Q's 2023 Quest for Wordyness

Hello everyone!

2022 has come to a close - and, well, good riddance - so it is time to look to the future and see if the prophecy will unfold as it has been written into the stars. Or, perhaps, make our own destiny!

Going Forward

I have a number of cool plans that I am excited to share with y'all, and the goals for 2023:

Write A Book!

That's right. It's happening, this year will be the year.
Do I know what exactly I'll be writing about or have even the slightest idea what I'm doing? Well... No. But that'll be part of the journey. I have some ideas (secret, secret ideas), but I need to figure out the details to go with the inciting incidents.

"Finish" Araea

Araea is my first and most elaborate worldbuilding attempt so far. There's almost 400k words just in this setting, and I'll probably double that by the time I'm really ready to call it a day.
But for 2023, I want to get Araea to a place where I could leave it and be happy. For that to happen, I need to:

Revise all my old articles (boy howdy are some of them in a rough spot)

Replace all art

Write articles about all major regions, settlements, people, and conflicts

It'll be a really exciting attempt. There are a lot of places and things in Araea I'm really excited to write about. :)
As we speak, I'm working on rewriting the Aschar Region - a mountainous part of the Surface, plagued by earthquakes and home to many volcanoes. It'll be really interesting to show the before/after parts!

SUB GOAL

Across all my different worlds on WA, I'm edging up on 700k total. A smol little bonus goal here is to hit one million words, because that seems pretty fun!

Start A Patreon/Ko-Fi!

My hope, a longshot hope, is to one day be able to dedicate myself full time to writing and worldbuilding, and escape the corporate slave machine. As part of my quest towards creative independence, I will be starting a Patreon/Ko-fi, dedicated to both world-building and world-building guides: examples, exercises, and resources to help people with their world building. Like with writing a book, I really don't have much of an idea what I'm doing here, but if you want to support me, my gratitude will be eternal. A sort of preliminary date for that will be around the 1st of March and I am very nervous.
If you want to check out some of what I'm gonna be offering in that Patreon, check out the Imaginaerium!

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

Other Things I Make

Submit Stuff for the Worldbuilding Awards!

Finally, I'm going to get over my braingoblins and submit some of my work to the World Building Awards 2022. Please consider these articles for your vote; I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out and they have only done so with the help of my many WA friends providing feedback, inspiration, support, and on occasion coffee. :D

Thank you for your support and for reading Araea. It has been a fantastic journey so far, and it's only getting better.

Articles I'm Submitting!

Show spoiler

Hearts & Minds

Rise of Nations

Wondrous Nature

Strength & Honor

Pillars of Progress

Myths & Legends

Best World Building Article

Best World

Most Beautiful World

(With a theme by TJ!)

Now, to the articles...

Articles! Lets read some Articles!

In no particular order, here's some awesome articles!

Qetzel

By Stormbril

Qetzel was once the god of Sight and Mind; it was often reported that what he was able to percieve would break not only the minds of mere mortals, but also that of his fellow gods. He'd use this supposed otherworldly knowledge to taunt humanity and the other deities, with dark whispers and cruel jokes.

Lesson Learned

Stormbril's ability to blend art, CSS, and fiction is truly something unique among all the many worlds on WorldAnvil. The Godhusks of Cathedris are absolute centerpieces of the setting, and it's always a real delight to see how people adapt, adjust, or exploit to the divine corpses walking/floating around.
Qetzel is no exception, and I particularly like the intricate conspiracy that has sprung up around him, and Stormbril knows I'm a sucker for both conspiracies and cults, so this is perfect for me. Every new Godhusk is just getting better and better, and they are always such a pleasure to read.
I should try to make a couple of articles with the same mix of art-css blend as Stormbril, and try to really take full advantage of the WA medium from which we tell our stories. I don't know how yet, but lets add it to the list of things to figure out in 2023. :D

Gauntlet

by TJ

Najé Lanta, I do challenge you to a game of gauntlet - first to three wins, loser does all of the cleaning this week!

— Boa Lanta, challenging her wife.

Lesson Learned

Hey, how about we just go and design an entire game during WorldEmber?
That's what TJ did and the results are pretty amazing! It's another fun example of how you can use WA to create something more than just an article - in this case, an entire game. There's not really much more to say than go read it. I haven't tried playing it yet, but I'm hankerin' to try.
Gauntlet (like Qetzel) makes me think about WA's articles as a medium, and what kind of things we could do to break the mold and do something different. At very least, what are the options for adding perhaps some elements to a setting that people - or players - can interact with. I'm not sure what'd be yet, but it'd be real interesting to explore.

I'm going to challenge him to some Gauntlet, brb.

Simple Cybernetics

By https://www.worldanvil.com/author/DaniAdventures

Not only do they achieve the same outcome of the traditional method, allowing people to experience a newfound level of dexterity and ease with which they can interact with the world around them, but they can also be programmed to creatively improve on a once-missing (or never-before-present!) appendage.

This article brought me back to a chldhood of playing Shadowrun and other cyberpunk-setting games, pouring over all kinds of fun splatbooks for lists upon lists of cybernetic enhancements to heap on my characters. What I love about the article isn't just the nostalgia it brings me, but the way that Dani connects the cybernetics with the culture and society of her setting. It is that kind of context that really makes an article come to life for me.
This gives me a lot of inspiration about tackling cybernetics in my own cyberpunk setting, Megacorpolis. Working on a listing like Dani does, filled with all kinds of corporate shenanigans and funny jokes is very appealing, and I am developing a real urge to go think about some Megacorpolis cybernetics. Lesson: explore and be inspired by how other tackle article types or types of fictions you are looking to tackle.

