WorldEmber 2025: Game-Plan

Tis the Season

Oh boy! Our first WorldEmber! We have no idea what we're doing. (Our Best -Salem) We've honestly been in a bit of a slump recently, with tech issue after tech issue throwing off our rhythm and creative process to the point that we only got one article done for Spooktober. I'm doing my best to get us back on the horse for NovelEmber this month, our goal being to write Some Amount every day, even if it's just a few hundred words. Finishing the rough draft of Passerine and Peregrine is the stretch goal, but consistency is more important than quantity right now.

That said! WorldEmber goals. Word-count commitments are scary, so we're lowballing it for now by pledging 10k words over the month of December. I'm reluctant to pick one culture or geographic area to work on since we prefer to bounce around between them, but we may settle on something in the time between now and then, so this will be edited if we do.

Homework Bingo

While we were trying to figure out what this article needs to be, we saw Make Lore, Not War's take on the bingo concept and it looks like more fun than the actual assignment so we're sort of stealing it (check out what they're planning here!). We've picked the 5 assignments that fit our workflow best, and will be tracking them here.

Assignment 1: Make a list of stubs to expand

Enysgwyl - needs literally any content
Gheástryn - needs at least an overview of the species and behavior
Peregrine - needs personality and relationship information at minimum
Siarabyðeur - needs a description of the vocation and their role in the clan
Nukkumaa - needs an explanation of religious significance at minimum
Kotimaa - needs an overview of climate and geography
Kuomalan Istuori - needs a visual description and an explanation of religious significance

Assignment 2: Make a list of articles to write

Suojeläin - Naamalainen totem spirits
Sages - Naamalainen healer-priests
the Kuolemakea - fringe Naamalainen death-cult
Story-keepers - Cuédleür folklorists/historians
Otherworldly Travels - a journal kept by a Cuédleür while lost in the Otherworld
A Cuédleür folktale about the author of Otherworldly Travels
A haunted forest in Solwyn (and the things people believe about it)
A hedonistic culture I don't have a name for yet

Assignment 3: Make a list of topics to expand on (Free Space)

Clothing in all cultures - textiles, dyes, patterns, and embellishments
Philosophy and ritual around grieving
Fey political history - the schism and formation of the Oak and Holly Courts
Cuédleür life-partnership - ceremony, relationship structures
To Sin Against Death - finish writing prose

Assignment 4: Plan your worldbuilding playlist

Already done! Continually being added to, though. Not sure if the YouTube embed will work, so here's a direct link. Feel free to give it a listen, and suggestions for songs of a similar vibe to add are welcome if you happen to have any.

Assignment 5: Create a moodboard for your world

{Watch this space, a Pinterest link will appear eventually}