Summer Camp 2025 Reading Challenge
Created by Adam Tingley // Wreckerdwarf
I have had an amazing time this summer camp. I feel like my style is settling and I have found it easier to get into the swing of things when I sit down and begin to write. It’s been very challenging to get the time spare to take part this year with finding a new flat in a new town, preparing for a new job, holding a full-time job in the meantime, taking part in challenges for game dev and attending some of the biggest multi-day events of the year. Somehow, I’ve managed to achieve diamond through sheer determination (And totally not just through some late nights sprinkled through the month).
My goals for my world this summer camp were fundamentally to just keep fleshing out areas around existing articles and allowing older ones to grow with additional nuance. The entirety of Havenguard currently is a foundation. I am doing it in this way to allow myself the space to learn without every detail needing to be canonical and require retconning when I come to write about the world in length.
I am incredibly happy that I’ve obtained diamond this year as it was a bit touch-and-go at times!
As an honourable mention, although not strictly a part of the summer camp prompts, I also made this fun little map to help establish some of the locations in my world. I’ve purposely made it so that it has the space to be expanded upon in the future as well as being created from an amalgamation of knowledge within the setting itself. Who knows how reliable some of that information is? I’ve also not seen anything like this in my browsing of World Anvil so far so I’d love to get some feedback on this type of map!
My Personal Picks
Here is a small selection of articles that stuck out for me personally. For all of my summer camp articles, please check out my summer camp homepage!
It’s an article about cheese that turned the prompt on its head! I had a lot of fun writing this one.
What can I say? I like world building in prose. I really like how this article came out and although I feel like I need to work on its pacing a little bit, I feel it represents dwarven hubris pretty well.
The frogfolk from last year didn’t have such a great time but I do want to have them survive in some shape and form into the true setting for Havenguard.
I just had a lot of fun writing this one! Taking inspiration from the inventor Franz Reichelt’s story and converting it into a world of dwarves and goblins.
The Ang’Verd series was my first attempt at simultaneously writing a batch of articles in an attempt to make them interlink in interesting ways. Not only between each article in the series but also to have meaningful connections to older articles.
A weird mix of humour and dark violence and an insight into the clouded goblin psyche!
As an honourable mention, although not strictly a part of the summer camp prompts, I also made this fun little map to help establish some of the locations in my world. I’ve purposely made it so that it has the space to be expanded upon in the future as well as being created from an amalgamation of knowledge within the setting itself. Who knows how reliable some of that information is? I’ve also not seen anything like this in my browsing of World Anvil so far so I’d love to get some feedback on this type of map!
Goals
I plan to take part in World Ember again this year and, as always, I'm hoping to carve out a chunk of time to devote to writing. I might also be in the process of planning a short series of books! In addition to this, I've also been thinking about creating some narrated videos to help flesh out my world even further. All of this requires a lot more time but I'm hopeful that after I've moved flat and taken on a new job that I'll have a little more spare time to progress towards these goals! When money allows, I would also absolutely love to commission more artwork to really help bring the world of Havenguard to life and replace all of the temporary images I have right now!The Reading Challenge
For this challenge I have purposely picked five categories that revolve around topics and themes that I feel that I can learn a lot from. From each of the categories, I have selected two articles that resonated with me. I've read so many great articles through my exploration of this year's summer camp and I look forward to exploring some of those worlds further over the coming months! Here are my picks:A species that feeds through a symbiotic relationship
Snuffling by Spurenleser
A fantastic idea that breaths whimsy and fantasy into something usually so commonly overlooked and purposely forgotten as fast as possible!
Emoshrooms by Make lore, not war
What’s not to love about this article. It’s quite simply a display of talent and makes me want to massively expand my descriptive vocabulary to be able to dance around topics in my writings as much as Make lore, not war is able to! (And also brush up on some new CSS/Layout techniques!)
A ritual related to agriculture
Bonfire Night by Serukis
It always amazes me how Emy is able to pack so much detail into her writing. The world of Etrea is an easy one to fall into and this article is a fantastic way of jumping down the rabbit hole!
Supplication Day by Dimitris
A beautiful take on sacrifice for the betterment of others. Harsh times call for drastic measures and it takes the hardiest of folk to make such decisions.
A delicious staple found on every dinner table
Dwarven Mead by RiverFang
As someone sitting here with a bottle of mead within a few short steps, I couldn’t pass up this article! RiverFang’s take on mead is an insightful look into the race of dwarves within their world and makes me want to pop the cork on my own bottle!
Coffee by Piggie4299
I loved this article. The forced substitute for a beloved drink speaks to me as both a form of loss and spite in equal measure. Although true coffee may be unobtainable, the ritualism and need for comfort is still very much present. I’m glad they found a palatable alternative!
A character known for their numerous progeny
Xi'pthara, He-She Who Spun Us by Shaaman
An interesting take on the prompt is always welcome and the glimpse into the inner workings of a culture that feels so alien. You can tell that the article is well researched and feels very grounded while simultaneously wafting an air of mystery at the reader.
Nimrot by Dazzlinkat
This little tenacious mimic with an agenda. The personality of the character comes through well and the idea of almost self replicating mimics gives me the shivers! Great article.
A transformation caused by a celestial body
The Eldritch Moon by Demongrey
Love the mysterious eldritch goodness. I don’t know if wereworlds are a thing, but the lands afflicted within this article are well included in that category!
Shardfall by Tillerz
As with all of Tillerz’ writings, this article is beautifully descriptive and paints a vibrant picture of a time in the world of Alana.
Congratulations on diamond! Looking forward to checking out your reading challenge picks!
Explore Etrea | WorldEmber 2025
The big read will commence soon!
Thank you for the love on Bonfire Night <3
Explore Etrea | WorldEmber 2025