An Introduction to Etrea

By Serukis

The Enervant Age began with a catastrophic event known as the Renewal. The memories of its sapient inhabitants were wiped away, leaving them only with snatches of memory and dreams of what came before. The world itself was stripped bare and create anew, though some remnants of before can still be found scattered across Etrea.

Lesson Learned

Serukis has created a great primer to get the broadstrokes of Etrea. If you are looking to write your own introduction to your setting, this is one to learn from!
This, and other introduction type articles I've read this year, have given me much to think about how to structure an introduction into a setting and how important it is. It can be so hard for a reader to know where to start with, especially with some of WA's older worlds have hundred of thousands of words. The lesson here is to think about how best to make such a landing easy and frictionless... And some ideas on how to do that.

We believe in open spaces!

By Julian Ralid

You noticed I didn't say every thought. But worry not, new intern. Security is currently developing a project that would allow them to also monitor what our employees think and dream. It's going to be very profitable.

Lesson Learned

Krap Inc is probably my favorite new world in 2022. It is very flattering to know it was inspired in part by Megacorpolis, and I'm now getting inspired by it in turn. The combination of corporate shenaniganery and satire is one that I find immensely entertaining in a sort of soul-destroying way, and Krap Inc is already shaping up to have a lot of it.
And I freaking hate open office landscapes, too.
One lesson from Krap that I'm really enjoying and find could be really useful in other settings it the use of an narrator figure through the Holographic AI, Abby. It's such a fun device to use (and later on, maybe subvert), and I can see it working in all kinds of settings.

EVIL MINIONS

By AmelieIS

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, minions can sometimes become defective or can refuse to answer the love we offer them with due loyalty. In such cases, the only solutions is to dispose of them and starts anew with better subjects for our affections. However, we need to consider what method works best for minion disposal.

Lesson Learned

If I ever were to become an aspiring evil overlord, this is exactly the kind of advice I wish I could get from my lieutenants. The article is fun and full of charm, making it an easy pick for the challenge and as a recommendation.
The lesson for me in this article is using a person as a narrative device - that the article is something written by a character in the world, describing its shenanigans. I don't really do that much, but Amelie shows how it can work really well here.

The Creator

by Catoblepon

The Creator is a star-like object that is the center of the Shattered. They follow a cycle of light, darkness, and rain, although not necessarily in that order and is the main source of light for the Shattered, as well as its only source warmth and is believed to gift life essence as well.

I love weird settings, and the Shattered center of Cato's new setting seems pretty weird. The different states and how they influence the rest of the setting is intriguing, and the Creator is a good place to start when reading the setting.
Once more, ths lesson here is to use the medium of WA articles to do things we can't necessarily do in other formats. The colored text is a nice touch, and it's making me think about doing something like a CSS carusel that changes the 'state' of something like the Creator, which also swaps out the background/css/coloring to match.

Battle of Netter

The Battle of Netter was the largest confrontation between the forces of the Peasants' Republic of Aussel and Kilas III, the Duke of Nordhei and Chancellor of Rueken, which ended with the destruction of the invading Ruekish forces and brought an end to the Sarzin Conflict.

By Dhelian

Lesson Learned

Dhelian is the master of battle articles for a reason and they are always fun to read. In this one, peasants beat up nobles, so it's doubly appealing.
It's no surprise here: I underutilize maps and doing the sort of blow-by-blow reporting of a battle like he does is not something I've really attempted here. Dhelian shows how it's done, and I'm itching to give it a go now, too!

Welcome to LAMP

By Mochimanoban

In this void lives countless moths of extreme sizes. These moths are home to civilisations of humans, all surviving by building their heavily armed settlements hidden in the furry coats of their winged insect vehicles, constantly at conflict with others of their kind.

Lesson Learned

As previously stated, I love weird settings - and this new world from Mochi certainly qualifies. Giant space moths with civilizations settled on their backs, or used as mounts in fights, and oh my. It is a fun mix between that and logical concerns in a space setting, like radiation or space debris.
The lesson here, somewhat casual, is that I should have another look at kaiju type monstrosities in my settings and how they might influence them. Araea already has stuff like the Mahu'ca and Sky Tentacle, but what other wonderful horrors can I inflict on my poor imaginary citizens?

Guide to Solaris

By Nnie

What isn't going on? The Sun turned on us! It is sending out legions of Scourge. We thought it was over when the Keystone of Mercury sacrificed herself to chain the sun, but it started up again just a few years later. Thank heavens for Penumbra!

Lesson Learned

Like Stormbril, Annie does an amazing job of combining her art with CSS to create really awesome and sometimes interactive articles. The Guide to Solaris is a great opener to the setting, and I really adore the planet art bit at the beginning with tooltips for more information.
Although I'm no artist myself, it really makes me wonder what other things like that I could do for my own setting. It's an excellent way to condense information while making it visually appealing (so more appetizing for new readers!) and could be really fun to do for all manner of settings I have.

That's it for now! Happy reading! :D
If you like anything you've read of mine so far, please consider having a look at the articles I'm submitting for this year's worldbuilding awards. If you want to support me in this wacky wild writing journey that I'm on, follow the world or my WA account to stay up to date, or buy me a coffee so I can sustain my withered husk of a body and keep writing
Thanks, and happy new year!