Year of 'creation' - New Year's Resolution 2025

Yay for another year of worldbuilding!

Personal ambitions

2025 will be my year of 'creation'.

— - Myself, december 2024

part of this theme of creation I set, is of course, worldbuilding or writing my book. So I am going to reserve more time for this in my weeks, and try to take more rest (no video/podcast etc, just doing things 'mono'.) as I've noticed that that helps in getting the creative thoughts going better. I don't have a set goal of wordcount or anything, but I'd love to just spend more time on creating than last year.

I spent a lot more time on this challenge than I thought haha, (like 9 hours or so total) but it was worth it.

My favorites!

I read about 15 articles, and reviewed 10. But these two articles were my absolute favorite! Here's why:

A perfect execution of the rule of cool. The way it's described with its many cool names, features and creatures within makes it all just so cool. The article setup with quotes and a journal entry of an expedition makes it fun and very engaging to read!

— Me about drunkenpanda951's article

In the world of Kohtalo by Drunkenpanda951

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Written with truly original and surprising components that create palpable depth and hidden implications. Simple yet intriguing!

— Me about nanotide's article

In the world of M'Zeri by nanotide

The 10 articles I read

1.Myth

Creation myth by jaroslav.hrabkovsky from their world of Thalas (congratz on 100.000 words for your WorldEmber 2024! seriously impressive!)

I chose the creation myth of this person's world because I think the creation myth might tell me more about the themes of the world. The themes I think this world is built upon based on this myth is: 'fragility and greed. And a constant cycle of creation and destruction'. Please let me know if this is correct!

I also love how the myth attributes 'military power' to more abstract themes like: 'faltered beneath the weight of their resolve'. I enjoyed reading about a 'war' that way, it feels very abstract, but also divine in a way. Which, I think is very fitting in this case.

Takeaways for my own world:

What are the themes that my creation myth (How the Ancients made de dwarves) hints at? I might want some friends to read it and tell me what they think the themes are. And I want to clarify my themes and make a elevator pitch of some sort.

The magical Celestial pylons in my world have come from space, but even I don't know how or why exactly. I wonder if I want to explore this further. It might help me come up with 'logical', yet original ways the magic functions. The Ancients in my world have disappeared, but again, I haven't specified why or how. I might not want to do this, to leave some mystery for myself, but I do want to further explore what they left behind.

2.Material

Jala - Volcanic Gas by Blue Fairy 74 from their world of Elaqitan . (Also, love their blue's worlds 'world'. Where they seem to keep their challenges and explore opportunities to link the world of elaqitan to other planes. There's a snapshot of the current season on that homepage. I LOVE that)

I like that you name your material something original: Jala, but also tell me what it is: volcanic gas. That way I have a starting point for the rest of the article. Great way to take me along in your world and your names, without scaring me with words I don't know.

I have to mention the brilliant layout of this page. It just looks so vivid and lovely to read. Good use of columns, designs and images. Makes the page nice to scroll through. I especially love the 'at a glance' block. Very handy and a good summary.

This article makes the world of elaqitan feel very.. technical. In the sense that small systems like trade, money, governmental structures have all been thought out in much detail. I like that. It feels to me like this world will answer any question I have about its workings. Those things are exactly the things I struggle with the most, as I fear that picking a monetary system and assigning values to items makes things too rigid. If I come up with new things that would influence the value system, I'd have to check all my articles and update them again. Which.. I don't enjoy doing hahah. Anyone tips for this dilemma?

Takeaways for my own world:

I want pictures of the seasons.

About that value system: I first read that the value is 260 Njur/t. I thought it had something to do with time. Which is an interesting thought to be honest. Let's see if that line of thinking can help me further.

ART! i haven't really thought about art, or other creative expressions for my world.

3.Empire

The Hutsai by Serukis of the world of Etrea .

A very short article, I only clicked it via another article of theirs, because the excerpt really hooked me: A peaceful fisherfolk, I picture them sitting in a makeshift chair by the river, a piece of straw in their mouth while fishing. But then, these people suddenly gained an unsatiable appetite for conquest. This is striking and hooks me in with questions. What could bring these people to have this sudden change of heart? How would a fisher-people wage war? Have they had any successes, or regrets?

I like this article, these questions I will ask myself when I think about my own 'people' this year. Thanks for the short, yet inspiring article!

Takeaways for my own world:

How can the origin of certain people change the way they trade, travel, fight, hunt etc? I'd love to come up with some variations between these things, even within the same race.

Can there be a people who used to be one way, but have made a complete 180 in their hearts? What prompted this, how did this affect the environment around them?

4.Species

The Zikari (fungus) by Nanotide in the world of M'Zeri. (I misspelled your name at first as: nanotail. Which, is an interesting thing as well haha)

"The Zikari are a species of sentient fungus that originated from Zithoria. It is most known for its ability to infect and take control of host organisms."

