2025 Summer Camp - Reading Challenge
Overview
I spent my Summer Camp creating a cohesive setting from scratch. All articles had to connect and support each other. It was a challenge, but one I loved working toward. It made Summer Camp so much more enjoyable for me compared to last year, and I'll likely do something similar next year. If you want to read more about that, check my setting overview. Here, I'm celebrating great articles others have written. This time, I've taken two approaches:- For a couple worlds I follow, I discuss how a few of their Summer Camp articles work together to support the World.
- Then I share articles from new-to-me authors and what I found appealing about them as someone new to their work.
Selection Process
- Article is comfortably readable as-is or with minor tweaks from the Userway widget.
- All art is human-made and credited, including cover images.
- Something about the article immediately draws me in, such as an enticing intro.
Cohesion
Magical Maths by Amélie I. S. Debruyne
I've been a fan of Amélie's for a while, starting with Dark Lord Seduction Plan. Her style is very clean and the pamphlet-like formatting is accessible and informative through its in-universe context. In the setting for Magical Maths, general society sees those living with disability as a burden. Their disability is a sign of weakness that must be overcome or culled, so says this culture. The protagonist of the upcoming novel is a Royal Mathematician who must hide her chronic pain while she proves herself indispensable, else lose everything she's worked for. These three articles demonstrate that point from different perspectives: from the protagonist, from a doctor, and from a public service announcement. With the three combined, we get a clear view of what our protagonist is up against. Not only are things that could be medicinal outlawed out of fear of their danger, but physicians don't even see the point in trying to help people like Illénie. The article on potions in particular takes on extra meaning after reading the others.The Mortal Lands by Rachel Bentz
It's always exciting to see Mortal Lands in my notifications. Rachel is great at using last lines or one-sentence paragraphs to make a point. The article intros are also great - a handful of sentences before the first heading that tells us what to expect in the article, and often leaves us with a question we just have to keep reading to answer. The three articles I've chosen here aren't directly connected, but they all show how a major event - The Night of Falling Crowns - has affected the world, from its land, to its people, to its supplies. What I particularly like about this trifecta is the diversity of impact. You have the massive impact of an entire stretch of land made impassable due to weather machines run amok, then the much smaller impact of a charity seeking out lost heirlooms to return to their families. And in the middle, we have the inevitable supply chain vacuums that follow catastrophe, and those who fill it.Standalone
To find new-to-me authors, I browsed one of the wildcard prompts: a diaspora spread around the world. This is a difficult prompt for Summer Camp. Cultures are complex and intricate, with everything from geography to biology to technology affecting the societies that develop. Using real-world cultures as inspiration requires careful research to do respectfully, which takes time.
Writing a diaspora - a culture dispersed from its homeland - can be even more difficult. Positive things like seeking education, exploration, or trade can lead to diaspora, however they're more often the result of tragedies like war, genocide, and famine. It takes sensitivity and compassion give such cultures and topics the weight they deserve.
Not all my choices held to the definition of diaspora or the intent of the ethnicity template, but they all stood out to me in some way or another, and I'm happy to share them with you now. I ended my reading session feeling inspired to write more of my own ethnicity articles.
This article from Shirokappa shows the importance of cause and effect when developing cultures. A species with innate psychic abilities develops a culture around those abilities, which in turn affects how they interact with outsiders.
Not every aspect of a culture has a clear cause, however, and this article ends on a mystery.
This father-son project from Adrian Waite brings us a culture of Mycelian (mushroomfolk) warriors. The nature of the writing feels very confident when discussing related facts and events, giving a sense of depth and understanding of the world.
Hearing of spores being "symbolically excised from the Garden records" make me very curious to learn more.
The way Melissa White describes these tiny coral weavers and their creations has me so very endeared to them.
This take on diaspora has creatures scattered seemingly by chance when a rift opened between planes, rather than by choice. Few survived the sudden change, but the world seems to be a bit better for their presence.
Danielle uses lovely and poetic tones in this article. We're introduced to a beautiful homeland and its catastrophic end, scattering survivors around the world.
Like many real-world diaspora, the Scarnathi do their best to remember their roots, but time and distance always take their toll. Will Scarnathi generations from now still weave enchanted veils and tend to memory trees as their ancestors did?
This article from darkenedfay has an almost bittersweet and wistful tone to it. I like how these Weathered have a latent connection to an ancestry they might not entirely be aware of.
The article opens many questions but provides only a few answers, and left me curious about many aspects of mistkin, what they are and how they function in the world.
Busy Bees
I want to give a special shout-out to two Worlds I love that hit impressive milestones over Summer Camp: Yonderverse and Solaris. To each I'm awarding a special Busy Bee Award, in honor of their continued hard work toward creating incredible art.
The Yonderverse is a sprawling astral landscape that's full of surprises (and stickers). I'm in continual awe of Mochi's unwavering enthusiasm for their World. After four years of worldbuilding, they show little sign of slowing down, and surpassed one million total words during Summer Camp.
There's a lot to love about Solaris. The style is clean, the content is well-organized, and the articles are easy to read with just the right amount left to the imagination. It's no surprise that Solaris has won awards for both its appearance and its content, and over Summer Camp, gained its 300th follower.
Final Notes
Several people mentioned having to dial back their goals in response to health or life events. Sometimes our biggest accomplishment is being able to do something we love within the constraints life forces upon us. Maybe we change our methods, change our standards, or change our expectations of ourselves.
If we only create when we're feeling perfect and inspiration strikes, we'd rarely create anything. Learning how to create even in difficult times can be the best way to find joy amid hardship. So this is a special shoutout to everyone who had to dial back, and to all those who keep doing their best despite life's curveballs.
Love this celebration and your Suhmer was a joy to read along to.
Thank you! :D
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