Summer Camp 2025 Prep

Hello, everyone!

I haven't let myself be a part of this before, so I'm not quite sure what to do or how this article should be designed. The instructions posted by World Anvil don't give much detail on what is expected for this part, only that I should be re-reading and updating things. Is this prep article just for reporting what I've done without showing it? I'm already confused and it's demotivating me something fierce! I've already procrastinated several times on starting this and I've fallen behind as a result.

I am going to be working with my world of Tala'm for the assignments since it has the most history and character development, the most articles (though many are blank), and the most written on the manuscript overall out of my three worlds. And truly, it still needs a lot of work before I will release it. I can show parts if asked for proof.

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?)

I have mentioned sources of nourishment a few times in "The Truth of Tala'm: Trencher's Quest". It is brought up as after-worship snacks, a meal at a restaurant, a disgusting punishment prepared for the protagonists by an antagonist who did not appreciate being ignored, and as energy being drained by at least one of the characters. Probably more times than that, but those are four different examples of ingestible nourishment mentioned in my story.

There are other examples of 'nourishment' being consumed by individuals for a positive effect, such as the reassuring words of the worship sermon itself (which is not seen or heard by the reader), someone's thoughts being consumed to give the recipient a strategic advantage, or encouraging words from a teammate to keep a character from spiraling into depression.

I have not presented food as a huge issue in my world, at least, not in the cities I have my characters visiting in the first book. It is post-apocalyptic and there are roving monsters, but travel between towns is not too fraught with danger (with how I've written it so far, but I may add encounters and supply problems during edits.) I figure that most food is organic, grown within the city boundaries. Getting anything to or from overseas is a major issue that will be expanded on though.

Obviously, if they don't have nourishment they will die. I do have characters who require nothing to continue existing though.

Renourish Your Motivations:

I am having a difficult time trying to pinpoint any one thing that I want to focus on for this competition. Overall though, I'd say I need to clarify how the circulatory flow of magick works and specifics about my various species' different magickal abilities.

If I can slip it in, I also need to build on the paranormal aspect and add it in a way that makes sense without throwing off the plot drive. It developed as a bit of an afterthought inspired by a rewatching of Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", but will add so much given some of my characters' powers.

Assignment 2:

(Download the pledge document and fill it out with your goal for Summer Camp!)

I have filled out the pledge, hopefully correctly, and placed it as the header to this article.

Revisit Your World:

Thanks to this, I have reworded and filled out the rest of my meta so that it covers events hopefully without giving away too much. Go check it out if you would like! I will probably make it disappear when I finally start posting story because I wouldn't want it coloring readers minds at that time or result in a lot of requests for "When are you going to get to this that you mentioned?". Once you start reading, the history and hidden plot will be gradually revealed.

Assignment 3:

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

I do still have several articles that I should probably update, and I am a week behind on posting this. I need to get two weeks' worth of assignments done in this coming week! I will need to get back to this. (Update: Sadly, as I look back through the articles that I have created, there are a great number of them that have nothing written or are very minimal, but it was good catching back up on what I could. I will re-read my story notebook as well to regather ideas and the concepts that I was working through, some of which altered drastically.)

I have created and posted this article as instructed.

Assignment 1:

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

I do not yet have enough written or planned for my various species' pasts and cultures other than a general origin event. I have been constructing a lot of it as I write and it seems to work for me. What I need to be doing is then adding to my articles each time I add a new ability, species quirk, ancient festival, or other cultural heritage and I haven't always been.

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?)

Review Your Setting's Roots:

I revamped the elevator pitch again on my homepage and I think it encapsulates the story concept better now:

"Tala'm is a world teetering on the brink of oblivion, held together by the magick of colossal, godlike dragons. In the wake of worldwide devastation and receding oceans, many magick-wielding species of Vaustille-Kalos rebuild while beset upon by bloodthirsty monsters, power struggles, and abductions carried out by Mulfaers, monsters who use advanced technology different from that of Tala'm. One particular Mulfaer and the undisciplined, hotheaded shrine maiden who found him may become forces for much needed recovery, if they can first manage to stop making it worse."

— --Author

I also reworded the rest of the homepage script to where I believe it sounds much better:

"The Truth of Tala'm is a science fiction and fantasy tale with elements of old western, medieval, psychological horror, isekai, anthropomorphism, paranormal, and dimensional travel that will be spread throughout. Over the course of the story, there will be a gradual reveal of the planet's unique evolutionary history and how it affects the universe itself. The mood ranges from action, to introspection, to humor, to intense moments with brief gore.