I first thought of this fungus like the fungus that infects ants and makes them zobies and kills them. But I loved to learn that this fungus intends no harm. It is just one big neural network trying to "save" lost and disconnected consciousnesses (that is one heck of a word haha). It reminds me of eusocial animals like ants and bees. That really subverted my expectations in a pleasant way. And got me thinking about fungus, or large spanning networks in my own world. Thank you for the inspiration and the fun read!

takeaways for my own world:

Could there be some region, or even world-spanning network or system in my world? Maybe organic, maybe geographic, maybe magic?

Make up a species, that embodies some features of fictional characters like Gandalf.

5.Military formation

The fierce super-special forces of the Valdutani NarthuTigar'ri by Barron in the world of Ethnis .

I love that these fighters have so many cool gadgets. Power shields that have their own gravity well to stop blows and projectiles. Spears. swords etc. I'm a huge fan of the layout of this article. Makes it easy to scan and read about the many interesting details! I especially love the drawing of the fighter, and the ribbons are a great touch! You've added so many cool and interesting features! But I would also love to learn about the more mundane part of these fierce fighters. What fun do they have, what embarrassments did they experience?

takeaways for my own world

When I write about a people in my world, look more at the mundane. At eating, jokes, art, travel, simple problems etc.

Also I'd love to come up with a general layout format for my world, and try to BBC that for myself.

6.Language

The shapeshifter language by Nanotide in the world of M'Zeri

Yes, I read another article of them, because I liked that their articles are short, but with a good amount of depth and surprising elements!

I love this one. The variations of Hello are an intriguing image to look at (go take a look you!). And wow, a language that offers the freedom to show not only dialect, but also emotional state by placement of the letters. I absolutely love that! It sounds extremely complicated to learn, but very nice to use if you know it well. It looks like such a cool tool, and mis-interpretation could easily cause a big drama in an important document I would imagine. Fun to think about :D

Probably my Favorite article I read!

Takeaways for my own world

I haven't really thought about written language for my own world. I'm not sure if I want to start that rabbit hole either hahah. But the symbols and the words they wrote, I am intrigued. I just want to do something with cool cryptic symbols. Maybe I can use those symbols in different flags, or crests, or jewelry? (for Roseburn maybe even)

7. Plant species

Brisk Nettle, it's what you get if you combine coffee with stinging nettles. By strixxline in the world of Ayon Sovos.

The brisk nettle is a simple idea: a stinging nettle that has a caffeine-like toxin. So this is one you wánt to touch.. I'd be scared to exidentally touch a stinging nettle though. I love that they sway dramatically. I picture them moving like one of those blowup-tube-man thingies you see at events. Love that mental image.

takeaways for my own world:

This article got me thinking about some more ecology questions. Maybe I can zoom into valley of the dancing moonlight and come up with some basic flora and fauna, and work out how they interact. What their uses are for the people living there, and what risks that could pose, and what desires that would leave the people :D

8. Plant species

Stonegrass Lavender By strixxline in the world of Malkora.

I wanted to look at another article from this writer, as they are an artist. And I wanted to look at the art to see what I can learn from that. Maybe look at the art first, what vibe does it give, why? How can I use that for picking the right images for my own world? (or perhaps even make my own images)

Goodness, I love their map on the homepage of the world: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/malkora/map/92dd66e0-b382-4f3f-8501-aea686ef58b6. Go take a look everyone, it is so cool and original!

This article itself has a nice drawing as well! Simple, but very vivid. I also like the simple names of their things in the world: Stonegrass Lavender (it sounds like a small plant thing that resembles lavender? And perhaps it grows on rocks? It kinda is!)

takaways for my own world

come up with a 'tone' for my images, layout, and text. To put everything more in line with my themes and genre.

Start drawing in my new super cool drawing booklet.

9. Geography

The armored forest By drunkenpanda951 in the world of Kohtalo.

This writer really perfectly executed the rule of cool in my opinion! The armored forest is a rather simple concept: a forest of rock hard trees. But the details are soo cool. The trees glisten in the moonlight, giving them the unbelievably cool nickname: Starlight Sentinels.

The animals in this world are similar to 'normal' animals: huge elk, birds etc. But the birds for example have glowing wings, and when they fly up in large numbers it creates a mesmerizing aurora like spectacle. That is such a cool addon to make a simple bird very cool.

They also added a journal entry to this article, showing the logs (haha) of an expedition to harvest these trees. And it perfectly captured the haunting spirits that protect the forest. Strange things happen to those who try to cut down these trees...

