Believe in you

Take a leap of faith and begin this miraculous new year by believing in yourself. And believe that there is a loving source - a dreamer - just waiting to be asked to help you achieve your dreams help.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Goals set & achieved from resolutions 2023

use more CSS and my own drawings
start a new world
expand Elaqitan
write more prose
regular competition participation
keep a reading list

Last January, a fortune cookie told me that many adventures awaited me. So, I plunged into it and was allowed to go on a wonderful journey through foreign worlds and meet great people.

I kept my goals for 2023 short and vague so as not to fail. I'm happy because I was able to achieve most of it.

A great 2023 is coming to an end for me on WorldAnvil, which I would like to celebrate in a separate article. If you are proud of something you have achieved in the last year, I would be very happy if you shared it in the comments and I could quote it in my annual review.

My WorldEmber 2023

I hope that I have not disappointed the expectations of 100 articles that resulted from my promise to the community. But that was just utopian for me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to reach my goal of 20 articles either, but I'm still happy with the 12 articles I wrote.

The community’s favorite articles:

Meadow Goblins
Êlgista - Goddes of Earth
The brictaelgican Pantheon
Âdocôdix - Goblin

Achievements during Worldember:

8 placed articles in the categories
12 articles submitted
31 comments (as of December 31, 2023)
125 likes 21st place (as of December 31, 2023)
10,083 (real) words
13,193 words including BBCode 111th place

My favorite community articles:

I now follow 99 worlds. So there was a lot of great reading material
during Worldember, so I couldn't limit myself to 10 articles. Sorry!

Tyrdal has only been on WA since autumn 2023, but writes wonderful articles for Aran'sha - a world of 1001 nights. In this article you are invited to the bustling harbor district.

Jandis's article takes you on a wonderful journey with impressive pictures through one of his countries in Resai.

I like that both authors didn't write so-called wiki articles, but rather use the power of poetry wonderfully. While Tyrdal describes the neighborhood with its smells, sounds, intrigue, etc., Jandis uses diary entries to discuss the landscapes, places and their inhabitants. When you read it, you feel like you are in the middle of it all, exploring the neighborhood or the country. Absolutely worth reading and really well written!

Write wiki articles in prose style or as a travel journal for a better reading experience.

What a great Clan motto in LadyArsenik's article she wrote for Istra. I like that a very clever connection has been created between the symbolism of colors with the naming and the clan-typical characteristics and the short summary of the individual clans.

Nomen est Omen.

Ninne124's article about a duck species from her world Dark-Fall is so adorable. The author's writing style feels light and flowing. Quotes and some art round off the whole thing beautifully and harmoniously. I particularly like that when choosing the topics to describe, she seems to have included their behavior and the gentle nature of the species in the article. This means you will really take this duck into your heart straight away.

Consider the unique behaviors of species when choosing topics to describe species in articles.

In this beautifully written article from the world of Chronicles of Evalaw, you'll explore a place of mysterious mist. I particularly liked how the myth about the creation of this landscape still seems to influence life and its inhabitants even after many years.

Use creation myths to describe landscapes and magical places.

FibroJedi has written a very nice detailed article for the world of Qal'ath here. I like how the author describes the emergence and necessity of organization for his world. I also think it was successful how the different types of communication and the development of coexistence between the rider and his falcon as well as the formations were discussed. Really worth reading!

When it comes to organizations, pay particular attention to the necessity of their creation.

Emily Armstrong is the master of culinary puns, as the great title of this article suggests. In addition, the world of Culinaria Punk seems to know no limits when it comes to combining things that are actually mutually exclusive. I call it the oxymoron effect, because who would think of mixing an opera house with baked goods and grains? Emily's combination skills are unique, which also makes each of her items unique.

Combine things that are actually mutually exclusive.

Gabriel Decker wrote about an extremely interesting and inspiring species in Eivral. While the upper body is humanoid, the lower body has adapted amazingly to the respective habitat and many different animal shapes have emerged. I find it fascinating that animal and humanoid ways of life and behavior have been recombined without one having the feeling that it is wrong.

Combine behaviors and lifestyles from different species to create something new.

Kittymonster developed a fantastic and wonderful script for Rosepetal. I like how care was taken to keep each of the 15 glyphs simple yet meaningful. This means they can be learned quickly and placed in many places on the terrain for other travelers. Would you understand the "example sentences"?

Use simple picture fonts as identification symbols - not just for travelers.

Absolutely deserved, this simple gem from nnie Stein in the World of Solaris is one of the best items during Worldember. She paints an interesting picture of the ethnic group and I like how she incorporated the environment and the dangers they face into the article. In doing so, she succeeds wonderfully in developing empathy for the ethnic group in the reader.

It doesn't take a lot of bells and whistles to write a great article.

All you can say is WOW! Notahumanhand has here for the world Itharai has published a great and extremely comprehensive cookbook that invites you to cook again. What I particularly like are the categories into which the dishes were divided, the really inspiring names of the individual dishes and, above all, the information about the cooking effort. I'm a fan of cookbooks and would love to order one!

Don't be afraid to write long articles.

With Journals of Yesteryear, TJ Trewin has once again created a fantastic gem that is second to none. I admit, I'm not a fan of PixelArt, but TJ knows how to bring enormous charm to this art style. I like how he introduces each guild by including small conversations that engage the reader as a direct visitor to the festival. It's also a very clever idea to hide collector's stamps in the items that no one can resist.

