Spring Improvement
Start Date: March 1st, 2024
End Date: March 31st, 2024
Winners will be announced on: April 15th, 2024
The Challenge
Some of you guys have been members of World Anvil since 2018 and have been slowly pumping out articles over the years. Some of you might have joined during WorldEmber last year and might only have a few articles under your belt. Either way I think it's a good time to see how far everyone has come since joining. Many have figured out these infuriatingly complex things called BBcode and CSS, and many more have improved their writing ability. So for the month of March, I challenge everyone to pick an old article and update it to their current style of writing/formatting and show off how much you have improved!
How to Enter
1. Pick an article from your world that is not well liked (less than 5 likes), is hard to read, has poor formatting, you aren't happy with, and/or is just not interesting to read. It could be a tiny stub article, it could be a giant wall of text. It could be some cluttered mess of an article because you were experimenting a little too much with BBcode when you were starting out.
2. (Optional) Preserve the old article in one of several ways. You can take a screenshot or create a new article for the improved version. You can also use World Anvil's Copy Article feature to preserve the original that way as well. This will help show just how far you have come and help me pick the winner of the 'Most Improved' category. If you don't do this, then I will only consider your entry for the 'Best Overall' category.
3. Rewrite and Reformat the article using everything you learned since joining World Anvil. Bring it up to your current standard. If you need help or a refresher, there are links to resources at the end of this article.
4. Post a link to your entry in in the comments section before the deadline (March 31st) so it is eligible.
2. (Optional) Preserve the old article in one of several ways. You can take a screenshot or create a new article for the improved version. You can also use World Anvil's Copy Article feature to preserve the original that way as well. This will help show just how far you have come and help me pick the winner of the 'Most Improved' category. If you don't do this, then I will only consider your entry for the 'Best Overall' category.
3. Rewrite and Reformat the article using everything you learned since joining World Anvil. Bring it up to your current standard. If you need help or a refresher, there are links to resources at the end of this article.
4. Post a link to your entry in in the comments section before the deadline (March 31st) so it is eligible.
If you would like to participate with artwork instead, Go for it! Choose an old piece of art and redraw it. Create an article and post a comparison of the two.
Rules
1. Minimum word Count for your improved article is 500 words.
2. Deadline is March 31stSpecifically 23:59:59 on March 31st on Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean, or 12:00pm on April 1st in Universal Time. If it's still March 31st, 2024 somewhere in the world, the deadline hasn't passed!
3. That's Pretty much it.
There is no maximum word count and I will read it all. If you are participating with artwork, then there is no minimum word count.
2. Deadline is March 31st
It will not be extended though. I'll read through articles and announce a winner sometime in April. If there are a lot of entries I'll get someone to help with reading or take extra time.
3. That's Pretty much it.
The goal behind this unofficial challenge is for you to show us how much you have improved since joining World Anvil. So pick any subject, any article type, and any old article you have, rewrite it and show us how far you've come!
On the Use of AI...
I am one of the most shameless users of AI art on World Anvil, so it should go without saying that I have no problem with its use here. AI art if it is used, should be used to add to support your work, not replace it. Unless it is an art entry (in which case, no AI art, obviously), I am not judging the artwork but rather its placement and use within an article so use whatever images you want. I am going to be judging the writing in addition to the formatting so the use of AI writing isn't allowed under any circumstance.Badges/Rewards
Participation Badge
You get this for submitting an article. Use this code: [img:5383468] to display it!
Most Improved
Awarded to the author that improved their article the most from the previous version.
Best article
Awarded to the article that recieved the most likes during the month of March.
Resources
So, let's say you are either a very new user to World Anvil and still have a lot to learn or you've been here for years and you need a refresher or two. Hey, March is a month long, you can improve even more in a week or two before you start this challenge! I got you covered with codex links and a handful of guides made by other members of the community! If you are ever lost trying to make your articles look better, just spend some time reading through these guide, or just spend some time browsing other people's worlds for ideas. It will not be a waste of time!
The Frenzied Field of Formatting
By EmilyArmstrong
((This guide is great for learning about breaking up information into small quotes, rows, containers and arranging them in a way that does a lot to make your articles look better to sell your world.))
Tips and Tricks for Using Icons
By Hcraven
((Still one of the most useful community resource articles I have read here. I'll look through it occcasionally and still figure out a trick or two I still didn't know or forgot when it comes to using icons.))
Q's Quest for Worldbuilding: Formatting
By Qurillion
((An excellent article that shows you examples of good and bad formatting.))
Using Quotes & Quoteblocks
Also By Qurillion
((Another excellent guide by Qurillion. Quotes are an excellent way to break up larger pieces of information in your world and add important context.))
Entries
Author
Old
New
Old
((In Spoiler tags inside the new article, near the bottom))
Old
Old Article preserved as an image:
Old
Old article preserved as an image:
Eternal Sage Lnphysics
Lauren
"If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting the rest of our lives." -Lemony Snicket
Eternal Sage Lnphysics
Lauren
"If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting the rest of our lives." -Lemony Snicket
Old
Old article preserved as an image:
Venerable Grandmaster Jester%
May you forever find your way on the journey you set out on and make yourself greater.
Venerable Grandmaster Jester%
May you forever find your way on the journey you set out on and make yourself greater.
My Example Article
After creating this challenge, I decided to participate myself by picking an old article in desperate need to improvement. Maybe it will give some inspiration to others wanting to improve themselves? For context, I wrote this article at the end of 2021 in an hour or two. The article is pretty much word spit and doesn't have much use as is. Despite that, it is my most viewed article on World Anvil (still has zero likes though).
This is a long article (1000 words) that has minimal formatting. At least there are paragraphs and a header or two, but otherwise, it's a wall of text. There are no quotes, images, or at least a horizontal line ( [hr] ) to break up the text. Knowing what I know about BBcode formatting, I can definitely do better than this!
I rewrote some of the article, and added a few paragraphs of new information. I broke up the walls of text to be no larger than the window area and I added a number of images to break everything up more. I also added links to important articles using block links. To give the article a little more visual flair I used custom map pins as Icons on the headers (didn't actually know I could do this before re-reading one of the guides from earlier!). I also exercised my CSS skills to make a new tooltip/variable that uses an animated Gif image, that will bring up the usual tooltip when you hover over it.
Good god, I have a whole load of shit articles to pick from xD this looks fun!
The question now is, which one are ya going to pick? Looking forward to see what you got!