New Year Resolution 2023

Get as many badges as I can

What better way to start 2023 than participating in the community and getting a new shiny badge? Can I continue that and collect every WA badge possible this year (at least one badge per event)? I can certainly try!

Learning From Others

1. Kefkejaco does wonderfully in placement of pictures and words. They fill the page without it feeling overwhelming or too cluttered. Something I noticed looking at this article was that the main headers and images all had curved corners. It really helps visually bring the page together. Lower levelled headings did not have the curves, which also helped to differentiate the levels. This is something I'll think about for my own articles.
Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Ancient culture leads to various modern cultures.

• Reasoning behind a theory gives credence and builds life to the text (particularly if there is a reasoning each for different theories)

• Trade flourished in prosperous times

• Styles of art and architecture change over time

2. I really like how George Sanders weaves story into his pieces. In this one about charlinorite, we get to see how some of the people in his world see it, as well in reference to other materials. It seems to give more depth to just 'here is a rock, it's important', but shows its importance to actual characters. I'd like to do more of this (or similar) to bring out character's in my world's reaction to items in the world.
Other things I found while reading the article (and could think about in my worlds):

• Bolding the first line of a paragraph is an alternative to headers, particularly in a more prose-like peice

• Page breaks via icons

• Researcher notes take up only a small part of the story

3. A condition in a fantasy world that specifically relates to that fantasy world by Catoblepon; their article on a forest growth on a back cursed by a dryad highlights two things. The first is that conditions can specify the fantasy elements of a story, and flesh out the world they are in. Thinking about the magic and magical species in my world - I'd like to add more of this in. The second is that conditions can show the relationships between species.
Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Medical conditions may be specific to / from a certain species

• These conditions can be a reason for the rumours, judgement or fear of other species

4. I find CrazyEddie's breakdown of various aspects of a merchant company quite helpful. Even just remembering that trade is often made either by or through certain organisations, and thus a whole range of interesting worldbuilding things can come through that, including who they service, what their influence is and what services they provide.
Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Makes sense to have multiple merchant companies - particularly with different species and goals

• Stores and warehouses need to be somewhere (whether stationary or mobile) and guarded in some way

• Trade could be between certain species or certain levels of society - not everyone trades with everyone

• Merchant assets can include money, military and/or connections

5. Apart from the fact that the article is about a cat, AmelieIS brings out the character of the cat's owner, and their surrounding family. Glimpses of these come out through the way the narrator speaks of her cat and the cat's daily life. Being able to show characters in a world through something 'ordinary' (as in, the cat could be a cat that lives in our world) gives that relatableness (does it help that I also have a cat?) yet its spun in a way for the reader to subtly see the world around the cat may not be our own. A way to see how the world works through the eyes of a character. Something I'd like to practice in my own writing.
Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Quotes from a character at the start and end (wrapping up) of an article can be fun.

• Coloured boxes can be used to help break up sections into smaller (one paragraph only) sections - as opposed to just boxing a whole section.

6. Some God-husk lore from Stormbril: the article really feels like learning lore and not just sprouts of facts of a thing in their world. There are many oints of interest that invite you to keep reading. Also, the colours in the page (from the background to the text and the images) all flowed well and kept the article feeling neat and exciting. I can feel the story of the past (of that world) unfolding as I read the article, directed via the layout, into short readable chunks. I'm still working out specifically how to do this, but I think this article is something I'll come back to again and again as I work it out. Maybe, in part, due to the re;ationships between characters woven through the article. Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Asking questions in the author section about the article is a thing - and helps promote the awesome community aspect of WA

• Different colours and fonts can work

• Transparent background images work really well when the background is opposing colours / light to the image

7. A game article by TJ that not only describes the rules of agame, but how it came aout in their world, the people that play it and bits about their world through it. Another thing am finding I am consistently drawn to is the origin stories of things, particularly when the origin is officially unknown, but many people have theories about it. This article adds homeland pride to the origin stories. I would like to do more of this in my world, not just write a myth or rumour and the different forms it takes, but how that relates to the people who live in the world today, where does it take part in their world view and what things do they do today that stems from their stance/beliefs. Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Rules of a game can be easy(/ier) to follow with nice formatting

• Can makes things a little more interactive with slides and carousels

• Games can be localised with heros on player artwork

8. Nnie's article was easy to read, due to the breaking into chunks from both the formatting and the types of words used. After an introductory section about Keystones, each section paragraph was next to a small vignette, or close up on the different planet's Keystones. It was fun to read, and having the two different styles of writing (more article-like and almost story-like) - particularly as it was a bit of 'here's some world info' and then 'here's how its seen in specific characters' which I found really worked and would like to do with more of my things - it keeps me more entertained and excited too. Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Separate different writing styles with formatting helps make it easier to read

• With different column sizes in the article, having a full width introductory section can help wrap the article

• When talking about a group, have snippets of individuals from that group throuought the article

9. This article by Satrium talks about a settlement, with the largest section detailing some of the history of the settlement. When thinking of settlements, I often find myself imagining their beginning, where they are now, and maybe what their end will be. I often forget, or overlook, the ebbs and flow of the settlement between beginning and 'now'. Satrium's article looks at the beginning of their settlement, a growth period, a war and life after the war (even with parts of the settlement destroyed). These events have helped shaped the people who live in the city and I enjoyed reading how it came to be. I'd really like to start this with North City in my world of Turien as that is the most multiculturally acknowledged Human city. Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• How people are transported within a town is worth noting

• City defences are worth noting

• Trade, and trade changes over time, are worth noting

• Include map of where the settlement is

10. I find it amusing that Dani has noted that invoking synaesthesia (something I naturally have) via augmentations is illegal. I have a character with synaesthesia (magic-colour unique to Turien), but do wonder how often I should give characters things I have. Apart from syneasthesia, allergies may be an example. Alternatively, what things do I naturally have that may be illegal, or frowned upon or sought after in my world?
Dani has a lengthy few bulleted lists, the first of which includes a bunch of names for specific augmentations. I often skip lists like this, however, before the list a quote from a skeptical character in her world talks bad about the augments. That got me curious and so I properly read a lot more of the list. Again finding that focussing in on a character helps define the broader information of the world. Particularly as earlier in the article much of the socioeconomic status' were mentioned through the use of cybernetics, highlighting the people of the world and the setting of the world are part of a flowing network. Other things I found while reading the article (and should think about in my worlds):

• Table of contents (particularly for longer articles)

• Character quotes can be in the middle of article with impact (don't have to only be at the start or end)

One thing I have found, is that I quite like seeing aspects of each world as they relate specifically to the characters in that world. That's probably (at least in part) why I enjoyed writing my Summer Camp articles last year, as I had an undercurrent of the interactions and relationships between the characters involved in the articles. There's a lot more for me to learn, but I now my enjoyable starting point now, so I will head forward from there!

My Main Projects

Adventures of a Magical Teacher

This story takes place in the world of Turien, and I'd like to continue to give the world some love. As well as write more of the actual manuscript.

Collecting Foundations

Is that a new title? Yes. For my Visual Novel, and it's world Realm-R, I will make this my main focus, for at least the first quarter of the year.

• Rewrite the prologue & chapter one

• Expand on the character articles made in World Ember and add missing character articles

• Start coding scenes

• Write up math problems for a few of the minigames