Reward your readers with small gifts.

Blue no, it's not Eierlikör! Crazy Eddie did a wonderful job describing the dwarven capital of Koria here. Because of its history, the city now resembles a fortress and I would really like to see some of the defensive mechanics in action. I also liked the part about the dwarves' bookkeeping. Much of what the author describes reflects boring everyday life. But I think it's great because things like that make a world so much more believable.

Let the “boring” everyday life flow into your articles for more credibility.

Kendarian silk from Kydra Hunter is created by the influence of the elements and is a precious and well-guarded treasure of the inhabitants of their world Oabos. Depending on the element, silk has a different property that can be further enhanced by the weave. I love the magical fantasy that lies in this material and Kydra does a wonderful job of describing her world in a way that makes you want to be a part of it.

Combine the magic of the elements with materials and objects to create a more fantastical world.

A really great concept that Strixxline has implemented with this article for Malkora. What I particularly like is that common names of elemental magic have been avoided to create something unique. I love the simple explanations of each area and the contrasting lines of each area. I also think the visual interpretation of the ley lines is very successful.

When it comes to magical engines, don't just limit yourself to the known elements.

Quite different from what Hanhula is used to, this article represents the dark side of her world Istralar. Hanhula describes the life of a dhampir with a lot of feeling, which gives the article a dark, painful depth and allows the reader to develop empathy for the character. Without wanting to be macabre, but this article is “to die for”.

Behind this wonderful article from Nimrodial's world of Ayonerra there is also a tragic figure who would certainly have become a great queen of her country if she had not suffered so many blows of fate. What I particularly like about Nimrodial's character articles are the descriptions of their relationships with people close to them. In addition, each item shines with incredibly beautiful drawings by a great artist.

A character's life is not all peace, joy, pancakes. (a German idiom)

Kummer Wolfe's Hoist the Colors had some good articles during Worldember, but I chose this one because of its intriguing portal theme. I like how the author plays with words to describe the gates and the journeys through them with all their pitfalls. Kummer Wolfe goes into great detail about many things that need to be taken into account. Really a great written and very inspiring article.

Include the pros and cons of magical objects in descriptions.

Isn't it lovely that Serukis named a country after herself for Etrea? Serukis commented on a lot of articles during Worldember, including every one of mine. Thank you so much. But what I find much more amazing is that she still managed to write a lot of articles about a hole of the georaphy of her world. I've browsed through some of them and am very excited about the expansions. Good job.

Write small articles as a kind of encyclopedia.

Even though this article was written in German, you shouldn't miss reading it. Nightone always writes very detailed articles in his world Irda, which often serve as a source of inspiration for me. I like that, in addition to the wiki style, he included some quotes from research protocols and observations from scholars of his world when describing this humanoid cat species. This gives the species something mystical and worth protecting.

Use quotes from research and discoveries in descriptions.

During Weltember, Kwyn Marie brought her world Evenacht to life. And I'm telling you, there are really very inspiring species from the spirit and living worlds there that can produce strange new creatures together. Sounds absurd? Absolutely not, I think it's great and that makes the Evenacht all the more diverse. Here the species are presented individually with drawings as well as their typical characteristics and behavior.

Overview articles give a first impression of your world.

My resolutions for 2024

For 2024 I hope to be able to accomplish three large and five small projects.

The big Ones

1. In 2023 I wrote some articles that I hadn't written, or at least hadn't planned on writing at the time. It was a great experience and I earned lots of badges. This year, however, I want to try to focus on content that is or could be important to the project of the novel. During WeltEmber I had 100 articles on my writing list for Brictaelgis, of which I unfortunately only managed 12.
   Resolution: Write at least one or two more important articles from the 2023 World Ember List every month.


2. There are great spreadsheet sharing communities within the community. Among other things, Catoblepon came up with the idea for lots of one-word prompts last year. Unfortunately, my column was somewhat forgotten over the course of the year. Additionally, during my Mythtober I had started writing short articles between 100 and 150 words that could further my world building. I didn't want to write stub articles, but I also didn't want to have to delve further into the subject matter if it wasn't necessary for the plot of my novel.
   Resolution: Develop a kind of lexicon that contains small articles of no more than 150 words for many of the one-word prompts and write at least two short entries each month.


3. I had already developed my five languages of the continents in 2022, but these articles lack pizzazz, dictionaries, stages of development and so far I have not been able to implement any writing systems.
   Resolution: Further develop at least one article in the five languages.

The art of resolutions by Blue Fairy 74 via Midjourney

The little Ones

1. Make quote frames and lines that represent each continent of Elaqitan.
2. Write an introductory article in Elaqitan to help readers find their way around.
3. Check contradictions in articles.
4. Continue working on writing prose.
5. When writing, think outside the box and use “oxymorons.”

Final Thoughts

I would like to thank everyone for a great 2023. If I'm honest, the year 2024 scares me a little - what awaits us politically, economically and family-wise? Basically, I try to find something positive in every bad situation. Things don't happen without a reason and perhaps make room for wonderful new things. Let's hope for the best and go back to the opening quote. There are many things we can't control, but we can believe in creating great things. I wish you all a healthy New Year full of happiness, confidence and, above all, belief in yourself.