WorldEmber isn’t quite over, but my daily coverage of it is!

The competition officially runs until January 4th. If you want to follow along right until the very end, bookmark these two links; this is the last time I’ll have them pinned to the top!

• Haly’s Official WE Progress Report — each participant gets a page that automatically collects their author information and all WE-eligible articles across all worlds into a single, shareable package.
• Haly’s WorldEmber on Argentii Index — an on-the-fly journal page and handy sidebar displaying only new Argentii WE-eligible articles.

The End, the Beginning, the Cycle

Looking back to the beginning of the year is difficult because I am always so focused on moving forward. The voices of my childhood haters squat in the hidden gutters of my brain, waiting to ambush me in moments of weakness. When I stop, when I consider, the doubt creeps in and I begin questioning the path that I’m on.

Forward momentum is lovely and necessary, but it does not fulfill all of my needs as a creative being. Reflection on the path and recognition of the growth are also necessary steps on the journey of a creative spirit.

Winter Quarter: January, February, March

The beginning of the year was turbulent. It was nearly a week before we finally got the new contract settled (the old one had expired in November). It was the first winter where my spinal arthritis made itself known beyond just the tell-tale bone spurs on x-ray film, which made the February cold even worse. And March saw me undergo major surgery in my upper jaw.

On a brighter note, February saw me at my first ever writing conference. I met with a couple of agents and talked and asked some questions. Mostly I learned that my novel is nowhere near where I need it to be in order to begin pitching it, which is saving me and them so very much time!

Spring Quarter: April, May, June

Spring brought on a fit of re-plotting and re-writing that is still progressing in the back of my head as I write this. The early months were when I finally got my work schedule straightened out for good and ever: no more involuntary weekends or mandatory overtime for me!

June marked not only WorldAnvil Summer Camp prep month, but also when I began this publication! Before the month ended, I was already writing daily. Quite a few of you have been with me since that time, and to each of you I give my heartiest thanks. Your constant support, generous natures, and consistent sharing of my work have helped me grow as a writer, and as a person!

Summer Quarter: July, August, September

This is always the busiest time of my writing year. July, of course, is WorldAnvil Summer Camp and once again this year, I blew the challenge out of the water. WorldAnvil issued 42 themed writing prompts, and I answered each and every single one!

The challenge was not as easy for me this year as it was last year. I set myself the goal of trying to fit all of the prompts into the story I was telling in the world of Avalon, Indiana. However, as the weeks went by and the waves of prompts were released, I became more and more frustrated with my attempts at this side quest. In the end, I gave up on making them all fit and had fun playing in some one-off micro worlds.

In addition, I was selected by my peers as the Most Helpful Camper, which is just about the coolest and kindest thing that has ever happened to me! It was a lovely moment of recognition and acknowledgment.

August, of course, was all about GenCon and the debut of the worldbuilding class that I’d spent the entire year developing and writing. While it was not all that I had hoped to make it, I certainly learned a lot from the experience and I’m certain that my students did, too!

Finally, in September, I got my full smile back (surgery is a bitch, yo) just in time to take a trip to the theme park. It was right after the remnants of a hurricane swept through, and the entire family had a blast! Holiday World is such an amazing place, we bought season passes so that we can go whenever we want in 2025.

Autumn Quarter: October, November, December

These lengthening evenings were devoted to writing, writing, writing. My life would be easier if I focused on either this publication or my own worldbuilding ambitions. But the hustle culture of independent art is real, and writing makes me happy. In the future, when there are more professional demands on my writing time, I will have to adjust how I balance my time.

But that problem has not yet arrived and does not now require my time and energy.

October was spent prepping for WorldAnvil’s first ever NovelEmber. This new event ran concurrent with November’s traditional prep time for WorldEmber in December! Two months of preparations and two months of 50K writing. All in three short months!

To add to all of this, in November I gave a seminar to my peers about my experiences and strategies for running events at GenCon! And then, Natalie Philips interviewed me for her December podcast!

The holidays are always a difficult time for me, and this year was no exception. However, adding a vitamin D supplement to my daily gummy vitamins has helped tremendously with my mood overall through the darkest time of this winter.

Where I Am Right Now

Reflecting on where I started has highlighted a number of positive new habits I’ve crafted for myself. From incorporating new moments of self-care into my daily routine, to making time every day for creative writing and worldbuilding, this has been the year for sustained, long-term success in habit-building!

Right now, something that stands out for me is the unexpected direction that my writing has taken. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be writing a daily publication about worldbuilding. Nor that I would have a popular weekly advice column.

Creative Precipice

As I stare into the face of the new year, my creative soul is screaming with excited, terrified glee. It’s the same feeling I used to get when I went too high on the swings as a kid, that swishing fluttering falling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

It feels like I’m on the edge of something huge: a creative breakthrough, a surprising turn in my path, or an unexpected opportunity. There’s a pull, a draw toward something that I can’t yet see.

Because the WorldAnvil Worldbuilding Awards are coming up soon, the hope-and-wish part of my brain wants this feeling to be connected to that. I have several articles I’ve been working on with an eye toward submitting them for nomination. And in the cold, full light of honesty…I would love to see one of them win. I’ve also been working on a timeline, and I have an idea for a map, both of which I plan to submit as well.

So much feels like I’m at that precarious in-between time. I can look back and see how much I’ve grown, how much I’ve improved. But also…there is part of me that feels like it’s not enough, it’s not the right time, it’s coming but not now. And if that’s the case, I’ll accept it with goodwill and grace.

But fuck if I don’t want it. I want it enough to work hard for it.

Bold Strides Forward

Moving into the new year and looking past the immediate desire for glory, I’ve been carefully considering my goals for 2025. I’ve been successful at limiting my scope. Now, I need to limit the number of projects I’m devoting my attention to.

Obviously, this publication isn’t going anywhere! Yesterday, I laid out the Rhapsody by Moonlight weekly schedule glow-up. Beyond keeping with my daily publication schedule, I’ll be working on two other projects: developing my new GenCon class and further developing Argentii.

First and foremost, I am determined to finish, edit, and publish the first of my solo-player RPG adventures. The goal is before Summer Camp 2025. The deadline is by the end of WorldEmber 2025.

As for the GenCon workshop, that exists in its own world on its own schedule, and will evolve here, as a part of the greater Rhapsody in Realms project.