World Ember '25

Pledge

World Ember Prep Homework Take 2!

I had issues with my previous homework submission. So I am resubmitting everything.

Here is my pledge for this year's World Ember. I pledge to write 25,000 words centered around political systems, political powers, heads of states/structures and political pressures in The Golden Sea.

I decided to focus on this because I'm a politics nerd. And I think it will help me worldbuild in several areas. Politics impacts religion, culture, geography, resource allocation and more. When I first imagined The Golden Sea, I imagined an area with conflicting political interests and needs. While I have no idea what the final novel (or series) will be about, I know politics will be a major and recurring theme.

Outside of meeting my word count with World Ember, my goal is to immerse myself in The Golden Sea, familiarize myself with the land, the people and the culture and ready myself to draft a novel set in this world. I've always wanted to write an immersive fantasy series. As I write this, I am listening to the Video Game Soundtrack playlist on Spotify and I feel the epic, swelling music spark my imagination and creativity. I hope to create a world filled with secrets, intrigue, adventure and romance. It is not pure escapism, but a wrestling with real-world challenges and inspiring myself (and future readers) to make changes.

With that introduction out of the way, let's turn to my prep work before the challenge:

Bingo Prep

World Building Playlist

Status: Complete

I'm going for ethereal, epic, awe, traveling by foot or horse through Skyrim or writing a treatise by the glow of candlelight. I'm focusing primarily on instrumental music, so I'm not distracted by words. But there are a few songs with vocals in them.

Articles to Write

Status: In progress

• Current Heads of State
• The Historian
• Macro & Micro Alliances
• Non-Political Institutions
• The Whisper Keepers
• Current Political Pressures
• Ongoing environmental/ecological crises

Writing Schedule

Status: In progress

My biggest challenge for World Ember will be finding enough time in the week to sit and write. I could sneak in writing while at my daytime job, but that may not be enough. And since I have other responsibilities to fill my evenings, I will need to be careful when carving out writing time. My goal is to write at least 30 minutes every day. On weekends, I will aim for at least an hour or more. I think this will help me make some progress, especially in the beginning.

Since I will be out on leave near the end of December, my schedule will change during the challenge. For the first three weeks of December, I will do my best to follow this schedule:

Starting December 20th, I will follow this writing schedule for the remainder of World Ember:

I think it will be good practice to mark off the time I actually write, so I'm creating an accountability calendar for December:

People Found in Worldbuilding area

Status: In progress

You will find a variety of people in this area. Primarily there will be powerful individuals, whether their power lies in control over a state, over an armed force, a guild or in arcane forces. There is at least one known guild , The Whisper Keepers, and guild master, The Historian , in the Golden Sea. There will also be heads of states. During WorldEmber, I hope to define several countries or nation-states and their mode of government. I don't want to default to a monarchy. In fact, it feels like monarchies are rare in this world.

Research

Status: In progress

Topics:

• Different types of political systems
• Common political philosophies/theories
• Types of political actors
• Factors that influence politics

Follow along with my research:

Research

Bonus: Books to Read

Fiction:

• A Memory Called Empire

Nonfiction:

• Who is Government? : The Untold Story of Public Service
• How Ideas Spread Notes (in progress)
• Politics: A Very Short Introduction (complete)
• Power Over People: Classical and Modern Political Theory
• Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts Since Plato