New Year's Resolutions!

I had an amazing time with WorldEmber, and wrote over 12,000 words! I'm super proud of myself and got a good chunk of articles out of the way that I would have procrastinated otherwise, and had a great time doing it!

Reading Challenge

I had an awesome time during the reading challenge, and could have dug up many more than 10 fantastic articles by other Anvilites! To be noted is the fact that I scrolled through the entry pages at my leisure with a cup of tea, picking titles at random that stood out to me. Because of that, there's definitely some bias toward categories that are my favourites to read (characters, items and species) but I tried to reach out and read at least a few from some categories that are usually a bit slower for me (eg. languages, military/conflicts, vehicle).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Here are a standout top 10 of the articles I've read so far, in no particular order!

1. "Shea" by cruisercrusher - an enjoyable read, I loved the relationship between Shae and her sword. Absolutely loved your beautiful artwork, and the article is really well-paced, making it easy to read! I'm self-conscious of my own characters and get a little shy sharing them, but this has really inspired me!
2. "Sending Thoughts in Smoke and Ash" by DesdemonaRose - I'm a sucker for traditions, and this one was beautifully thought out for the world it's set in! A nice easy read that's entertaining throughout. I loved the little note snippets, and I'd love to try something similar someday!
3. "Aiterean Language" by Dhelian - I may not understand much about languages (though I'd love to learn!) and honestly, they don't normally interest me! That being said, I remember when this was posted during World Ember and I was enamoured with the script enough to show my partner and sibling; absolutely captivating work, and super believable! The layout of your articles and your styling is gorgeous too ;n;
4. "Vortex Tithe" by Mila TheBookWorm - I loved this unique and believable travel solution! A fun article to read with lots of interesting facts, and I especially enjoyed the section on famous users of the coins! Characters and examples of life usage really make an otherworldly, magical thing seem believable! This article reinforced how important characters and examples are to cement factors into your world in a believable way.
5. "Cloak of the Daywalker" by malinsquest - Love a nice short article delivered with confidence and mystery! The addition of the artwork drew me in, and I love the endless story potential the cloak offers! I love the little note at the top too! This article reminded me I don't have to write super long articles for them to be punchy and attractive, and sometimes a short neat article is much more attractive than a rambly one!
6. "Drainroot" by Kaleidechse - I loved this creepy, horrific plant as well as its interesting world uses and risks, and the article's lovely 3D artwork! This article reminded me I should definitely make some creepy plants.
7. "Jin-Iataxi" by Erixxl- Another super creepy one, I loved the potential cultural implication of type of being this old and terrifying. It's giving eldritch horror, and I'm a big fan! This article reminded me that I should flesh out some more beings related to my universe's creation aside from just the deities.
8. "Teiva, Goddess of Nature" by NoahWholeLot - I love this goddess's various aspects, and the rules on worshipping each one! I'm a big fan of deities that are fear-inducing as well as worthy of being worshipped! This article inspired me to be a little more creative and flexible about how my deities present themselves.
9. "Caius Carrion" by IoTheSC - A super cool character and an article that's just a fun AF time to digest, I was giggling and kicking my feet at all the cool little elements to explore across this article! One day I'll learn CSS so I can make pretty things like this!
10. "Bone Thorns" by auzins92 - I adore believable worldbuilding conditions, and this one was great! More gorgeous artwork, and a really well-presented, fun read! Again this article is super neat and shiny and concise, and it's a good reminder that more often than not, concise articles are going to be more readable than huge infodumps!

And, some honourable mentions of other articles I really liked!

• "Decade" by devinsxdesigns
• "Driftglass" by M.R.R. Shelswell
• "Ilyx'ori" by Roots2Riots
• "Augalai" by Leijona
• "Knocking Bird" by Shaaman
• "Data Fae Poisoning" by Tankium

My Successes!

If you're wanting a bit of reading to do for your own reading challenge, here are a few of my favourite articles that I wrote for World Ember!

Goals for 2025

I've been struggling to get goal-oriented for some time, but the New Year is going to mark a bit of a turning point for me goals-wise! I'll be committing to finishing the setup of my small business creating art, and really committing to working on more commissions and varying my portfolio! This might mean less articles this year, but also might mean a true head start on my comic as well as better illustrated articles!

I'd also like to finish the manuscript I started for NovelEmber, which was originally a bit of a throwaway practice project that I've ended up really fixated on ever since. I'm 55,000 words in now, and expect it to be finished somewhere around 70,000-100,000 words. It's a bit of a self-indulgent lore supplement for some side characters in my planned comic and probably won't make a lot of sense until the comic is released, so I'll probably hold off publishing it here till then, but we'll see how it turns out!