TJ's Spooktober 2022 Articles

A harrowing collection of ominous articles.

These articles are still a Work In Progress!
Placeholders and rough ideas are being replaced with short articles.
Current progress: 17/31

Self-Portrait by Walter Shirlaw 1878

1. Portrait

Captain Dasad, student of philosophy turned pirate - all because of one stupid painting.

2. Vanish

Would you stay forever in the place you grew up in? Or see the realms beyond your own, never to be allowed to return again? What would you choose?

3. Abandoned

Famous for a successful quarantine, and the site of a disasterous incident of a boat sinking in a half-filled lock.

4. Enchant

A new and in-demand technology that imbues the magical-essence (maisha) into objects and potions, enabling their users to achieve powerful magic abilities.

5. Misfortune

A vessel that tragically never made it through the lock and sank.

6. Chasm

The rope bridges are fine if you don't wobble them on purpose.

7. Thorn

The aptly-named lancewood species is planted as a deterrent for trespassers.

by Neroli Wesley on Unsplash

8. Howl

A shared mourning tradition to yell in grief from a hilltop as the sun sets on the life of the departed.
Gutteral sobbing is encouraged to expel the loss from the body.
The screams can sometimes travel to neighbouring towns.

9. Mirror

A spider with exceptional camouflage abilities that allow it to mirror its environment.

10. Broken

A grim collection of hard-won trophies worn around the neck.

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11. Escape

A character who escaped every jail she was thrown in.

12. Slime

A horrific disease that causes blindness.

13. Haunt

Post-Rupture Shock Disorder.

14. Ruin

A great wonder ruined from the Rupture.

15. Mist

A strange fog that came through a major rift.

16. Whisper

A scandalous rumour spread through graffiti.

17. Shadow

An item used to protect against the sun's rays.

18. Spirit

A strong alcoholic beverage.

19. Relic

A treasure stolen so many times it's become a rich person's sport.

20. Unquiet

A tradition to remember the Rupture and scare off the rift beasts.

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21. Shatter

Honestly I have no idea for this one yet.

22. Lock

A sealed time capsule.

23. Door

A large and significant rift.

24. Curse

A condition that inhibits the use of magic.

25. Possess

A consensual experiment involving poppetry.

26. Abyss

A cavern or sinkhole that I haven't decided which.

27. Echo

Architecture with good accoustics? OhNo I'm running out of ideas.

28. Darkness

Blackout? Eruption?

29. Hunt

Extermination of an invasive species. Probably.

30. Tear

Rift? Tectonics?

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31. Drown

Blub, blub.

— Captain Teriv, probably

400 Inspiring Worldbuilding Prompts

Progress bar in action! by TJ Trewin

Stuck for ideas for this challenge? Check out my list of 400 worldbuilding prompts (suitable for any genre)! It's free (or pay what you want), just name your price and grab your copy!
The prompts are all organised by World Anvil template, and I'll be using these to inspire my own worldbuilding when I get stuck about three days into WorldEmber xD

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WorldEmber is Coming...

When Spooktober ends, the month of preparations for WorldEmber begins!
Every December I take part in World Anvil's annual challenge to write 10k+ words of fresh worldbuilding in my world :D
Here's how I prepared last year:

and here is my pledge for this year's WorldEmber 2022!