"Our story begins thirteen years after the start of the apocalypse as a kid wearing experimental armor is found unconscious in the street by a girl with tall ears, fox features, and fledgling elemental control; on her way back from procuring food and medicinal supplies for her temple residence. She discovers right away that he is one of a hated and feared race of beings known as Mulfaer, banned from being inside the city walls, but chooses to help him the same as she has pledged to help anyone in need. It seems he has lost his memory, even of how to speak.

"After them both being attacked and injured by a maniac in an alley, and the next morning being traumatized by unexplainable occurrences regarding the boy, our hot-headed and curious female protagonist makes it her mission to restore this stranger's mind and learn all that she can about him. Two flying fae folk and a small, yellow dragonette are the first to join her as they stumble into a thrilling adventure involving thieves, assassins, several mentally-unhinged villains, invaders from other worlds, and learning more about the world and themselves than they have ever known."

— --Author

If I was a new reader to my homepage, I would say that the overall look is very bland, which is probably a turnoff to many looking for a draw other than the author's description. The same thing is true of my other worlds' homepages. I need to decipher how to add pictures and different text styles and boxes and have it all make sense.

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!)

Back to Your Roots:

"The Trench Saga", what "Trencher's Quest" evolved from, was my earliest worldbuilding attempt. Old script not withstanding, I made the mistake with this latest version of trying to pack too many character introductions and different side adventures into one book. One character who was designed as an important side character for later plot points even began to take it over and be a central character! I finally removed several scenes and character introductions and saved them to fit into the later books. They had made the story too disjointed and unruly. I may still be trying to pack too much into the first book and still need to edit more out, but the story progression is easier to follow.

The ideas I felt were good from the story's origins have been kept in. I've barely thrown any away in case I could eventually find a use for them. Some have been integrated in different ways than originally planned. It is exciting when I try to incorporate an idea from way back and it suddenly fits the pieces of the puzzle together in ways I hadn't known it could, as though it was just waiting to be properly molded and its place to be found. (Don't ask me for examples because I don't remember, but it has happened several times.)

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?)

A long time ago, generations before anyone recorded such events, the bipedal people of Tala'm were either Akrenavi or Caval. Then, an experiment was performed by the Djinn who had landed here in an effort to regain their 4-D forms and abilities. The experiment not only failed, but it caused the planetary flow of magick to fluctuate and warped people's bodies. A great many underwent a metamorphosis into the various species that they now are, having been combined with indigenous fauna. (I had already decided on this event, but just now came up with what caused the event.)

A lot of adaptations to an altered planet have been necessary as a result of the Dread Gitromos cataclysm, and it is a hardship that many will be dealing with for many years to come. There are a lot of people who have blamed the World Dragons for this cataclysm that nearly ended the world (and it certainly is at least partially their fault). As a result, there are many rising up to kill the dragons, perhaps not realizing that the spell they are maintaining is the only thing keeping the world from falling completely apart and ending all life.

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.)

Shake Things Up:

I asked my daughter for music suggestions and, after much procrastination and careful deliberation, she gave me this list:

"Home" by Cavetown, which along with their other music was lovely but not my usual listening tastes. That fits the assignment, but it felt like it was only inspiring me to write more relaxed moments for my characters, which I hope they will have because the story is chock full of near constant anxiety for them. Maybe I will return to this band for inserting more of such calming moments. I relistened to the song a third time with the written lyrics to follow along, and to the feminine-sounding version "This is Home" and I enjoyed it more while at the same time singing along to it.

"Curses" by The Crane Wives. This one was a bit swing (reminded me of Squirrel Nut Zippers) and not out of my interests, but not among the music styles that I would say inspired Trencher's Quest, so this does work for meeting the assignment. (For some reason, it got me on a tangent of searching on Spotify for the band Burn Witch Burn which is more folk rock. I didn't find them, but it rightfully led me to The Dead Milkmen and to a Dr. Demento album that a Dead Milkmen song appeared on and got me listening to several of those songs, but all that is beside the point.) A playful and danceable tune, this would lend itself well to one of the moments when my characters are riding in the Scout without their captors, or while they are experiencing Jayce's world for the first time. Added to my Liked Songs.

