Summer Camp 2024 Prep Homework

Week 1: Get Yourself Organized!

To be honest, this whole Summer Camp Prep Assignment has completely thrown me off. As every challenge I participated in so far was directly tied to writing an article about a creature, character, or other elements of my worlds. And not about writing how I would prepare for such a challenge.
Which is also why I didn't post this article in the world(s) I will be working on during the actual Summer Camp, but instead in my Alterna 0 world, which is basically for everything that doesn't directly fit into my other worlds to keep order.
Since this is my first ever WorldAnvil Summer Camp, I also do not know what to expect, or if I am doing this correctly.
I just hope that I understand this Prep Homework Assignment correctly, and don't do anything wrong.
With that being said, here are the assignments of week 1.

Assignment 1: Change

A little update to the first assignment regarding the first theme, Change, since I think I am now understanding this whole Summer Camp Prep Homework a bit better.
One thing I have been thinking about is that, depending on what the actual prompts for the Summer Camp theme, Change, will be, nearly any creature of Alterna I basically fits into this theme.
As Alterna I is basically a huge change in itself, with it being a broken off part of the world Narcana, that later on transformed into its own flying island type world.
And with the evolution of the Lands, changing from a single vast open plain into multiple different biomes, so have the creatures of the plain changed and evolved into different species too.
One creature I would be particularly excited to create / write about are Alterna I’s Sirens. As I would think that their backstory could potentially turn out to be one of the more unique ones of Alterna I so far.

Assignment 2: Set Your Goal

Even though I technically do have quite a lot of time currently, I don't think I will complete Summer Camp to a 100%.
My main problem with challenges is that they are usually set within a specific time frame, and I am absolutely horrible with time pressure.
If something would have to be completed within a set time, then I can almost 100% guarantee you it will not get done (or at least not very well) within that time.
Therefore, as with the Worldbuilding Awards 2024, my main goal will be to just participate, and hopefully get at least some community interaction and a copper badge.
Every like, follow, or comment on either my worlds, articles, or profile will be one big goal achieved for me during this challenge.

Assignment 3: Categorize & Tags

I would say I already have some well-organized categories for my currently active worlds, so I don't really think I would have to do much about this right now or during Summer Camp. And even if I would need to add something new or adjust something in my categories during Summer Camp, I am pretty sure it will be no problem as I am usually quite quick when it comes to organizing into categories.. At least as long the order I put them in doesn't get randomly shuffled around each time I leave the settings...

Assignment 4: Update The Meta

This one, I don't really think I will touch during Summer Camp, since I have pretty much ignored it up until now, and don't really see a reason why I should work on it now.

Week 2: Theme Refuge and Assignment 1

I may be starting to understand how this Prep Homework Assignment is supposed to work, but I am still not entirely sure.
How I see it right now is that each week a theme will be revealed, which will then also be the theme of the challenges during the actual Summer camp. So we can now start to already think about what to do / create for these upcoming challenges.
As for the assignments 2 to 4, these are suggestions(?) for us to do now in order to prepare our worlds and us for the themed challenges of Summer Camp, right?
If that's the case, then I feel like my initial intend of participating with both my worlds Alterna 1 and Alterna I (if that will even be allowed) was the right call for me to make. As the second week's theme, Refuge, may seem to perfectly fit for the origin lore of Alterna I, but also already exists in form of its world story.
What I could potentially think of is a settlement article about the elven village up north in the Lands, a map of said village, or maybe a story about the human caravan that turned into the Lands' main city after being stranded in this new world.
For Alterna 1, I would have a more direct idea already in mind. A short story and or building article about the shelters for Shrunkens who lost their homes, or, depending on what the actual prompts will be, I could start to write about the resistance of the Shrunkens in Alterna 1. Which could hold the potential for more character, short stories, building, conflict, or even settlement articles.

Assignment 2-4: Find an Accountability Buddy, Styling, Any CSS Upgrades?

