New Years Resolutions 2024
Another Year Lighting Up the Forge! How did we pack so much into one little year?
Holy moly did I do a lot of stuff this year.Another year, another quiet moment for reflection, as we look back on everything we've done, and look forward to everything we will do!
2023 in Review
A Gleaming Year
What a year! Filled with adventure, new friendships, and excellent worldbuilding, so many new creative journeys began this year! I thought I'd start us off with an overview of this year's highlights before we dive into the articles that inspired me during WorldEmber. Why not start with a badge parade? We're all notorious shiny collectors here, aren't we?
I wanted to *excited flailing noises* about three badges in particular from this year! My first ever victory on WA happened during the Worldbuilding Awards, and this ribbon is now my greatest pride and joy! The west coast meetup badge is less of an achievement and more of a keepsake from a once-in-a-lifetime (or, first in my lifetime?) trip, and the Most Helpful Camper badge just filled my heart with all kinds of soft, mushy emotions.
01 - Jan
02 - Feb
03 - Mar
04 - Apr
05 - May
06 - Jun
07 - Jul
08 - Aug
09 - Sept
10 - Oct
11 - Nov
12 - Dec
bullies accountability buddies!
Speaking from experience, enlisting your friends to keep you accountable during big events is super motivating! There's nothing like a loving nudge in the right direction to keep you on track to meet your creative goals!
Taking my Craft to the Big Screen!
At the very beginning of this year, I got my start as an art & worldbuilding streamer over on Twitch! The love and the support from the community got 2023 started on the best foot possible, and my first art streams were a hit! I got to read articles and make doodles for each one, totaling 25 article doodles! You can check those out over in my New Years Resolutions 2023 article! With the community's help, I also reached Twitch affiliate in just a few weeks! Thank you so much for supporting me on this brand new adventure!Malkora's First Worldbuilding Awards
I submitted my work to the annual awards on WorldAnvil for the first time this year! See all of the submissions I threw into the mix over in this article: Worldbuilding Awards 2022: Malkora's First!! (And it was during this month that I raced to finish my Ink-Stained Map of Malkora in a panic to meet the submission deadline for WAWA!)Bird Month!
Bestiary February came and went this month, resulting in some excellent little creatures being added to Malkora! There are some crowd favorites that I desperately need to create articles for, like the beloved Sea Scamp, but just having a little list like this is such a delight! I can't wait to make articles for each of these creatures, and give them the love they deserve!Worldbuilding Awards Nominations... and Wins!
This is the month I think I cried the most throughout the year, but all for good reasons! During March, I found out I was nominated for a worldbuilding award and absolutely freaked out. I later found out I was wrong, and that I was actually nominated for two. Cue more waterworks.I made cute little graphics, at first just for myself, and later for all of the nominees and categories, by request! They were so fun to put together!
To stave off the post-nomination jitters, I did a reading challenge featuring the other nominees in my categories, and highlighting my entries! See that over in WAWA 2022 | Nominations & Reading Challenge!
I was introduced to so much new, amazing work from people I never knew before!
Weepy Winner
Let's not even begin to get started on how I felt when I heard my name called out on the awards ceremony stream for both awards. The VOD highlighting my tears is lost to the void, as far as I'm aware, so there is no evidence of my gooeyest moment live on camera.West Coast Adventures!
WorldAnvil hit the west coast of the US this month, and I got to join after winning tickets to D20 at Sea last SummerCamp! I got to go on my very first cruise, take my first-ever trip to California, and I got to hang out with some excellent beans — you might even know some of them! I love getting to tell people I came home from a cruise without even a hint of a tan, because we all spent the whole trip playing D&D in the basement. I can't wait to go again this year, and see who will win the trip and come with us after WorldEmber!Amazing Memories!
It's really one of those times where I cursed being such a shy creature, because LOOK at all of these amazing humans gathered into one space! D20 at Sea was such a dream, and I'm forever honored that I won this trip just by doing what I loved — worldbuilding!There's Been a Murder! My first D&D liveplay!
