My summercamp 2024 pledge

Change

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

I want to overhaul the novelas based on the lore of 1957. Therefor I want to strengthen consistency, that means, filling plotholes, refurbishing characters and detailing descriptions of persons, things and locations.

Assignment 2

Based on this, decide how many prompts you'll go for during Summer Camp. Then, download the pledge document and fill it accordingly!

Assignment 3

Get your categories and tags organized!

As I write Alternative History, I divided my encyclopedia into events (to mark the points of difference to real history), objects (including Zeppelins) which create the flavour of the time. Organisations, prior to all the United Nations Organisation, build a backbone to my world, my protagonists work for the catholic church and the KGB... After that, I'll describe locations, persons, languages and in the end, Austria, the Ottoman Empire and the Sovietunion and all the other fictive countries of alternate 1957.

Assignment 4

Take a look at your meta, primer, and any other high-level document and update it according to the current state of your world.

I addjusted Meta and first page.

Refuge

Assignment 1

Consider what kinds of refuge would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Johann has his breviary, Aleksandra her bridgeblueprints, but both of them are seekers, so traveling (by train, ship or airship) is there paradox way of seeking stability in motion. For Leonid it is Sex, for Thomas thoughts of his fiancée.

Assignment 2

Find a community—whether that’s our Discord server, Facebook Group, your RPG or friend group, or something else.

As german writing guy it is not that easy to find a group her on the english side, but I will try my best. Some of my nerdier friends are involved in inspiring me all the time ;-)

Assignment 3

Find ways to improve styling and layout in your world!

I'm really bad in arts and due to financial issues, I'm not able to afford my brilliant co-worker Kociomaczek any longer. So I will use cheap AI generated motivitation pictures, knowing that they are rather insufficent compared to a handdrawn creative work by a human artist. Inside the articles I try to provide maximum consistency by using word documents from serial letters with filled in variables from excel sheets, polishing the article modell afterwards for a bit of individualisation.

Assignment 4

If you’re a CSS wizard, maybe take the time now to give it a polish!

I have no clue at all how to do so; but I'm totally open for inspiration or critique. If someone wants to join for free as a coworker doing css or graphics, maps etc., your welcome. I use mapchart for the maps and chatgpt4 for the other pictures from my airshippunky 1957.

Belief

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of beliefs would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

I recognise four particular world views in my alternative universe: Johann is a representative of religious faith (Roman Catholic) who sets his tradition absolute in a reflected form and wants to spread it through conviction. Aleksandra tries to do the same with the teachings of Marxism-Leninism, which form the basis of her planning work. Leonid stands for the primacy of sex: every action is aimed at generating the daily sex ration. Thomas focusses on attachment to one's homeland and patriotism. All four come together in the railway: For Johann, a means of transporting faith like the Roman postal lines for Paul's letters; for Aleksandra, a symbol of the progressiveness of socialism as a means of mass transport for all; Leonid can use the railway to commute between his affairs or run away quickly after quick sex experiences. And for Thomas, the expansion of the railway is a means of protecting and promoting his homeland.

Assignment 2

Create a bank of inspirations! Quotes, music, description of experiences and shower thoughts, etc.

You chose the wrong side! - There are no sides! (Villeneuves Dune 2, Dialogue between Reverend Mothers Jessica and Gaius Helen Mohiam)

Ubisofts Assassins Creed Mirage is optically beautiful; and playing with realistic assets in a dreamworld is in a nutshell what I try with 1957.

by Racussa mit DALLE

My inspirational music piece the ouverture of Modest Mussorgskijs – Boris Godunov
The book of inspiration wil be the Midnight Texas Series by Charlene Harris. A perfect mixture of intrigue, supranaturality, fun and exploration of alternative realities.

Assignment 3

Find art and pictures that inspire you, and grab a map if you don't have one (and need one).

by Racussa mit DALLE

by Racussa mit DALLE

The style of the TV Show Alta Mare is much of an inspiration for the setting of 1957. As for the map, one may like the new shape of Austria to be a separation between western and eastern countries to secure peace in the center of europe, together with Switzerland: Also the TV series DARK with its cycles of family tragedies, asking about determination or free will.

Assignment 4

Check your inspirations again. Are they still relevant? Can you find any that better represent the current state of your project?

Railways will take a more prominent role, being the connecting element of all characters and the main plot device. I will also take some inspiration by the TV series Snowpiercer, which is kind of socialist propaganda against child labour and unfair culinaric logistics.

Decay

Assignement 1

Consider what kind of decay would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

The biggest problem in my world is the unbroken hope of industrialisation. The environmental damage, but also the moral collapse that follows the extractionist world view, affects my four main characters to varying degrees. Aleksandra as an architect is fully in her element, with Soviet brutalism she builds ever larger bridges, even more gigantic factories and is proud of warships and satellites; Leonid, who finds his fulfilment in daily changing sexual partners, exploits not only them but also himself. Thomas wants Austria to be strong (also militarily), even at the expense of diplomatic contacts with neighbouring countries. And Johann secretly dreams of Catholic world domination in order to fight communism, Nipponism, capitalism and secularism at the same time. *** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***

Assignement 2

Assignment 2 If you like special tea when you write, stock up for a month. Tidy your office, make a “do not disturb” sign, and think about any other last-minute strategies to optimize your writing space and time!

As a single, this is an easy task: I have my desk always set up in the way I can work best. For time issues, I will be on holiday most of the time, so it should do. - But stocking up chocolate is always a good idea:

Assignement 3

Review your world homepage to hook potential readers!

I just asked ChatGPT to improve my English version and translate it for fun to the four other main languages of the security council of my world: French, Russian, Japanese an Ottoman turkish. I'm astonished!!!

Assignement 4

Take a look at your author profile and pillar articles on your world and polish them!

I haven't visited my author page since I created this world years ago. Funny to look back in time by reading this stuff.