Worldember 2023
This year I want to go big! Until recently, I was only doing the occassional challenge for the cute badge and participation, but I have been wanting to dedicate more time and effort to my worldbuilding like I used to in the past. I would like to go through my past creations, tie up lose ends and discover where the weakpoints are and elevate all of my worlds to a whole new level. I don't want to focus solely on creating new articles and fleshing out parts of my stories and campaigns I didn't have time or energy to develop yet. I hope that as I go through the last two months of this year, I will be able to develop a solid plan how to get even better at worldbuilding and writing for the entirety of the next year.
While my goals might be grand, I don't intend to burn myself out - so please do not compare yourself if you are having a completely different WE experience. I want to build on the routine of NaNoWriMo and develop a system for me to be more productive than I have been recently. I want to really push myself to do better, grander things than before. I want to challenge myself and see what cool new things I will be able to learn and create.
Depending on how my prep will go thorough November I might update my goals to reflect how well or ill prepared I really am. Don't hesitate to do the same! There is no shame in re-adjusting your plans and being realistic with the time and energy you have in the upcoming months :)
While the november novel idea is my main focus for this year's challenge, there are other things going on that I would like to work on. Sometimes, when I get stuck or caught in a writer's block, it helps me to focus on something else, to get the creative juices going. Currently, I am running a little adventure in Tolkien's Middle-earth so there is always something new I could prepare for our campaign. Secondly, I want to get back to a custom arthurian setting for Blades in the Dark that I have started in July. And of course, then there is the Treasure box, the world you are currently with me, a place where I store all my shiny ideas that I don't know what to do about just yet. If all else fails, I bet I could find something to improve here and develop into its own thing.
I have been having a lot of fun over on 4thewords.com and their Aurilis Magic Academy event. There is something about those adorable creatures that makes word sprints super enjoyable. I am also very excited about the possibility of them making a plug in that would allow you to count the writing you do over on other sites. If that stretch goal gets unlocked I am positive that will help me live up to the promise I made at the very start of prepping for WE: finding a solid routine that would help me develop my worldbuilding and writing consistently for the entirety of the next year.
When it comes to talking to people, I plan to do the exact opposite. Winter time for me is the perfect time to just cocoon myself in blankets, barricade myself with a lot of tea and dedicate every bit of my free time to writing. It's too cold for social interractions okay. Only type. But you will totally be able to spot me over at discord occassionally :)
Tidying my writing space could be a problem haha, as I thrive in chaos as any proper goblin does. Chores are a good way to procrastinate though, so I sincerely promise I will do some before worldember arrives so I actually focus on the writing. xD
While I have the priviledge to mostly stay at home right now, my schedule does change day to day a bit. I don't really have a set schedule as far as when and for how long I write, but one thing that really worked for me this past november, was sitting down to write at least 500 words a day the first chance I get. Most often that is right after breakfast, but sometimes it can happen way into the afternoon or evening, if the day was super busy. But the first moment I get to sit down with a cup of tea (and preferably a blanket), I write, no excuses.
Green tea, bright red fluffy christmas socks & three blankets are now a part of my standard writing equipment. And they will remain until the winter is over.
And finally... it is time... to push... the competitor mode button!
Coming Soon
condition
document
ethnicity
military formation
item
language
law
building
geographic location
material
military conflict
myth
organization
character
plot
profession
tradition
title
settlement
species
spell
technology
vehicle
Homework #1
Main Quest
My main goal is to further develop the world of my current NaNoWriMo project so it can help me with editing it into a solid second draft. I want to only focus on the magic, characters and locations that are most important to the story.
Side Quests
Pledge
Ideally I want to push myself to do another 50,000 words to continue on the level of hype and commitment of NaNo, but realistically I am not sure that I am ready to promise myself I will keep on with the same kind of a routine. It's nice to dream big sometimes, but I do plan to actually achieve all those dreams this year. Wish me luck!Homework #2
Mini-meta
- Scope: I want to focus only on the areas where the story takes place, so I can write up rich and unique descriptions and make them more impactful.
- Themes: Different kinds of magic and myths and creatures in a heavily modern setting. The old versus the new, tradition versus innovation.
- Mood: Adventurous with a touch of comedy and mystery intertwining.
- Inspiration: Indiana Jones, Dresden Files, Piranesi
- Drama: The hunt for power and what people are willing to sacrifice for it.
Category structure
I have decided to keep my categories simple and focus on three main kinds of articles I would like to develop.- Characters (heroes, villains, side characters)
- Magic (factions of the pantheon)
- Atlas (locations and landmarks we will visit on this adventure)
Inspiration
Homework #3
I tend to keep my homepages very simple, I usually get rid of anything on the page that I am not actively using. It makes it less overwhelming for me as a creator and I am not in a rush to fill up absolutely everything from the start - instead I can just focus on what matters and grow my worlds organically, as they need. Because each creative project is different and much like a plant, needs different things that would nourish it. So this is what I have decided to do with my garden this time, that will hopefully help me flourish this worldember!Treasure Box is my personal "do whatever you want" thing that has been long neglected and needed a refresh. I still need to redo the categories a bit, but I decided to pick the Worldember theme for fun for now and to hide some of the things I am no longer currently working on.
This world belongs to my players and I am very excited to fill it up with places and people we met during our gaming sessions. I might even include a map or two, as we are now in the middle of an epic journey... of delivering a letter xD
Because this is a fresh novel project that is currently battling its way through NaNoWriMo, the main audience for this world is me. I usually just pick one of the premade themes that I like to look at and get on making the world simple, readable and shaped in a way that will help me make progress on the story - I can easily find what I need and work on what needs to be worked on. Worlds like these usually stay private, but I want to use WE to challenge myself to give this story deeper and more well rounded worldbuilding.
Sadly I haven't touched this world since Summer Camp, but hopefully I will be able to do some more work on it this december. I also plan to do another Dimi mission here, hopefully ^^
Homework #4
Coming Soon