I had the delight of being invited to my first ever live play of D&D on WorldAnvil's Twitch channel, playing through Chris L's Massacre on the Moonlight Express for Play May! This article will be familiar if you'd checked out the advent calendar on WorldAnvil this year! I have so many fond memories of... getting nearly snipped in half, getting coated in tons of angry, pinching crab babies, and watching in horror as my favorite NPC had a Really Bad Time(tm). Many thanks to Kitoypoy for the opportunity to come experience a slice of Wizard's Peak!More Air Time!
I also got to hang out on stream with Moro and several other chapter leaders as we reintroduced chapters to the community! It's been such a blast seeing them make a resurgence in the past year — if you want a cozy group of worldbuilders to create with, you should join a chapter, too! (Summaries of each chapter and their members can be found in the WA Discord server in the #info-chapters channel!)Camp Feral Badge by Strixxline
Dewy Diamonds Badge by Strixxline
Something Feral in the Air...
SummerCamp prep took over my life in June, and from this hype spawned CAMP FERAL and the DEWY DIAMONDS! Rallying beneath the banner of community love and feral spirit has been such a delight! And don't you worry... they're coming back this year, with a vengeance!Camping Season!
SummerCamp this year was an absolute blast, and I really feel like I rocked it through and through! At the end of the month, I caught the SummerCamp Picnic where I got to hang out with some amazing worldbuilders! I also got to hang out with Janet and create the STEGO-CON! Who doesn't love robot dinosaurs? Per request, I brought my WAWA awards with me, and I got them signed by Janet and Dimi! Janet drew a little dino on one of them! :)SummerCamp Summary
Streaming this month was a blast, and I brought Feral Fridays to life, reading articles from the community each week, highlighting people's favorite works from the latest prompt waves! We're going to ignore the fact that my SummerCamp summary article isn't even complete, but it does link to all of the work I made during the event AND the Feral Fridays showcase articles!Big Month for Streaming!
My Twitch channel reached 300 followers this month! I also joined a stream team! On top of that, I also ran my first ever charity stream, and raised my first $100 for ExtraLife! On top of all of that, during the awards ceremony for SummerCamp, I found out that I was voted Most Helpful Camper, which was a hugely proud moment for me! It really warms my heart to hear from members of the community that my streams help them and give them a cozy creative space to vibe and work. I only hope I can improve my streams even more in the future!Venerate Those Characters!
As a sponsor for this year's SummerCamp, I did article reads on stream of some of the submissions for my sponsored prompt: Venerated Characters! There were a lot of amazing characters sent my way, and picking my number one felt like an impossible task. In the end, one victor did reign supreme — but be sure to check out my entire shortlist! You won't be disappointed by the lineup!WorldAnvil Takeover Stream!
An invader took over WorldAnvil's stream this month (hint: it was me) to talk about what it takes to get started as a streamer! I may not have the experience to guide your channels to major success, but I have plenty of experience getting started and having fun with the process. If you're aiming to stream your worldbuilding — or anything at all! — one day, check out the recording! You can always ask questions in the comments over on Youtube if you have any!The Companions We Made Along the Way
With September also came the Treasured Companions challenge, where I wrote about the companion of Kora, the Dawnbringer: Levje, the Druid! This was a fun article to create, and I loved taking the time to develop some of the lore surrounding Malkora's first humans to ascend to godhood. I look forward to developing that part of the world more! I also did my first-in-a-loooong-time doodle for Malkora, inspired by Levje's article! Stonegrass Lavender has its own little art now, and it's making me feral for more botanical art.Welcome to the Inner Sanctum!
In October, I made the leap into the unknown — into the depths of the Inner Sanctum! Over the course of 2023, I went from Grandmaster to Sage, to Inner Sanctum, to Moderator (that last one's a spoiler for December hehehe)! I've worn so many fancy coats this year!Spookiest WE Prep!
