Summer Camp Prep 2025 Speed Run

It is the wee hours of the morning on June 27th, and with the clock running down to the start of Summer Camp, it's time to prep! I've been very removed from worldbuilding over the last year and am hoping this year's prompts will spring me back into creativity.  

Theme One: Nourishment

 

Assignment 1: Think about ways the theme of Nourishment affects your world. Do people generally have what they need? What happens when they don’t?

  When I think of nourishment in relation to my world, I immediately think of Hessen, the hometown to one of the main characters from the first story I wrote in this world. The obvious reason for this is that it lies in the heart of Cesland wine country, a place teaming with nourishment for both the body and the soul. It is a tight-knit community where few go without, mostly thanks to the invesments of the wealthy vineyard owners into the community that supports them. This is in no small part because of the Cesnockwe culture of community over the individual.   Hessen is obviously a very very small part of Cesland, let alone Leland as a whole. There are many areas that are less well-off and less concerned with the plights of those who have to go without. Although Deamei City is imagined to be the perfect amalgamation of the ideals of each province, the neighborhoods in The Outskirts are a hodgepodge of people with technical citizenship but no real ties to the provinces that "claim" them. Deamei owes them nothing and the provinces rarely extend services to those outside their physical borders. While most living in The Outskirts have what they need, there is a strong dependence on small communities to fill in the gaps.  

Assingment 2: Download the pledge document and fill it out with your goal for Summer Camp!

   

Assignment 3: If you found any outdated articles in your world, update the most important ones now! Do the same with your worldbuilding meta.

  Because of the timing, I don't really have a chance to comb through my articles, but I did take a chance to think on some parts of my world meta. The drama section in particular let me consider more clearly the geopolitical conflicts that exist between the provinces, acknowledging that the Leland Confederacy is perhaps not as strong as it seems. Irocra would be the first to abandon the Confederacy if it weren't for the fact it would lead to either all-out war against the rest of the peninsula or complete isolation.   Edit: So I eneded up looking through a few old summer camp articles of mine and there are quite a few image place holders to replace!  

Theme Two: Roots

 

Assignment 1: Look at the cultures and areas you’ll focus on for Summer Camp, and think about how their past shaped them.

  One thing I've been interested in exploring for a while now is the dynamic between the northern and southern Irocai. So far, this has really come into play in terms of their regard for aurants. In the north they are revered, often said to be blessed. In the south they are feared or treated with disdain. This may have something to do with the Declaration of Aurant Expulsion, leading to many aurants fleeing north to the Ganuiles Mountains in an attempt to escape execution. Common thought in the south of Irocai territory during that period may have been that the presence of aurants was leading to the terrorizing of local populations by the Queendom's forces. In the north, they likely saw the humanity in those fleeing persecution.  

Assignment 2: Go to your world’s homepage and imagine you’re a new reader discovering the setting for the first time. What should you change to make the experience more engaging?

  I've been meaning to update Leland's main page for a while, to be honest. I feel like the focus of the world has changed since I wrote the intro and I would like to better curate what shows up on the page. Before I do anything I want to find inspiration in how other worlds are presented. Add that to the to-do list!  

Assignment 3: Find your earliest worldbuilding project. What mistakes did you make that you want to avoid? What good ideas from those early days can you integrate into your current project? Remember to take a moment to be proud of how far you've come!

  My oldest worldbuilding project is lost to time (aka a lost hard drive from a pc from the 00's), but I remember a lot of it was done in a way that twisted reality to fit the narrative I was trying to write, regardless of whether it made sense. Granted, I was a young teen at the time, so fun and cool and interesting was far more important than sense. These days, while I am trying to make things make sense in-universe, I definitely shouldn't shy away from the crazy ideas I come up with.  

Theme Three: Metamorphosis

 

Assignment 1: What transformations and adaptations have the people in your world gone through? What changes are going on right now… and who is trying to stop them?

  Modern Leland is experiencing a technological revolution now that the world has fully recovered from the impacts of the Regifted Syndrome epidemic and Silver Eagle Rebellion  that set innovation in all enmantic applications back decades.   As with most technological advancements, there are those that are stuck in the old ways, who see the newly emerging fields of enmantic study as an affront to the purity of the world's energy.  

Assignment 2: Choose a new genre, style, or author, and take a look at their art! Write what you learned from them and what inspired you.

  In the last few months Pandora has steered me into symphonic metal and modern rock that is adjacent to it in vibes. Symphonic metal seems to have higher stakes to it, almost like a higher sense of drama (for lack of a better word) than the more mundane themes found in the usual pop/alternative music I listen to. My world honestly needs more of that kind of drama.  

Assignment 3: Read a couple of articles from the community, give them a like (and why not a sticker!), and write about what inspired you.

  I found myself drawn in by the world of ThCrona by bongMaster420 just by the sheer ridiculousness of the concept. I look forward to going back to read more when I have the time!  

Theme Four: Tomorrow

 

Assignment 1: Think about current events that will impact the future. Who is working to create a specific kind of future?

  This is something I'm genuinely struggling with. There are three general "eras" in the history of Leland, the first two having notable characters who lead to the transitions between the eras. Those are easy to point out. Modern Leland is...more difficult, obviously, since there isn't the benefit of hindsight. My mind goes back to the political coalition from Irocra and what they may be pushing for in the hallowed halls of Deamei's confederate government buildings.  

Assignment 2: Make sure everything’s ready—from your writing space to your writing schedule—before Summer Camp begins!

    I rarely write on a schedule, but I'll be focusing mostly on writing during the weekends since I'm usually exhausted after work. But that doesn't mean I won't be thinking about things while I do! My goal for this weekend was already to tackle the project that is cleaning all areas of my apartment, so hopefully the freshly tidied spaces (or the horrors I find in the process) will lead to free-flowing inspiration.  

Assignment 3: Who or what will help you achieve your goal? What will your sharing strategy be during Summer Camp?

  As per usual, I will probably keep things mostly to myself.  

Conclusion

In reflecting on these prep assignments, I'm convinced that my world needs more high-level conflict. The world as a whole has become stagnant, in a sense, stuck in this "ideal" state where the Confederacy will last forever. What would it take for that to dissolve? Or, perhaps, what if there are signs that the peninsula might be on the verge of "outside contact" and the powers that be are trying to hide them in order to retain their power? Expanding on that would also force me to establish why there hasn't been outside contact instead of just hand waving it off.   Long story short I'm very eager to see where these prompt themes take me, particularly Metamorphosis and Tomorrow since they will hopefully force me to consider the future of Leleand.