WorldEmber Prep 2024

Week 1: Pledge Your Goal

1. Set a word goal and your area of focus

Writing 10,000 words in a month already seems unattainable, so I'm sticking to this goal, which is more than enough for me. I'm still rather slow when it comes to writing my articles, and my inspiration is far from constant. If I reach this word count, I'll be very proud of myself, and it will mean a lot of new things in Ispérion !  

2. Choose your area of focus

Well. I think I have to admit that the way I do worldbuilding is pretty chaotic. I find it hard to concentrate on a single theme, and I often tend to go off in all directions depending on what inspires me at any given moment. But challenges are an opportunity for me to refocus and improve my work organization. I've recently started looking into the notion of time in Ispérion (how is it perceived, how is it measured, is this concept rather divisive or cohesive, etc.). So I'm going to try and tackle this subject during the challenge, and bring to a close the work I've been doing on it. I'm also thinking of taking a serious look at the 4 religions of Corpolis. When I created Ispérion, religion was a central element of my thinking, but I quickly lost my way, and at the moment, the state of religions in Isperion is rather vague. I've created myths and deities here and there, developed a few founding myths, and worked on certain practices of the faithful. But everything I've created so far is very scattered and rather uneven. I'd like to concentrate on the subject (or even on a single religion) to develop it thoroughly, correct any inconsistencies, and build something vast, deep and detailed.  

3. Create or update your meta

I've already created my meta, and as my world is fairly new, I don't think it needs a major overhaul. Even so, I'll take a look at it to see if any corrections or additions are needed.    

Week 2: Prepare Your World for New Readers

1. Review your homepage

Let's be honest, I need to get serious about it. I love the aesthetics and presentation of my home page, no doubt about it. I don't intend to change the visual. But here's the thing: when I created this page, I focused solely on the visual. I asked myself what I should emphasize, and I finally opted for three containers to guide the reader in his discovery of Ispérion. The first article is supposed to give an overview of the universe, the second should briefly describe its geopolitical functioning, and the third should give an overview of the religions. In short, the pillars of Isperion. But then, I didn't write these articles. So for now, my home page is pretty useless for someone discovering my world. Objective before the end of 2024: write these 3 articles to finally have a homepage that's organized, welcoming and suitable for the reader !  

2. Create or review your world primer

Well, that brings me back to the problem with my homepage : I have to write these articles.  

3. Set up your community tools

This category isn't necessarily the one I'm most interested in. I'm not necessarily all that keen on attracting people, and I feel very comfortable as I am within the WA community. There's nothing for me to do on that side.  

4. CSS wizardry

I'll have to do some checking on that side. I've already had a few surprises when it comes to using CSS. I'm very happy with the design of my home page and my world as a whole, and I think it reflects the atmosphere of my world and what it conveys quite well. But I've sometimes found that CSS doesn't render in the same way on my computer and browser as it does on those of other readers. So I'll have to do an update and check that everyone is seeing the same thing.    

Week 3: On the Hunt for Inspiration!

1. Read a book or watch a movie!

I've never seen The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit (I've read them)..... I think I know what I have to do before the end of the month. My recent reading wasn't at all related to worldbuilding. I'm a very big reader in addition to my other passions, and I'm currently taking part in reading challenges for which I have to choose specific books that don't necessarily correspond to what might inspire me for Ispérion. No pressure for this task, I'll see before and during the challenge if I can adapt my reading.  

2. Create a moodboard

 

3. Create or expand your writing playlist