Getting Back to the Mountain
So, I decided to tackle “Mt. Firmament” again. This is, what, the sixth time I’ve tried? That’s why I’m calling this round VI in my head. The old attempts are scattered around like abandoned campsites.
I started by digging out all the old material. Piles of notes, some digital, some on paper. Honestly, it was a bit depressing seeing how much work went nowhere before. Found sketches, bits of lore, character ideas. A lot of it felt disconnected, like trying to piece together a puzzle with half the pieces missing and pieces from other puzzles mixed in.
First Steps This Time Around
This time, I told myself, keep it simple. Don’t try to build the whole world at once. I picked one specific area, a coastal region I sketched out ages ago.
- Pulled up the old map files for that coast.
- Started redrawing it, adding more detail based on some new ideas.
- Focused on just the key settlements and the history between them.
- Wrote down some simple timelines. What happened here? Who lived here first?
It felt different this time. More focused, maybe? Less pressure to make it grand right away. Just trying to make one part feel real.
Finding the Old Signs
While digging through the digital folders, I stumbled upon remnants from versions III and IV. These were the ‘traces’ I guess. Found a surprisingly detailed write-up about local myths in that coastal area. Forgotten I’d even written it. Also found an old dialogue fragment that actually sparked a new character idea.
It’s funny how that works. Stuff you discarded years ago suddenly looks useful. Like finding an old tool you thought was lost and realizing it’s perfect for the job you’re doing now. It wasn’t totally wasted effort back then, even though it felt like it.
Hitting the Usual Walls
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Spent about a week stuck on naming conventions. Sounds silly, right? But I couldn’t get the ‘feel’ right. Kept writing lists of names, crossing them out. Got pretty frustrated. Nearly shelved the whole thing again.
Reminded me of that time I was trying to learn some new software for work. Everyone said it was easy, but I just kept hitting dead ends. Sometimes you just gotta walk away for a bit, clear your head. Went for a long walk, didn’t think about Firmament at all. Came back the next day, and somehow the names just started clicking into place.
Where Things Stand Now
So, Mt. Firmament VI isn’t ‘finished’. Probably never will be, in a way. But this attempt feels more grounded. I’ve got a solid foundation for that coastal region now. Maps, basic history, key characters, local legends. It feels less like scattered ideas and more like a place starting to breathe.
The ‘traces’ from the past versions were helpful, surprisingly. They showed me the path I’d already walked, even the parts where I stumbled. It’s still a climb, definitely. But at least this time, I feel like I know the terrain a little better. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
