Reflecting on Summer Camp 2025

  Greetings to my fellow scholars and adventurers alike! Hoo boy was this a surprisingly fun writing exercise for me. I've never participated in a Summer Camp before and I'm often loathe to publish my works online where people could see it much less give direct feedback, but after years of encouragement from my wife and fellow Anvilite Ike9899 I finally set aside time to work on some articles this year. What followed was I think the most writing I think I have ever intentionally done about my world in such a short time, and it kicked forward so many ideas I hadn't even considered before and helped to reframe everything I was working on in a much better way. I surprised myself with the sheer quantity of content I wrote, and even now I have even more ideas to fine-tune what I have already (once the editing window is opened up again) and to keep writing going forward. I will 100% be returning for the next Summer Camp, and will be looking with more interest at similar self-challenges going forward (I keep hearing about something called WorldEmber?).   I still worry about putting things online, and I don't know if that will ever really go away. But the few I've interacted with on WA have been nothing but supportive and encouraging, and I'm excited to keep working on what I have planned for the future. Enturon has many things in store, and once I really figure out what I'm doing I will have so many things to be read! This year I reached the Silver badge, a higher metric than I had honestly expected at the start, and next year I'm going to work to meet that and even try to surpass it. The only way to go is forward!   See you in the stars,   - - Jabzul

Taikoero

A profession related to spirituality or philosophy   I think this was the first article I wrote this year where I really hit my stride that carried me forward through to the end. I have a habit of writing until I come to a hole, slapping a vague idea over it, and moving on with the intent to Definitely Come Back Later (spoiler: I rarely do). This was one time where I really dug into one of those holes and explored what led to all the things that made it real and unique to me, and it really made all my efforts in this year's Camp worth it. This is the point where I understood the point of it all again, and by flexing my writing muscles I was able to develop something that had been bothering me for years, and it set a mentality that I carried through the rest of my writing. Getting everything down and making it pretty later can be a useful tool when writing, but this helped remind me that coming back afterwards really is an importent step in the process.   https://www.worldanvil.com/w/enturon-jabzul/a/taikoero-profession  

Tale Beads

A garment traditionally associated with a culture     This article was spawned from an entirely different prompt, where I began hyperfocusing on a single aspect and realized I had completely deviated from the original idea entirely. I took a step back and pulled out the parts I was clearly enjoying writing more, then realized that I had enough to stand on its own and qualify for a different prompt itself. I love how the final product came about, and it's an important lesson in prioritization. Sometimes you start writing one thing and, through it, discover what you really want to write about, and I think that's ok. My first goal with Summer Camp was to enjoy writing, my second was to build content for my world, and I think this article is a wonderful example of when I really exemplified that mindset. Plus, my wife really loved it when I talked about these Avians all wearing beaded jewelry and how it was super culturally significant, so clearly I'm doing something right.   https://www.worldanvil.com/w/enturon-jabzul/a/tale-beads-item  

Gaelstrum // The Storm Archipelago

An ever-changing location that requires its inhabitants to adapt   Gaelstrum is, I think, one area of my world I am absolutely fascinated by and can't wait to explore further. When I have a better handle on the setting (and the time to actually run a game) my intent is to use this world for my TTRPG group, and the next campaign I have in mind heavily features this location and its denizens, so I was really excited to expand upon it in Summer Camp. While I can't think of any direct lessons or goals I learned/reached while writing this article, I still had a blast with writing it and am excited to continue its story onwards. And in a way, isn't that the important part of all this?   https://www.worldanvil.com/w/enturon-jabzul/a/gaelstrum-2F2F-the-storm-archipelago-location  

Special Thanks

  Ike9899, without which I wouldn't even have a WorldAnvil account, and DEFINITELY wouldn't have put any of this online. Thanks for keeping me motivated and moving - https://www.worldanvil.com/author/ike9899   Iordamos, the perfect rival, because every hero needs someone to measure themselves against. You wrote more than me this year (19 articles, NICE!) but don't think this is the end! I'll get you next time, Gadget! - https://www.worldanvil.com/author/iordamos   Cj, my loving wife who I definitely owe a great attention-debt since I've been dedicating so much time to this project. I'm almost done babe, I swear, just one more article...   Everyone who read my work, left a favorite, or even a brief comment on my stuff. You were always the scariest thing about posting online, and I'm glad that all of my fears have been proven wrong (so far <3). Here's to you!