Summer Camp 2023 Reading Challenge

So I am super late doing this, but better late than never, right? Anyway, this was my first Summer Camp, and basically my first World Anvil event ever. I used Summer Camp to kickstart the world of Aurora, which I made public shortly before the challenge. And let me tell you, it was GREAT. Yes, there were times when completing articles was a slog. And I really struggled with some of the prompts. The Relics wave in particular definitely had me playing on hard mode. (Though I still think it's really funny that when the Frontiers prompts turned out to be easier than I thought they would be, I joked to myself "Watch Relics be the hardest one of all" and it actually was XD.) But overall, I really enjoyed myself. Also, I reached my goal and got Diamond! Really happy about that :D.
Interacting with the community on Discord was a blast. I learned so many things from everyone, and people were so encouraging and helpful. I definitely feel like I've leveled up in my use of World Anvil itself. I'm also glad I was able to create a solid base of articles for my world like I wanted. (Even if not all of them are finished...)
All of the articles I wrote for Summer Camp have been compiled in the article below. Enjoy!

Anyway, enough about me. Here are the nine articles I picked for the reading challenge. My original criteria was to choose articles that had no likes and less than ten views when I found them. This is how I picked the first three. But then I procrastinated so much that by the time I started searching for articles in the other two categories, there were next to none that fit this criteria anymore. So I adjusted it to look for articles that had less than twenty views instead. I also looked for articles I enjoyed and that I felt I could learn something from.
As for the prompts, overall I tried to pick ones that I found interesting, hadn't read a lot of articles from and thought could help me learn to write with their respective article templates.
Let's check them out!

A MATERIAL OR NATURAL RESOURCE THAT COMES FROM A DANGEROUS LOCATION

Cherian Bloodwood: The Mystical Timber of Cheria by MysticSalad

The concept of a wood that can be made as hard as steel and even be turned into a sharp blade is very cool. The blood-soaking ritual sounds rather creepy, especially with the unwilling sacrifices. I like how the article goes into the cultural signifigance of the bloodwood and the forests to the blood elves. I also like how the blood elves take care to preserve the forests for future generations. It almost feels like the forests are a connecting thread between the past and the future.

Strange Metal by nocapsnospace

I liked how informative this article is and how it has just the right amount of detail. The strange metal sounds really pretty to look at. I also really like the term "strangesmith". I can't help but wonder whether it's a good idea to use strange metal for armour at all, since it apparently makes the wearer take the full force of the hit! It looks like a lot of thought went into this one. Good job.

Night's Sorrow by Doomhark

This article is excellently written. I love how it portrays the flower as being a harbinger of both death and life, and what that duality means to the people of the Cythrian Empire. A fantastic article with a beautiful and evocative writing style that draws you in.

AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ONE PERSON ADDRESSED TO MANY

Prophecy of the Seven Sons by Ser_Richard

Another well-written piece. This article weaves a dark tale of doom and manipulation. I love the final twist, as well as the perfectly ominous note it ends on. A ride from start to finish.

Discours de Žerus Doyen by Zannazook

I read this one by translating it from French via DeepL. This was an enjoyable read that quickly pulled me into the drama. I liked reading about the huge impact this one person's words had on society. I also like how Žerus was able to follow his conscience and speak out against the oppression of others, even if it meant breaking the status quo. This article taught me that a document doesn't have to have all the text typed out verbatim to have an impact.

Amusement Park Invitation by Revyera

I actually read this one during July, and liked it so much that I made an exception for it despite it not meeting my criteria. Strange and mysterious amusement parks are always fun. I can easily see this whole thing as the setup for a novel. I love the questions the article brings up surrounding the invitation and the curiosity it sparks in the reader's mind. I also like how the actual document is formatted to better mimic how the text would actually look like on the page. That definitely-not-a-threat last line gave me chills. Well done.

AN ORGANISATION DEDICATED TO KEEPING A MAJOR SECRET FROM THE PUBLIC

The Never Light by Heavy

This was a chilling article to read. The short paragraphs really pack a punch. You can feel just how cold and ruthless these people are just from the way this is written. It's also kind of scary that they even have the power to eliminate the Empress if they see fit. And I really like the titles Sunblade and Moonblade. This article showcases the power of "short and sweet" better than any other short article I've seen so far. Awesome job.

Clan Varen Ebon by JeSuisAmanda

The blend of organization and myth is very well done here. I also like the aesthetic and layout of the article. Clan Varen Ebon being both open and welcoming to outsiders and closed off and secretive adds a lot of depth and intrigue to them. The story of the ice apple is fascinating. (This article really makes me want apples though lol.)

Department of Lunar Affairs by Alex the Creatist

"What could possibly go wrong?" XD This definitely sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I get the sense that the UAG sees their workers as expendable. All that matters is the bottom line, so the Department has no choice but to keep things going until it all comes tumbling down - literally. I love the way this article conveys a sense of impending doom via narrative voice.

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Future Plans

• Try and complete the SC articles that are still unfinished (no promises, though)
• Complete all the stubs I created during SC (including the links that haven't been turned into stubs yet)
• Try and figure out which articles I should write now and which ones I should save for WorldEmber (assuming I'll be able to participate)
• Finally start experimenting with containers and other Grandmaster CSS superpowers
• Make sure I'm not only worldbuilding for challenges and competitions
• Try to not lose momentum
• Learn to enjoy worldbuilding more and more

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the year.