Spooktober has been so much fun the past few years, with how freeform the challenge has been! Last year ('22) my Spooktober was filled with emotes and cute little arts, and this year was a stub challenge! I used Spooktober as SUPER early WorldEmber prep, setting up stubs for topic I really needed to work on, doing my best to slot them into prompts that make sense for them! This early prep was super helpful, in the end! I just wonder what we'll be doing for Spooky season this year? :DPreparing for the Inevitable...
WorldEmber prep finally arrived in November, and I was just brimming with ideas and plans for the coming event! I signed my fancy little pledge, and made outlines of what articles I needed to write, which topics to focus on, and even went so far as to recruit my friends asDemolishing WorldEmber
Ah, WorldEmber. The event that I am notorious for completing on the final day, after making a fevered rush to churn out several thousand words in a night — but not this year! I was able to complete my 10k goal so early this year, that I even managed to create some art for my biggest articles! That's... unheard of! by Strixxline
by Strixxline
Primers, and Other Closing Achievements!
I closed out 2023 with a bang, as a worldbuilder, as a streamer, and as a creature. I am so immensely proud of the fact that Malkora now has a proper primer, in the form of Savelan Geography Lesson, and also has an article introducing the concept of Leylines, which are so fundamental to Malkora that it's silly it look this long to write it. This month, I also reached 400 followers on Twitch, and Malkora reached 200 followers. These are both AMAZING numbers, and I can't thank the community enough for helping me reach them! We were also able to raise $240 for charity this year — a humble sum I plan to beat this year!Click through the tabs above to get summaries of each month's adventures and accomplishments!
by Strixxline
What a wild year it's been!
I did so much this year! That's not something I'm used to after being stuck at home for the past few years that came before. Thanks for sharing this adventure with me, friends!Want Secrets?
Certain articles may have additional secrets for GMs — pick the role that suits you!Seeker — Player Knowledge
Dawnbringer — GM Secrets
Community Reading
WorldEmber was a fantastic month for magic. It's the subject I focused on the most, so why not immerse myself in the magic of some other worlds?
Asterarcana by Vazdimet
I adored this look into the magic of Vazdimet! I've heard the tagline so many times: Necromancy is a wholesome science! But I never stopped to think that there was more magic there, too! The icons for each are excellent, and I'm itching to create icons for my magic system now, too!The Fading by Kydra_Hunter
Interactions with magic and the world is a core theme to Malkora, so I'm all about this! Kydra's article breaks down effects on all sorts of different things, from living things to pigments, and more! Reminds me to focus on the little things, to add extra interest to my magic.Manomancy by Oaster2000
What an awesome article, diving into a topic that really paints the complexities of Nonvyrox's magic system. This article really pushes me to understand the powers at play in my world, so I can start understanding how they can be manipulated and woven, and to what degree.SANT SLEEP by TheDumbOwl
Owl always reminds me to stop taking my craft too seriously in all of the best ways. Get weird with your concepts. Get silly with the material components for spells. Write for the sake of having a great gosh-dang time! This article and SANT both brought me a lot of joy this season!Let's not forget about our gods. Powers of the world are such a fun subject. I worked with deities during WorldEmber, too!