"My Ordinary Life" by The Living Tombstone. This song was a delight! A spirited electronic dance tune. The upbeat flute playing in the background gave it an uplifting faerie feel. Other than the two fae folk who are part of the crew for most of my book, I don't delve into additional fae folk so much in this first book, and maybe not enough. Their visits to the forest to forge deals with fae folk have been for more serious reasons, but perhaps I should be adding more to expand on that aspect of the world. Awhile back, I removed one such encounter I had written because it did nothing to advance the plot. It is still saved in case I want to add it back in somewhere.

The singer's lower and subdued voice was an unexpected partner to a song with such an uplifting feel, and the lyrics are along the lines of rap braggery. I do enjoy me some old school rap brags like those pumped out by LL Cool J, Run DMC, and The Beastie Boys! The duo of subdued voice to upbeat sound gave me Gorillaz vibes. Is this inspiring to me for my story? It makes me want to create a flashy character like Ruby Rod of The Fifth Element, Gilmore of The Legend of Vox Machina, or a pop idol. In the thief city of Hrafenborg, my characters meet someone by the name of Vyn the Vindictive who helps them out of a tough situation for a price. He is flamboyant yet strategically secretive and could use a song like this to shape his persona further. Also added to my Liked Songs.

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.)

Learn From Other Worldbuilders:

Not an 'article', but I read two chapters of "Ayun Sovos" by Strixxline. It caught me off guard how she wrote it with the reader as the main character and as though it is a text-based RPG, with inventory and achievement notifications appearing along the journey. I chose it because it promised a 'fun for young reader's' vibe and animal characters similar to those in my "The Cat, Crow, & Knitten Show" manuscript. I feel inspired again to revisit that manuscript and add more detail into my characters. It was also reassuring that her writing style clipped along with just enough detail that now my own writing doesn't seem as lacking in detail as I have felt it was. I know I still need more for parts, but maybe not as much of an overhaul as I've feared. I am working on Tala'm for this assignment though. Sorry, no new inspiration for this manuscript. Liked and Followed.

Next, I read "Civic Studies Room 203" by Chris Crowe. This was about a classroom learning environment for students with special abilities. I would compare it to "My Hero Academia", but the whole article was a single class period with no one flaunting their powers. The teacher was teaching about why everyone with powers is required to be registered and receive a proper education. It was fun because I enjoy MHA and I do plan on delving into a 'superhero' city of Tala'm in the next book. There, magick users are the minority, so their powers are seen as extraordinary and they have taken their powers to new levels for both heroism and villainy.

But for this article, I was reminded that writing in such an 'every minute accounted for' manner can make the plot move along very slow. Don't get me wrong, it was well-written and believable as to how I'd imagine that classroom conversation going, but in a quicker-paced story striving for action it could have been summed up in less words and then cut to the next scene after class was dismissed so as to keep the action going. Liked.

Last, I read through a few articles describing magic items in "Cabinet of Curiosities" by Dragonid for their Lorgaire world. They were quite descriptive and inspired me to include histories for my own magick items rather than just descriptions of what they can do. I don't have histories prepared for most, so it will require some creativity. Liked.

Assignment 1:

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

Around the time of the catastrophe, most everyone thought that the Dread Gitromos event and the red sky that followed meant that their world was ending. It is miraculous that it did not, but the living conditions following the event made many want it to just end so they would no longer need to survive such chaos.

In the thirteen years since the devastation, monsters have continued to ravage their cities and towns, and the lifestyles people were accustomed to have been altered, but many have settled into the new norm and all that it entails; not happy about the drastic and more difficult life changes, but far less worried about a complete end on the horizon. Some have even found new joy in being able to open a shop or traveling business and provide their passions as services to others.

There will always be those wanting to take advantage of the situation and cause societal harm. Powerful individuals have gathered armies of like-minded or cheaply swayed masses and are engaging in turf wars with one another for commerce dominance. In cities where a thieves guild has formed, any significant crime not orchestrated by them is not tolerated and could result in removal from society via assassin. This is to maximize the profitability of crime.

Beyond the lackluster showing of governmental armies, with many resources currently committed to heavy-duty combat up North, some coordinated efforts have been taken by citizens to battle the monsters themselves. This gave rise to militarized strike forces such as the Tala'm Defense Force (TDF) and others.

Those are examples of efforts being taken by the people to create a specific kind of future that they will want to live in. They may not all be geared toward a utopia, but they all have a brighter future for themselves in mind.

