My Overambitious WorldEmber 2022 Goals

Week 1: Plan

1. What's the most important setting to me right now?

I have only one world, but many settings within it. My articles are a pretty disorganized patchwork scattered over thousands of years and miles. I dream of writing a series of novels based in my world, but the problem is I have more ideas for sequels (and prequels) than for the core story. So I need to stop messing around on the periphery of my world and dig into where the action is supposed to be: the Cluster Islands at the end of the 2nd Volcanic milennium.

2. What part of that setting will allow me to achieve my goals?

The conflict driving my vague plot is the opening of the inter-island conduits and the tideriders-vs.-islanders tension that follows. I've identified major figures and attitudes on the tiderider side, but not as much on the islander side.

3. How will this help me achieve those goals?

World Anvil works. It gives me the focus I don't have on my own. A couple of flash challenges last year gave me the boost I needed to write my first real chapter. I'm hoping that WorldEmber will fuel my second.

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Week 2: Mini-Meta

I read through my meta, and found I've already written the scope and theme for my mini-meta:

Two thousand years ago, the development of geothermal energy made it possible for stable civilizations to settle on unstable land. Now a new major change is in the works. Conduits--an advanced transportation technology--have made it possible to travel between distant islands in a matter of hours, rather than days or weeks. This means that when disaster strikes, aid can come quickly. It also means that an attack can come without warning. Were the islands better off before or after? Should the conduits be embraced or abandoned? And what will happen if these questions cannot be answered without war?

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Week 3: Categories and Tags

I do have categories...but I don't think I'm using them effectively. Every time I sit down to organize articles I give up in frustration. In my writing, that's a sign I need to back up and try a different approach. When I started, I thought it would make sense to sort things according to where in my world's history they belong, but there's too much that doesn't fit neatly. I've noticed a lot of other worldbuilders use a more type-based organizational scheme, so I will try that and see how it works for me.

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Week 4: CSS, Presentation, and Graphics

Sorry to say, but my world will probably not be getting any prettier.  I'm not art-oriented, and I hate writing code.  I can improve my presentation in other ways, though.  I should be using tooltips as much as I use article links, to clarify things without making readers leave the current page.  I'm also considering using the voice of an in-world chronicler, as I've seen other worldbuilders do to good effect.