe) concepts. A shattered world with floating islands, a color-changing "star", and huge creatures floating between it all.
The Starfading condition is a good example of Cato's creativity. A condition of unknown origin that affects the afflicted in ways physical and mental, and all the cultural baggage that comes with it.
But most of Cato's WE work was in a different world, Daeliha. So I ventured over there and wasn't disappointed. Here I'm featuring an archaeologist recovering from his own catastrophic failure under mysterious circumstances.

Vazdimet

I started reading Vazdimet more closely a few months ago, and I'm glad I did. I love seeing different ways of combining technology and magic, and space-faring necromancers is always a good time. The large font and lovely formatting makes it that much easier to enjoy.
Most Vazdimet updates this WE were focused on the magic systems present in the world. It's impressively expansive and in-depth, covering every realm of magic I've heard of and more. The article on magic covers every facet of the technology you can think of, from its history, to its function, to its classification and cultural significance.
My second Vazdimet pick is, of course, more prose! A vignette featuring two immortals.

There are a million and one other brilliant and inspiring worlds out there I could spend all year talking about - from the newly-minted JOY to the well-established Istralar - but I have to stop somewhere. There is never enough praise for how much incredible work is out there in the anvilspace. I can't wait to see what you all create in year twenty-twenty-forge :)