WorldEmber 2021 Pledge
I pledge to complete at least 5,000 words of new worldbuilding in the month of December, 2021. I also pledge to not attack myself if I don't reach that goal.
Goals
Wordcount Goals
Since this is the first year I've attempted WorldEmber, and I am not in great health, I'm setting my goal below the regular completion goal. This means that I don't have to "actually" complete WorldEmber to feel like I participated and made an effort!
While I do write quite wordy articles, and I think myself perfectly capable of writing 10,000 words in a month at this moment... I also acknowledge that a lot is going on in my life at the moment and my health has a tendency to go off the deep end with no warning. I set my goal low to account for that.
Personal Goals
Other than reach the word count, I hope to reignite some of the fire of worldbuilding in me. The bleakness of my situation has meant that I haven't made a lot of progress on this world in a while. Hopefully, by participating in this event and gaining support from the community, I'll be able to regain some of the energy I lost.
Most of all, though, I want to remain as positive as I can about this whole thing. I don't usually attempt challenges like this because I'm rarely able to complete them and end up hating myself for it. This time, I want to try my hardest to be as positive as possible. Even if I don't write a single word for the entirety of December, I want to make a point to not attack myself for it. I'm going to try my best, and that will have to be enough!
Focus
Priority One: Celestial Conditions and Glowbiology
Recently I have been working out the kinks on how Glowfauna take advantage of Aura. This resulted in the creation of the Celestial Nexus and Celestial Core. The cool thing about my magical system being tied to biology is that I can create a whole bunch of unique diseases tied to the magical organs! This topic has been giving me a lot of inspiration recently, so I hope to ride that wave for WorldEmber. I also hope to address how Glowflora use Aura, and hopefully create some new species!
I also need to actually write the Dragon Wings article, since they're pretty important to understand how dragons work in my world.
Priority Two: Floatstuff, Monoliths, Floating Islands
Floatstuff desperately needs a formal article (and probably a better name!), since it's cited in pretty much everything that has to do with Aura. I don't have any ideas yet on how exactly I could expand on Floatstuff, so I don't know if I'll be able to get it done this December, but I'd like to think about it regardless.
In relation to Floatstuff, monoliths and floating islands also need completed articles. The floating island article is actually already half written, so I won't be able to count it towards WorldEmber this year. Monoliths, though, really need an article. I've sort of abandoned them recently but they need and deserve love! Hopefully I'll be able to write something up for them.
Priority Three: History and Calendars
I still need to finalize the most popular calendars used in my world. I also need to decide the current technological era. These two pieces have been a roadblock for me in worldbuilding cultures and countries for a very long time. Maybe this December I'll be able to finally knock it out!
Summary
This December, I hope to write at least 5,000 words of new worldbuilding. If I don't achieve that goal, that's okay! My three priorities are glowconditions and biology, floatstuff, and the time scale. If I only touch on one of those priorities, or do something completely different altogether, it's okay! If I don't write anything at all for WorldEmber and this pledge just sits in the Meta alone, that's okay too!
I don't think I really believe any of those affirmations yet. Hopefully I'll be able to repeat them enough until they seem true. I am just proud of myself for being vulnerable enough to make this pledge anyway, and to admit that it's okay to fail. Or, at least that's what I'm told...
See you in December!
UPDATE: 11th of December, 2021
I reached 5,000 words today! Wow, it was shockingly easy. The ideas just kept coming. I feel blessed.
Since I reached 5,000 almost halfway through December, I think that I might actually be able to reach the big 10k! I'm going to keep on writing and see what happens.
Subgoal Progress
"Floatstuff"
I split "Floatstuff" into three different substances: kaalite, edylium, and iakine, and made floatstone its own article (not written as of yet). This also spawned the creation of Luminous metal, which sparked the idea for what people in SanZera would use to make currency!
There were also a bunch of little threads of ideas that popped up during the creation of those articles. I have so much more to work on, and it's all exciting!
Glowbiology
The article that pushed me over 5k today was Glowless, which summarizes the condition where a Glowcreature or person does not have any Glow abilities. I really like how it came out, and I even created a little (slightly disturbing) story about some possible characters I could explore!
Knowing more about Glowlessness (and finally having a proper word for it) is going to be very useful going forward when I finally dive into some cultures.
Technological Level
While writing about the floatstuff elements, I finally got an idea of where I want the technological level of my people to be. I think I want to place it somewhere similar to the Victorian era, during the beginning stages of a huge technological revolution involving Auratech.
If I'm honest, this was the era I always kind of wanted to place SanZera in, but I was hesitant because my sister is currently writing a story that happens at a similar era. I decided to suck it up and just do what I want.
I'm so happy that I was able to do this. I couldn't have done it without the lovely people in the World Anvil discord. All of the support, especially in the word sprinting channel, has really made me feel loved. It's been a shining light in the darkness for me. Thank you all so much. I don't think I could really ever express how much that means to me.
UPDATE: 22nd of December, 2021
Mission Accomplished!
I did it! I completed over 10,000 words of new worldbuilding in the month of December! Wow! I can hardly believe it. I feel so blessed and so loved by everyone in this community. Once again, without all of your support, this wouldn't have happened. Not even close.
The article that pushed me over 10k is by far the best article I've ever written thus far. It's an article on tatzels! They are "weasel dragons" that are very tiny and like to steal trash from people. I made a ton of art in a crazy short amount of time for this article and I wrote about three thousand words in it! I'm indescribably proud of it and I can barely stop myself from shoving it in everyone's face, haha!
I doubt I'll get nearly enough likes to claw my way into the top ten for the Species special category, but I know it's a banger article and that's enough.
Going Forward...
Despite my success, I know myself enough to know that after this mountain of inspiration, there will surely come a valley. I'm not sure when it will hit in full, but I can already feel it looming...
I feel satisfied, though. I guess I didn't have to put my secondary goal of being nice to myself into full practice since I actually did win WorldEmber. Right now I feel really good. I guess I will continue to try and live in the present.
One last time... thank you to anyone who is reading this, and anyone on the Discord server who showed me any semblance of kindness. It means the world. I'm serious.
And good luck to any endeavor you may be seeking, WorldEmber or otherwise. Even if you don't reach your goal, your efforts still matter! Keep on fighting, and writing, for another day.
I will see you all next December.
That looks like a fantastic pledge! It's more important to look after yourself than to write a huge number of words. We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines! Best of luck during your World Ember and listen to your body! <3
Thank you so much!!