The future is in most ways unpredictable though. Most any trend that used to be tracked to predict the future has been eliminated or reset with the new post-cataclysmic age. Even though thirteen years have passed without another major incident, and people have begun to breathe somewhat easy, new problems are surely in the cards. If anyone were to succeed in killing one of the remaining World Dragons for instance, it would greatly upset the balance that they have been maintaining in using their willpower to bond the planet's pieces together, creating a devastating ripple that may end it all! At least, that's one possibility. It has crossed my mind. Or maybe there could just be a race to keep it from happening.

Actual future events will probably entail reality-warping battles to defeat the Djinn inhabiting the world, some larger and more deadly scheme being triggered by CAGE, some major characters dying, whatever's going on up North, or something else I'll invent as time rolls on.

Assignment 2:

(Make sure everything’s ready—from your writing space to your writing schedule—before Summer Camp begins!)

Plan Ahead:

I just set an alarm on my phone for every day at 7 PM to work on writing. This is such an easy thing to do that I have been putting off doing for an excruciatingly long time. Hopefully, I will not get into any sort of habit of disregarding it.

I will try harder to declutter my workspace after I get home this morning.

Good news! I got the immediate area around my screen and keyboard in far better shape so that there are not papers piled up in my direct sight. And I was able to move my keyboard to an easier typing position in the process. Time for me to lay down and snooze now though to be bright eyed and bushy-tailed for work tonight.

I'll be honest, I still don't know what we're going to be doing with this Summer Camp thing. Will some of it be an exact mirror of this prep or will it be designed with completely fresh prompts not worded here?

It's been said that we need a focus. Okay, I've decided that'll be the magick in my world. But what is happening beyond that?

It's said that I should refamiliarize myself with everything important to my world and hinted at that we'll be creating or updating articles that are related to the themes. Okay, still not understanding what will be expected, and there are too many avenues or things with the details not yet written to know where I should spend my time focusing on in advance. No sense focusing ahead of time on the wrong things. I may need to reread my notebook of concepts for the story to reacquaint myself with that, even though many have been ruled out.

Research ahead of time to write about... what exactly? The unique magick of my world? There is still more to work out on the specifics to have it all fit together, which is why I have chosen it as my focus. But how will the assignments be worded?

I usually research in depth on the web when I have questions about the origins and specifics of a concept so that I can then more accurately but vaguely reference it in my world to put my own spin on the topic. That's my approach to designing things familiar and yet unique.

For example, you want creatures who inspired the legends of vampires, gargoyles, or genies? I've got those, but not anything like what you would expect. Time travel? As much as I've wanted to and tried realistically incorporating it into my story, I've determined that such a technology or power is not possible, but that research has been instrumental in developing how this universe is structured and functions. Researching this way works as well for when I create futuristic technologies built with some realism at their core.

I forget things in between writings and have to reread, so gathering materials before I know the exact assignments will not be very helpful. I'm not sure what resources I can be gathering in advance of those intimate research moments.

Assignment 3:

(Who or what will help you achieve your goal? What will your sharing strategy be during Summer Camp?)

Connect With Community:

Sadly, I have not managed to develop any friendships on World Anvil yet and am not involved anywhere else having to do with writing. I took a look at the dedicated Discord Summer Camp discussion and, apart from being at times a social outlet for frivolous non-related discussions, it could prove useful during the event. I will refer back to it from time to time.

I'm fortunate enough to have had "OVER 9,000!" views of the manuscript homepage for my one published manuscript ("The Cat, Crow, & Knitten Show"), 437 of which lead to actual clicking on the first chapter, but I have not yet received any actual feedback despite my multiple pleas for feedback, likes, or follows. Thus, zero people have shown interest in discussing anything to do with my stories, despite my having given feedback, likes, and follows to several authors and the manuscripts that I have read so far. With the community being indifferent to my efforts, I have no faith in striking up any meaningful discussions with anyone in regards to my Summer Camp efforts this year.

I discussed with my daughter about checking in on my progress during the event (which she was enthusiastic up front about and even asked for the links and for me to share the prompts with her for her own story writing), but the chance of her following through is minimal. I normally have to remind her multiple times to do things. That is, when I remember to remind her. My wife refuses to read or discuss my story for fear of influencing me before I am fully done with creating it how I envision it. Who would have thought? Sigh.

That's right, I am forced to be my own support and discussion group. It has been demoralizing and leaves me stranded when I get derailed.

Other than that, I do not understand yet what you mean about a "sharing strategy". Did that cover it? If it is to be a part of passing or failing during the challenge, I hope it will not be difficult to figure out.

Thank you for reading my tale of excitement, confusion, and woe. Good luck, everyone! If I don't bump into you during the event, I'll see you at the finish line.