Summer Camp Prep '25 Homework

Howdy, ya'll! I've certainly made attempts to join in on these challenges before, but I never really got anywhere with them. Yay executive dysfunction and writer's block I guess. This time, however, I plan on going in for the long haul. I may have gotten my start a few days shorts but that's what happens when I'm busy planning pride events for a niche local community. I look forward to read through everyone's homework and entries this month! Time to get the engine started on this prep for next month! Let's f**king go!
 

Week One : Nourishment

 

Assignment 1 : Theme & Motivations

I find myself revisiting why I'm creating The Cosmic Domain quite often, and the base motivation for this creative endeavor has never really changed. I've always considered myself a writer in one respect or another, be it short stories or play by post role play or journal entries from the point of view of various one-off characters. In recent years I found it more and more difficult for myself to do one-off shorts or come up with a world that a story is based within without going so deep into the world building that the short goes off on a tangent. A few years ago I realized that I can still write shorts and play a TTRPG where the stories and histories connect, I just needed a world to connect them all. That set me off on this endeavor of creating a world that anyone can use as a TTRPG backdrop, a basis for their stories, or even simply a small group of friends that enjoy play-by-post role play every now and again. I have always wanted to write so many different kinds of stories and creating my own world to base them within has not only made it easier but also much more fun. Every time I sit down with a new story concept I am suddenly discovering more about The Cosmic Domain, a world that is always evolving.   So now I sit here and think about how the world I've created itself is nourished. When I originally came up with the base idea for The Cosmic Domain, it was supposed to be the start of an adventure groups grand quest of finding out why a world that had previously been so peaceful and 'perfect' was now seeing more and more corruption. The more I worked on the world the more that concept started to change. Everyone wants a utopia but in my mind it's hard fought and hard won, and generally unattainable. So I steered away from The Cosmic Domain being a forever peaceful world into something that is constantly changing, that every other world. That being said, the people of The Cosmic Domain may not have a forever peace, but they do have a place where they can always learn and always grow. I think that is may be why within the CD education is what truly nourishes the individuals. Schooling is very important, and there are many different schools to attend depending on what kind of path one wants to take. Education within the CD is also a right to all as there are little to no barriers to achieving some form of education. With education and the strive to learn and grow being so instilled in the population there is of course a dream to understand the magics and sciences of the CD, which is why the 'magic' in The Cosmic Domain is heavily mixed with science.   This was much more of a ramble than I intended it to be, but I hope whoever reads this over understands and if you don't please feel free to ask any questions! I love sharing ideas~  

Assignment 2 : The Pledge

Striving to complete 24 articles over next month feels like a lot for me, but I also am extremely confident that it's something I can achieve. I'm excited going into this and I am even more excited to read everyone else's stuff!  

Assignment 3 : Refresh Articles

I will have to look through to see if anything is out of date or needs editing. I am sure there are a few since I have been redoing some of the world geography recently. I will update this with links to articles that I've refreshed!   * I have been looking back through stuff and chipping away at a handful of articles. Though none of them are really complete enough for me to be okay linking. However, they are all public! I don't think I have any of my articles as private so please feel free to poke through! I work on articles every day as I get more ideas or I'm able to figure something out that had be stuck prior.    

Week Two : Roots

 

Assignment 1 : History Shapes Cultures

Some areas of your world are more important than others, depending on your priorities when worldbuilding. This week, we’re taking a look at the first things your readers interact with: the world hook, the homepage, and the primer (i.e. introduction article). If you’re making your world public, it’s essential to make these the best they can be!   As of 6/13 @ 1018pm I've made this progress on finally getting my meta completed.
  I am admittedly having some trouble figuring out the whole primer. I'm going to have to ask the WA discord server if I'm missing something or if I literally just make a new article and or something.  

Assignment 2 : Back To My Roots

What was your first worldbuilding project like? Did you even know that worldbuilding was a real word back then? Look for your earliest worldbuilding notes, or try to recall your earliest ideas. You’ve come far since then, and your art has improved a lot! But you can always learn from your past self, and this week’s a great moment to do so.   Wow when I look back at some of the earliest notes I had on this world it's kind of crazy. I have an old google doc folder from a handful of years ago that I created a copy of and used the new one to keep working on the project. That way I have the original folder a sort of history capsule for where The Cosmic Domain started. I had originally created it as a D&D homebrew world for a group of close friends before I had to move across the country. I left it alone for a long time, only working on it here and there every couple of months. I finally picked it back up one day when I *inebriated* and looking for something creative to throw myself into. That day I really dove into the people of the world. Originally the inhabitants where just a collection of various species from D&D, each region had more of some races and less of others, I kept to the 'racial' politics of the races that were established in the PHB and supplemental books. But the more I looked at what I had the more I realized that I really didn't vibe with feeling like I was stuck to what D&D had already created. Granted, the whole point of D&D is to create your own world and your own story but I wanted to create more.   The ways that I've been able to explore the inner workings of The Cosmic Domain since being shown World Anvil has been englightening and fun. With the prompts I've been able to really go deep into concepts that I never really thought about before. I've deiniftely come a long way, and looking back at that original google doc folder is amazing.  

Assignment 3 : Looking Back

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!   Most of my past in writing has been through collaborative story writing and play-by-post role play. I never really considered worldbuilding to be a thing until I got into D&D homebrewing in 2016. I had been taken on a DM for a player group that was already a handful of sessions into a campaign. The previous DM had come up with some basic concepts for the world in really only a map and a few points of interest. That was the first time I realized "Oh... I need to create something to exist here." I then spent a month before the next session with a pen and a composition notebook and went to town. It was the first time I started to ask myself not only "what" but "why". I came up with an overarching plot and went from there. Looking back, that plot had a lot of holes in it, especially when it came to the villains motivation. I thought it was good at the time, but every time I read back into those notes I can see how not tied into the story the villain was. There were a bunch of other things that were 'wrong' with that first world concept of mine, but I don't really dwell on the specifics, I guess. They were mistakes and how you grow from those mistakes makes the artist. Since then I have come a very long way and I have even taken some of the base concepts from that first world and dribbled them into The Cosmic Domain. It was fun for a first project before I even knew what worldbuilding was, and now I can take that experience and move forward and create even more fun and cool worlds for people to enjoy.  

Week Three : Metamorphosis

 

Assignment 1 : Shaking Things Up!

Many worldbuilders get inspiration from music, art, books, or media—these probably inspired you to create your own world! This week, let’s step outside of your comfort zone for a bit: look for new inspiration sources! Explore music you wouldn’t listen to otherwise, look for art you would usually not look for, and maybe even read a book in a new genre or by a new author. To find inspiration sources you don’t know about, try asking a friend or family member, or the community! They’ll probably have different tastes from you, and most people are happy to recommend their favorite music or books!   Fantasy and sci-fi are my main interests and inspirations and I love how fluidly they can be combined in some contexts. The more I work on the little parts of my world the more I realize that something is missing... I'm not that good at 'slice of life' type writing or stories. So I'm going to seek out some of that style and dive into them.  

Assignment 2 : Learn From Other Worldbuilders

If only there was a friendly community full of amazing worldbuilders… oh wait! ;) World Anvil is full of extraordinary worldbuilding you can freely explore.  

Assignment 3 : Read Other Creator Articles

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