In Review: Concepts, Introductions and Impact

Lessons from Ten Articles by Ten Authors

We've welcomed in a new year, and with it, we review and prepare for the next. There's this sense that January sets the stage for the rest of the year. The first month of a new year is both like any other month and swollen with expectations. The truth is that the present is always setting the stage for the future. Whatever point in time you decide you want to do better, is a time where you can set that resolution into motion.
As I write this, the Worldbuilding Awards of 2025 are open for submissions. Winning Most Beautiful New World in 2022 was a great boon for Solaris, and I am so eager to see and celebrate some of the best world anvil has to offer this year. Because I want to see our community at its best, I want to help you put your best foot forward. My creative resolution is to continue to hone my craft and to share what I have learned along the way, and hopefully the advice in this article will help you along yours.

Articles in Review

These articles were submitted to me for feedback by their authors. They span a variety of topics and approaches. In this review, we'll be looking at them as a whole, and try to identify what makes a good article.
As I was reading and sorting through my thoughts, I eventually decided that there are three main ingredients. The first is the concept, the idea behind the article. The second is the introduction, the factors that go into whether or not someone decides to read an article. The third, and final, is what the reader is left with after reading.
Do check out the reviewed articles! They were all enjoyable, and I will be leaving a longer comment with more indepth and personalized feedback on each individual article.

Articles Reviewed

• Natare by Asmod
• Augulai by Leijona
• Layikani by Blue Fairy 74
• Ignitius by CoolG
• Pingu by Sh4d0wPh03n1x
• A journey to some new realms by nnce
• Pendraken by NimrodialLibrary
• Aira Vasar by Imagica
• The Universalists by Tankium
• Main Story Overview by MadToxin

Concept

There are many different things that bring us to worldbuilding. Some of us start out as authors, others want to run tabletop roleplaying campaigns, and others come purely for the joy of inventing new worlds.
No matter what brings you to worldbuilding, one of the things that really elevates a world is a sense of direction. This can take many forms, from an author who understands the themes that they are going for, to a very clear and defined format. This direction makes us trust the hands we are in, we begin to trust that our interest and the time we spent with the world will be rewarded.
Direction weaves through every article. For example, in NimrodialLibrary's article about Pendraken, we get his perspective on his life and the events he took part in. If we follow a link to a mentioned character, we'll get their side of the story. In the relationship section, we get a glimpse of how the characters feel about eachother. It's a tapestry that comes together across several articles, and we get excited for what else we will learn with each new article.
Knowing the purpose of your world, and each article, also helps you feel secure in your decisions. A lot of us end up watering out our work because we try to please everyone. We take every piece of advice, because we don't trust our own instincts. Take some time to think about what you want. Any choice is right, so long as it is willed.
Here's some questions to ask to help you hone in on the concept for an article:

What is the purpose of this article?

How can I tie this in with other articles in my world?

What is it important for the reader to understand?

Introduction

Our first challenge when presenting our work to the world is getting people to read it. Something that adds challenge is that an article that is inviting to read distracts you into reading it. Like with audio, as long as everything is good, you do not pay attention to the things that ease you into reading.
As I see it there are two elements at play: Familiarity and friction. Friction is anything that makes reading harder, from a font that is hard to read, to a banner that is so tall it hides the text of the article. Familiarity is what makes it easier for other anvillites to read our work, and makes our current readers bad at identifying where the friction for new readers might be. Familiarity is also why it is helpful to use a format we're familiar with, like wikipedia-style articles or a travellogue.
When I am new to a world, the most common friction I run into is the lack of an introduction. Things that feel very obvious to us as the writer, aren't necessarily as obvious to the reader. Think about what a reader is likely to know when you start your article. They probably have an idea of what a sky elf is, but a vla'werra could be anything!
The ten reviewed articles have a good variety of different introductions, which you can compare and contrast to judge what you like best. The classic "world anvil article" often starts with a quote or an excerpt of prose, like Blue Fairy 74, Asmod and Imagica do for their articles. I also notice that Tankium, Asmod, and CoolG all open their articles as if they are answering the question "What is this article about?". Sh4d0wPh03n1x and MadToxin go for more conversational styles in their introductions.
Here are three questions to help you present your article at its best:

How will I make sure people know what this article is about?

What do they need to know first?

Could parts of my introduction be misdirecting?

Impact

The impact of the article is what the reader is left with after reading it. It is the sum of the parts you put in, from the concept behind it, to the introduction that hooked them, and the story you took them on. Some worldbuilders seek to write articles that sate the reader and leave them confident they now know everything there is to know about the topic. Others want to whet their appetite and leave them wondering what else is out there. Both are excellent goals, and the way you'd go about achieving each is different.
The article that left the greatest impact on me was Tankium's The Universalists. The Universalists describe an ancient species that underwent the cool death of their universe, but managed to shape the new universe in a way that would allow them to stick around. They serve almost as the progenitor of the progenitors, and cast a wide shadow (or shine a bright devastating light) on the setting.
It is well known that art can leave an impact, especially when it is custom made for an article. Sh4d0wPh03n1x and CoolG both include their own art, drawing diagrams and travel posters for their articles. Asmod has a commissioned crest for their settlement. Sometimes people mistake the value of art as decorative, when the real value is how efficiently an illustration can communicate information. Diagrams are especially "nutritionally" dense, and can often convey information much easier than a written explanation.
I'll end with three pieces of advice to help you write impactful articles:

The first and last sentence of each paragraph are the most valuable, people often miss things in the middle.

Ask yourself occasionally "can I take this idea further?"

End on the idea you want your reader to sit with