Hence the suggestion about starting with something small. Even if it seems a little simplistic.

Personally I found it impossible to work on my area while logged in. I would always want to be doing something in-game instead of area work.

If I were ever to try again, I'd want to get the vast, vast majority of my area done beforehand. At least the map and all room/item/mob descriptions. Mob/item stats could be left for later since they might need to be tweaked based on game balance feedback. But, honestly, writing all that text was what I found the hardest.