The time has come again to enter the WaWa!
With the fifth annual World Anvil WorldBuilding Awards rules changed to be even more accepting, I am not going to hamper myself as I apparently did last year, still only entering articles that were created in the previous year even though the stipulations had been changed. That made no sense. Also, now that the article template guidelines have been eliminated, absolutely everything can be considered, which is awesome!
Although I still feel as if I don't have the best articles out there, and there are so many other talented beans in the community to support, I am a bit pleased that I personally feel some growth from this. Looking back at my entries from 2022 and 2023, I can already appreciate that things have come a long way. Rather than comparing myself to others (who I indeed do not feel qualified to compare to XP), comparing myself to my own past helps me to realize that I have not been stagnant in this journey.
Please do take the time to browse through the entries below, if you wish, and vote if you'd like (though, in typical fashion, I'm not actually expecting to win anything).
How do I vote?
If you don't know how to vote, don't worry! It's quite simple.
Step 1: Finding Entries
So many cool people on World Anvil have created awesome things. Unfortunately, not everything they created was submitted to the WaWas. If you want to see all the things I submitted, you can keep reading through this article. It's a collection of everything I put forth for voting in the WaWas. If you want to view EVERY SINGLE SUBMISSION to the 5th annual WaWas, you can find all the entries from everyone in this blog post. It's fun to check out everything, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Voting should not be too overwhelming. It should be fun!Step 2: Casting Your Votes
If you like what you find, it's time to vote! Locate the voting module on the page. Follow the prompts in the box. If you're logged into WorldAnvil, you will simply be able to click the CAST YOUR VOTE button. If you are not logged in (or don't have an account), you can still vote! Simply enter your email address instead. You will not be bombarded with marketing. Your email address is only collected for verification purposes. The WorldAnvil beans want to make sure the same person isn't voting multiple times. Either way, if you would like to join WorldAnvil but don't currently have an account, you can create a free account through my affiliate link. ;)
Thanks for taking part and voting in the WaWas! We appreciate you. God bless and much love. <3
Article Categories
Heart & Minds Award 2025 Intellectual, sociological, spiritual, or cultural accomplishments and traditions of a people in your world.
Pumilla Academia surprisingly won the Institutions of Learning challenge despite having several spelling errors (WHAT A SHAME, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE CONTEST'S TOPIC!) and formatting issues (I was trying to optimize it for mobile and it ended up with several gaps and overlaps). I finished "formatting" minutes before the Big Red Button was pressed on stream via my phone between helping customers during my shift at my weekend cashier job lol. I figured I would have time to edit after I didn't make the shortlist (but somehow I did make the shortlist lol). Then, I figured I'd edit after I didn't win (but I did win lol). This was the first time I won any official World Anvil competition, but I still wanted to edit the article to be better. I finally got a chance to do so and I hope that it will now actually be well-suited for this category.
The W.I.L.L.O.W.I.S.P. introductory article is quite brief considering that much of the page is taken up by links and article blocks that lead elsewhere, but I figured it didn't hurt to submit this and see what happens. There is a lot of information (and noninformation) on the page, plus Commander's little tidbit is front and center. This did seem like the most fitting article to enter into this category, as it does tell about the history and legacy of the main people in my world, even though it does say a lot about nothing and ends up sharing a lot of shrouded mystery, but that's the style of almost everything in my world lol. I included a tidbit that was available on some historical entry I found somewhere in my world that I'm not even sure where the timeline for it is anymore lolRise of Nations Award 2025 History of peoples of your world and their legacies.
Wondrous Nature Award 2025 Your natural world in all its glory; anything from species to locations, to natural and supernatural events, and bizarre naturally-occurring materials.
I decided to enter Planet Earth into this category. Yes, it is short and sweet, but the brief communications within it leave a lot of lingering questions in the mind of the reader. I'm also quite pleased with the art that I created for it. Plus, Commander's comments always seem to get a chuckle from the crowd.
There are so many natural wonders that could have been submitted to this category. It's very difficult to just choose one but, entering this one, I technically didn't have to. If I can't pick one individual part of nature that is most wonderous, is wonderous enough, submit it all! In addition to covering the planet we (or most of us, at least XP) call home, this article even touches on outer space.
Before selecting anything to submit, I knew that I wanted to enter Lin Vu into the WaWas. I worked such a long time on it during Summer Camp and was quite pleased with the result. Dimi was sponsoring the Character category and I wanted to give my best. Even though it didn't win that one, I want to give Lin another chance. When looking over the categories, I didn't know where to put the article at first. But Strength and Honor seemed the most fitting, given everything. I don't know if I made the right choice but we'll see how it holds up.Strength & Honor Award 2025 Interactions of people of your world; diplomacy, war, trade, collaboration, and those who drive and engineer it.
Pillars of Progress Award 2025 Technological or scientific accomplishment, or celebrating creations developed by the people of your world.
Similar to the Earth article, Human is another interesting, curious, and thought-provoking look at the world through WILLOWISP's eyes...or, rather, a look at the world through the glasses WILLOWISP gives you. Despite the fact this article seems to exist simply for the purpose of informing everyone that a certain truth about a common species was true, the messaging within it insinuates so much more. This is another bite-sized article that makes the reader wonder if they've learned a lot by reading a little, or learned absolutely nothing by reading empty words.
