Follow along with my WorldEmber progress!

I promised you a look over my shoulder this month as I bring a vague and disjointed collection of ideas together into a cohesive piece of world-building. These resources will help you keep track of my progress through this month-long marathon challenge:

• 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.

WorldEmber Week 1 Wrap

As we wrap the first week of December, I’m really pleased with my progress through this first quarter of WorldEmber! I have stomped out a number of stubs and am currently sitting with 11 new articles for Argentii, all directly related to Crossroads Island!

Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll have to re-make the map of Crossroads Island. But that is a problem for January, not now. While I have been using the map to guide my world-building during the event, it’s by no means the point of the exercise. Remember the other day when I wrote about checking your map? Well, the quick map that I’ve been using since v. 1.0 is not longer valid in v. 2.5 of the world!

Things change as your world evolves. Sometimes, even your map!

Week One Argentii Topics:

• Storybard
• Goldstone
• Capitalla
• Capitalla University of Arts and Literature
• Axehead Mountains
• Western Empire
• Eastern Union
• North Docks
• Honey Nut Bacon
• Division River

In addition, Goldstone (material) and Honey Nut Bacon (tradition) have been submitted for consideration in their special categories! Links to all of the articles can be found above in my Progress Report and Argentii WE Index.

Finally, I’ve made a new collection of snow globe-style badges to collect for achieving certain unofficial challenges and side quests.

Quick Six: 12/7/2024

For this week’s Quick Six, we’re continuing our monthly WorldEmber theme, and my Geography special category judging with another round of geography-inspired!

Last week, we worked with your choice of a natural geographic feature. This week, choose one of the following man-made landmarks as the focus for these writing prompts: a burial place, a park, or a museum. Now, somewhere in your world, describe…

Who:

…who originally built the landmark, and who visits it now?

Graveyards, tombs, parks, wilderness reserves, museums…all of these are built with a purpose, but can also be used for other purposes! Old graveyards become parks, parks are often the grounds of museums, and museums do more than their share of storing the remains of the deceased.

What:

…a unique feature of the landmark that tourists love, but locals hate.

An excellent real-world example of this would be how the people of Paris rather famously wanted the Eiffel Tower torn down after the World’s Fair, or how the small village of Hallstatt, Austria — pop. 800 — receives around 10,000 visitors every day!

When:

…a time when people wanted to change the landmark.

Maybe it was in need of repair, like the Statue of Liberty in the 1980s. Or perhaps they wanted to tear it down, again like the Eiffel Tower. There could even have been problems building it in the first place, such as the Washington Monument!

Where:

…where the materials for your landmark were sourced.

Does your graveyard, tomb, or mausoleum feature imported stone? Are the flora, fauna, and decorations in your park native or imported? Do the treasures in your museum represent the local wonders, or were they pillaged from far away?

Why:

…why the local people want to preserve your landmark.

Burial places, parks, and museums are all places of conservation. Conserving the remains of the dead, the natural area, and the culture of a people. What was it about this place that drew the people to collect important touchstones there?

How:

…a tradition that takes place at your chosen landmark.

Death rituals, hiking, and museum tours are only the beginning! Side hustles often keep public spaces funded for the use of the people. There might be annual ancestor visiting rituals, parties, religious ceremonies, educational opportunities, or more!

Wrapping the Day

At the moment, I’m sitting at 11,431 new words of world-building during WorldEmber!

Whether you’re participating or not, I hope that this week’s crop of world-building prompts encourages you to take a new look at some unexplored areas of your world! Don’t forget to share your creations with me, I always LOVE seeing how these inspire you!

And while you’re in a sharing mood, pass this newsletter along to a creative friend. It really helps me out!

Creativity is more fun together!