Two 'Embers, One Pledge

WorldEmber is coming.

— TJ Trewin

It's that time of year again when all the wild worldbuilders gather around the roaring fires of their forges and begin making plans for their grand creations. "WorldEmber is coming," they whisper among themselves. This year, however, there seems to be some extra excitement in the atmosphere.

Around the world the news spread fast. The steadfast NoNo elves had been overrun by tricksters and evil robots. As a consequence, many creative people no longer felt safe there. A great cry rose up among the creative peoples of the world, and in the great, fiery heart of the WorldAnvil Community Forge, a new tradition was born.

WorldEmber may be coming, but NovelEmber is here!

Focus

During NovelEmber, I'm going to be writing the prose for a new solo adventure that uses the rules I originally made for Adventure April 2023. I've been meaning to get back to working out the kinks, and I think I have a better direction on what I want the story to do, which has given me a stronger grasp of the plot.

December will then be spent putting the plot together as an interactive adventure, as well as filling in the world-building gaps that will inevitably be created through this process.

Build Points

To keep myself from falling off the edge of the map, I'm going to be laser-focused on these points:

Crossroads Island (locations and culture, ethnicities)

Eastern Union (culture)

Western Empire (culture)

East and West Capitalla (culture, some locations)

To prep, I've done some work on Argentii's main map. I've organized the islands by natural resources as well as political affiliation.

Can One Ever be Truly Prepped for WorldEmber?

Again this year, I have pledged 50,000 new words, but must complete at least 10,000 in order to qualify as participating. In addition, I'm judging one of the special categories as well as contributing a few raffle prizes. Being a sponsor in community events has become one of the things I look forward to most about WorldEmber and Summer Camp both.

Welcoming New Readers to Argentii

I got feedback on Argentii's homepage which really helped. The subtle little changes make it cleaner and easier to understand. Big thanks to everyone in the Discord #challenge-discussion channel, especially Annie Stein and Alan Byers.

In addition, I've been working on the overall timeframe, making it more cohesive, and ensuring that what's in my head is compatable with what I've been writing. I'm going to spend a lot of December expanding on core themes that are just stubs at the moment.

Beyond that, my entire plan for WorldEmber is making Argentii more organized and accessable to new people and prepping for the WAWAs. I believe that I am at a place where I can really compete at a level that is equal to my peers. I'm excited for the challenge this year, unlike the last two years where I either didn't know what was going on (2022) or didn't have the energy to put my whole heart into competing (2023).

Hunting for Inspiration

This is especially fun, as most of October was already spent seeking inspiration and imagery to get myself back into the headspace for working in Argentii. It's always fun when 'doing research' and 'watching my favorite movies' intersect.

What Lies Beneath

This supernatural thriller is a slight exaggeration of the tone I want for the world. There's a watery gray quality to the light, as if everything is always touched by a slight mist or fog. It's a world that invites ghosts to wander freely through primeval forests and well loved cottage gardens.

A Haunting in Venice

You cannot go wrong studying Agatha Christie, especially if you aspire to write mysteries. There is a reason why she is the best selling novelist of all time, and rivals only Shakespeare for copies of work sold.

Victorian Lofi

Music is always an inspiration for me, and so I am brimming with excitement to share one of my favorite new lofi channels, Victorian Lofi! Perfect for Victorian, gaslamp, and steampunk settings, or anyone who loves lofi with a clockwork beat. Give it a listen and see where your imagination wanders!

Harnessing the Power of Friendship

Above, I mentioned how I got some feedback on Argentii's homepage. The WorldAnvil Discord is an amazing place, and especially the #challenge-discussion channel. It's always a welcoming atmosphere and is where I've met the majority of my WorldAnvil friends.

Continuing on with this, I put a bit of polish on my author page, as well. I'm always so busy with my fiction and newsletter, I forget to make updates to my personal information. I modeled it on Annie Stein's and others'.

I also belong to one of the best chapters in all of the community, Seven Tomes. Anyone who is looking to connect over a genre or style would do well to investigate the chapter options afforded by the community.

Are you following Argentii?

It's my active world for both events!

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NovelEmber Count

Goals: Seminar, Adventure Prose

Word Count: Optional

11/1: +1721/1721

adventure outline done

11/2: +1090/2811

solid start on Sage Seminar

11/3: +2397/5208

big progress on Seminar

11/4: +470/6578

little progress on Seminar, mental health and rest day.

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See, here's the thing. I've made amazing progress. I've finished one project, written a newsletter every day, and made more than a solid start on the other project. I'm just really bad at counting my words. That's it. And because I'm working on procjects and not a single document, it's not particularly easy to round them up for a count.

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11/15

Seminar: done

Adventure: in progress

GenCon: I've been dodging this until I get through the seminar. I might have more options to work with after the presentation. Either way, I'll begin working on this over the weekend because I have to plan now so that I'm ready for the EOY deadline.

11/20

Adventure: in progress

GenCon: sent hopeful email to a favorite company for collaboration opportunity.

11/27

Happy birthday to me!!

Adventure: geat leaps and bounds today while I had the house mostly to myself. Back on track to achieve my goals by the end of the week.

GenCon: have a good handle on the direction for the class; Ocean vs. River + Elements of World-building.

11/29

Goals: achieved.

NovelEmber: fin.