All and all, one of my favorite articles I've red for this challenge!

takeaways for my own world:

I want to come up with a gripping structure for my worlds, with where to put quotes, images, columns etc. A good way to take the reader along, but also hooking them in.

a calendar: the seasons with difficult names isn't very nice for new readers. Can it be something more immersive, and easier to understand?

10. Geography

Vélactris: a icy, cold and harsh region with 4 notable bastions. By SpyGoo in the world of Ordalys.

The subtitle of this world is: "A Fragmented Universe, A Thousand Stories to Tell" And I feel like that is very apt for this article. It hints at so many cool places and towns and people and stories. But sadly this article doesn't go into depth into those hooks. I would love to know for example what tactical advantage a city of mirrors would give it! That sounds like such a cool concept for a unique battle, or story of intrigue and deception. I'd love to learn more details and examples of this place. But now it really got my brain going and thinking of these things myself, which is also a cool thing for an article to do!

takeaways for my own world:

I want to zoom into some more regions, and add, like SpyGoo did, many distinct places, features, resources etc. No need to flesh them out, just add them first, then see how those would shape the people, travel, trade, traditions etc.

I want to come up with a gripping structure for my worlds, w

I want to zoom into some more regions, and add, like SpyGoo did, many distinct places, features, resources etc. No need to flesh them out, just add them first, then see how those would shape the people, travel, trade, traditions etc.

I want to come up with a gripping structure for my worlds, with where to put quotes, images, columns etc. A good way to take the reader along, but also hooking them in.

List of takeaways:

• The 'tone' for my world (images, layout, wording etc), more in line with my themes and genre.
• What is the 'main conflict'?
• Put my world's themes in my creation myth How the Ancients made de dwarves
• Layout!
• Hand-draw a basic layout for an article (quote- title, description, picute here etc)
• BBC
• ART! create artistic expressions for my world
• (Digital) drawings (in my super cool new booklet)
• Sketches
• Music (just pick something that already resonates, than try to re-create that myself)
• Inspirational writing while listening to new music
• Make a map of a city (Keadin or Dam or Bloomingtown ? , to the level of Bridgeport
• What did the Ancients leave behind?
• Language?
• A basic system for etymology
• Symbols! (flags, crests, jewelry, roseburn icon)
• "money" in the shape of 10x/t?
• Seasons!
• give them more logical names. and give them visual images!
• A Twin planet!
• Region
• Make my regions more: "oooh, that looks cool, what is over there?"
• Regionspanning network. Maybe organic, maybe geographic, maybe magic?
• Characteristic, visible signs of habitation (electricity poles)
• Zoom in to valley of the dancing moonlight: list basic flora and fauna -> how do they interact. Their uses, risks, limits, what desired would that leave the people there?
• Species that embodies features of characters
• Local race variations:
• How did the Dwarves 's origins change how they trade, travel, fight, hunt etc?
• Architecture!
• Clothing styles
• A people who had a complete change of heart. Why? how did this effect their environment?
• The mundane: eating, jokes, art, travel, simple problems
• "how" did the Celestial pylons function in the place they came from?
• If there was a statue of a certain person, what would that statue look like, and what would the inscription be?

My proudest work:

Love how I incorporated the more mundane into this item, it really makes it feel 'lived'.

I love how one small thought made this material extremely versatile: 'what if this material heated up when in contact with water?'

I'm proud that I drew this by hand, and I love that it gives me a more manageable scale of a region to further flesh out!

(and by extension the Northmen) I think I found a cool way to put some personal queer-inspired struggles into my own world in an original way. I think these people can play a significant role in my stories.

I wrote a tiny story for this person, which I am quite proud of. It gives my already existing custom a cool origin story and 'patron saint'.

quite a short and insignificant phenomenon. Yet I like it a lot how it turned out!

Resolutions of 2024

• come up with some more threats to daily life -
• The Haze - the hazy storm of wisps ; flooding; Would love to make more!
• come up with a more extreme change, like stone heart.
• Still want this!
• I want to flesh out how travel would function in this more hostile world
• Look at one region, and the history.
• think of different media my world uses to convey or preserve information
• Zarril pipe was cool. Let's come up with some more?
• create the physical (and mythical) leftovers of the ancients
• Thunderdomes; Source Tree ; More from the others? Like fire arenas?
• find some basic elements to give my made-up words some more consistency
• Etymology: still want that this year!
• create 'language' beyond speech. Ways to convey information
• I want to come up with some more iconography
• Banner for the dwarves I painted! -> gotta upload that!
• I want to create a region with a few towns.
• valley of the dancing moonlight ; The Three View mountains DONE!
• What are some truly LOCAL products?
• Add more races of Ancient-created-humanoids besides just dwarves
• Quoyah / Woodlanders ; Northmen ! DONE!
• Come up with more innovative interactions between people and their environment
• Amaranthite ; declam, purple shell