I feel like these three assignments go hand in hand and don't really have anything to do with the Summer Camp in particular for me, but are general struggles and challenges I am facing on a daily basis.
First off, I never did anything with CSS, nor do I even remotely know how to use it, so I am just gonna group it with Styling. Because, correct me if I am wrong, but in a way, that's just what it is.
Now for the assignments of finding an accountability buddy / find a community, and styling, that's where my most fatal flaws lie.
As when I look at my world's styling, I don't really see anything that would need improvement right now, based on the resources I have currently available.
I don't wanna sound like someone who thinks of their work as utterly perfect, I am mainly just easily satisfied with basic styling in a “less is more” sense.
Highlighted headlines, well-placed line breaks to more cleanly separate larger texts, and, in case of a character profile for example, an image of said character so that you would have a bit of visualization.
With these basic styling options checked off for me, I would prefer to concentrate more on the actual content of my articles, rather than to spend my time min maxing its styling.
I mean, “Don't judge a book by its cover” right?
But these are just my personal opinions, and everyone views it differently, which leads me to my actual biggest flaw of all.
Finding / building a community.
Now, I would consider myself as rather new in the whole world building scene, and building a real community does take some time which I can't simply put on one week of preparation.
Especially if you are like a vampire when it comes to social interactions.
If not directly asked to share / talk about myself or my work, I find it extremely difficult to do so. Much like a vampire who can't enter a home without being invited in.
I am currently trying my best to slowly overcome this flaw by every now and then posting my journal entries globally here on WorldAnvil instead of just on my profile. But for now, I don't think I will be able to do much more than that.

Week 3: Theme Belief and Assignment 1

Ah yes, belief.
Like the Old Faith of Alterna I, which nearly caused an extinction event for the elven race.
The first settlers of the Singing Sea, who worshiped the lust and curiosity of its great spirit, Azurra.
Or the witch of the Endless Forest, seen by some as Aryia's priestess.
Alternatively, there are also those who desperately seek shelter and solace within Alterna 1.
Shrunken down and unable to live a normal life, now bound to the mercy of their normal-sized gods.
Whilst hoping that their cultish worships will grant them peace.
Yeah, I think for this theme I theoretically have plenty of ideas.
Only depends on the actual prompts of the Summer Camp, and how deep these ideas will end up reaching into the lore of the Alternas.

Assignment 2-4: Find your Inspirations IRL, Images Gallery and Maps, Review your Inspirations

As for the other 3 assignments of this week, I think I will mostly skip them this time, as I am already spending way too much time on thinking about them than what it's actually worth.
Inspiration isn't really something for me I can actively look for or stash in preparation for a later project. It's something that comes more random while either writing or engaging in other hobbies.

Week 4: Theme Decay and Assignment 1

Decay I think is something which has quite an important role in both of my currently active Alternas.
In Alterna I, it is mainly present within the toxic swamps of the Living Decay, where death eventually gets turned into new life through its unique flora and fauna.
In Alterna 1, it's the constant decay of morals and society. As ever since the “Shrunken Reform”, those who fell victim to the devastating event of “The Shrinking” were losing more and more of their human rights. As those unaffected by the event were slowly beginning to stop seeing them as equals.
All in all, and again, highly depending on the actual prompts of Summer Camp, some ideas I would have for this theme would be the creature profile of the Living Decay's Boghogs, an article about the Living Decay region to describe it in more detail, as well as some flora of this region, perhaps.
For Alterna 1, nearly any planned short story could theoretically fit into the theme of decay, as they all revolve around how society and morals slowly decayed through this event.
Although, most of the short stories for Alterna 1 are tagged with contains NSFW and/or 18+ content, so I doubt they will be eligible for a WorldAnvil challenge.
Alternatively, there is the “Shrunken Reform” and the “License of Consent”, which are basically the main reasons for societies decay in this dystopian world.

Assignment 2: Optimize your Environment

Done, I guess?
I don't really think there is anything to optimize my environment for me to write better.
At least, I can't think of anything to do to optimize it.

Assignment 3 and 4: Review your Homepage, Update your Intro & Author Page

I did not too long ago rewrite both the world Intro/Description of Alterna 1, as well as my profile description, so I don't think I would have to do it again right now.
The Intro/Description of Alterna I, though, is still in its old state, which I found a bit of immersion breaking, so I wanted to rewrite it anyway like I did with Alterna 1.
Gonna try to do it as soon as possible, I think.
Also, I can only judge based on my personal opinion, so if any of you find something / have suggestions for me to improve, I would be happy to hear it.