At first, I didn't remember whether or not I'd submitted The Little Baby Duck before. Looking back, I realize that I did in 2022; my first time entering the WaWas. I remember being very disappointed that time because the articles were forced to have been created using certain article templates, and since I had accidentally put this one into a Generic article template, I could only submit it to the general Best WorldBuilding Article category. I personally did not think this qualified at all for that, but it was all that could be done. This time, since the year stipulations are off and the article templates don't matter at all, I can place this where it truly belongs.Myths & Legends Award 2025 An aspect of your worldbuilding that's mythical or fictional within the construct of your world.
Major Category
Best Worldbuilding Article 2025 For the best article overall, regardless of topic.
Though placing Stewart's Room into a Major Category seems a bit excessive, I do like this article quite a bit. It is on the shorter side, but I feel that it still showcases a lot. Last year, I decided to enter a collection article as the best, but it sadly probably wasn't actually considered in its entirety due to the need to click away from the page to explore its main components. This time, I decided to actually enter a normal article. I probably should have gone for one with more AudioDrama components, but this is fine for now, especially because Stewart seems to be showcased quite a bit this year for some reason...
Non-Article Categories
I was finally able to submit the Full Story Timeline this year. The minimum historical entry count was twenty. I had more than that in stories and audios that I could have linked, but I just didn't have the time to do it. Over the year, I managed to roll most in naturally, but I still added a couple before submitting, just for good measure. I also added profile pictures to each of the mentioned articles so that it can look even more aesthetic and not as if there are annoying placeholders everywhere. In addition to this, it took quite a bit of CSS work (and help from the lovely Anvil Assistants in the Discord) to get the colors just right. I didn't at all like how it showed up on light mode, so I made it where it is a black screen for everyone.History Award 2025 For the best Timeline created on World Anvil.
Cartography Award 2025 For the best Interactive Map created on World Anvil.
The recently acquired residence of Brenda and Darius Nellindill, purchased as a celebratory gift to themselves for the substantial progress they made in their newest endeavors to drive their company towards groundbreaking eco-friendly goals. The pricey estate is a pinnacle of luxurious sustainability: spacious rooms, environment-conscious amenities, solar-powered energy, and secret quarters for conducting privy business. Map created by me (Ossandra White/WordiGirl) using DungeonFog software and elements with permission.
Though calling this "The Best Map on WorldAnvil" is a very very very severe overstatement, I feel that this is the best map I created. I appreciate them splitting up the map categories this year. I know some people do awesome jobs drawing their maps all from scratch, while others use prefab components (...or even AI...) and it is a bit unfair to count all of those together in one category. This map was created using DungeonFog, a software that collaborates with WorldAnvil a lot and my go-to for map design.
The map itself is from (upcoming?) Murder Mystery game One Night at Nellindill Mansion... which I have voices for and stuff but sadly ended up never completing. It has the appropriate number of pins and marker groups, showcasing the characters and rooms. I need to make sure that all of the articles at least have some sort of banner because I am very annoyed by the default banner of maps being the world default. It is very unfitting in most cases. Still, I am glad about a lot of the map software's updates, so I try not to complain too much. WorldAnvil is always improving and giving us new toys, so I am very grateful.
I almost started not to enter this category. The only map I had made on WorldAnvil in the past without using prefab asset software was the one for Bunker 421 which does not have ANY pins or marker groups. It is very basic and does not even make much sense without context. I thought hard about it and figured that I actually did not have enough time to make another map from scratch. But, then, I realized that I could use art that I already had. When wondering which art to use, I thought about exploring Stewart's thoughts. If we could have a map of his room, each pin could be a little bubble that tells you what he's thinking. Yes, it is a very unconventional map, but I figured it was better to enter something than nothing. I then went on to do more art anyway lol by adding a door. I think it is a nice touch. I still need to do some last-minute fixes to the map, but it should be all set very soon. Once again, I am not expecting to win anything, but I think this will be something interesting to put in front of the general public. I wonder how something weird like this will be perceived. We'll just have to wait and see...Artist's Cartography Award 2025 For the best Interactive Map drawn by you.
Snubbed Categories
Despite my tradition of entering every category possible, the following are ones I did not enter. Read to learn why.
World Categories
Best World 2025 Most Beautiful World 2025 Artist's Most Beautiful World 2025 I skipped these as entering would prohibit me from editing my world's CSS and homepage for the entire judging period.
User Categories
Best Newcomer As an Anvilite of nearly five years, I do not qualify.
Non-Article Categories
Time and Space Award 2025 For the best Chronicle created on World Anvil.The entry I submitted my first WaWa is still a mess. I don't use Chronicles much and still haven't fixed it.
Thank you so much for checking out my entries!
I appreciate you being awesome and doing good things! If you'd like to show more support, please consider backing my current Kickstarter project, tipping me on Ko-Fi, joining the agency as a subscriber, friending me on social media, or following my world & author profile right here on WorldAnvil.
God bless and I hope things go well for you this year! If you are entering the WaWa, congrats on submitting! I wish you much success! Feel free to share links to your articles below so that we can check them out, too. Sending prayers, love, and hugs always.
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