Greater Deities by Satrium
This article itself wasn't from WE, but it includes several gods that WERE written during WE! Seeing this pantheon come together was insanely inspiring, and I can't wait to dive further into each of my own gods and pantheons like this in the future.Pantheon of the Dawn by Dhelian
More pantheons! More gods! I love this article, and it's showing me that I really ought to start putting together some trees for visual representations of the relationships and origins of Malkora's gods an their shards! Adding that to my checklist of features to utilize!Celestial Tongue by Endrise
Man, this is such a cool article. Language as a power of creation, shaping reality with each spoken word. It's so cool to think of an entire language that can shape the world around them, and I love the differences in perception and interpretation between mortals and celestials.Starfading by Catoblepon
The complexities of faith is one of my favorite things in any world to explore! The Creator in Shattered is so interesting to me, and seeing this condition and its link to The Creator fascinates me! Seeing this irreversible life-altering condition as being chosen of a believed deity is so cool.Influence of the Shards by Hanhula
This article about the effects of shards pulled from the void made for a wildly cool read. I checked out the article about the Shards themselves, and that was awesome, too. I reall ought to think more about the remnants of Malkora's magical past!Excellence in abundance. I don't know how else to describe it. There's so much to read, but not enough time to give all of it the attention it all deserves. Spread some love, if you can!
Have Some More Lovely Worldbuilding!
Resolutions for the New Year
Looking Back on 2023's Goals
"I've got to flesh out my pantheons. — I thought I'd do it this year, and I sort of almost started by making an article to list them all! Now I just need to fill it out. Gods are intended to be pretty big in this world, and I hope to push that as I get to writing further."
I set out on a goal this year of working more on my deities and pantheons and, while I didn't do a full, comprehensive run of Malkora's deities, I did start developing a number of gods, like Kora, the Dawnbringer during SummerCamp, as well as her companion Levje, the Druid during the Treasured Companions challenge. I got to explore their pantheon, the Champions of the Dawn, and there is still a lot about all of these that I still need to dive into — but they exist!
With WorldEmber, I continued on this quest, exploring even more of the gods of the world, even expanding the lore of what the gods are, where they came from, and how they interact with certain aspects of the world. Finally, an article exists for Vosra, the New Dawn, and her pantheon, the Incarnates of the New Age. During my WorldEmber musing, I also came up with the shard system for the Incarnates, which gave us not only the article for the god Atreimus, Strength Incarnate, but one for his Savelan shard, Atreimus, the Purifier.
"I want to better understand my own timelines. — I have a general idea of how things work in my world, and what histories might look like, but the timeline is very muddy in my brain. There may be some reworking of existing chronicles in my future."
Oops I didn't address this at all. Maybe this year? I hear there's never been a better time to jump into timelines on WorldAnvil! ;)
"I want to start streaming! — And I actually did! I made my streaming debut this month with article reads and drawing and it was such a hit! I'm so happy and in love with the hobby, and so I think I will make my actual resolution: Keep streaming!"
My resolution was to keep streaming, and I sure did! Over the course of the year, I've had so many excellent adventures, made new friends, tried new things, and apparently, have helped a lot of people with their own productivity and goals — just by being silly on the internet! This is the most rewarding resolution I've ever set for myself, and I think it's a resolution I can push forward into the new year, and hopefully add on to the experience and make it even better this time around.
by Strixxline
Onward, to 2024: My Goals for a New Year!
Keep the feral energy alive! — I'm planning to keep my zest for worldbuilding alive as I step into another year as a creator! It's so easy to get burnt out and lost in the process... I'll be doing everything in my power to dodge that, while continuing to spread love and excitement for worldbuilding. Both for myself, and my community!
Keep the Momentum Going! — I'm streaming, writing, drawing, and more! This year has been so incredible for all of those things... I just want to keep that going! I'll continue to strive towards excellence in my creative endeavors, especially in my Twitch channel! My main goal is to work on more personal projects — no more commissions, if I can help it!
Build up a new world! — As I take Malkora further into one direction, I have something brewing that will let me keep building in the opposite direction! I have something new in the works... you'll just have to wait and see what that's going to mean! At least, until next month!
That's a wrap for the 2023 season! Lots happened, and lots will continue on... what adventures will greet us in 2024? I have no idea, but I'm glad to have all of you to meet the new year with me!
Have a sippy, for me! Get this year started right :)
You've absolutely killed it this year, there's no doubt about that. I'm really excited to see where this new world goes OvO Thank you for including my mushrooms! :DD