Summer Camp 2024 Homework
Week 1 Theme: "Change"
I'm excited about the theme that was revealed this week since Athanya is a world primed for change. Only 350 years have passed since it came into its current state, so conditions are still settling and the circumstances are perfect for new developments. Along with the newness of the world, another factor that makes Athanya perfectly suited for change is the fact that, until now, I’ve been more focused on its culture than its history. If I were to put as much effort into working on Athanya’s history as I have on things like its customs surrounding visual arts, surely I can work in a few interesting change-related events ranging from the discovery of new locations to political coups. Right now, the only limit is continuity and the high fantasy mood of this universe.
Camp Feral Badge by Strixxline
Week 2 Theme: "Refuge"
I'm even more thrilled about this week's theme than last week's! The idea of refuge is something that already comes up a lot in my plots, so I'm thrilled to incorporate it into my world in a more palpable way. There are a bunch of different "flavors" of refuge that would fit well with my world's theme and setting. Literal, physical refuges would work in this setting because of the dangerous nature of the natural world. Symbolic refuges such as ideologies that bring my characters comfort would be fascinating since I'm so interested in the things that make people tick. I'm extremely excited to see the official prompts and finally release the feral energy that's been building up this month! As soon as I heard that part of this week's homework was finding an accountability buddy, my thoughts immediately went to my greatest supporter: my dad. I'll hopefully be seeing a lot of him this summer, and since he seems to genuinely enjoy hearing about my world and my creative progress, I thought that he'd be a great person to help me stay on track. I'll ask him what he thinks about the idea later today. He's my favorite person to talk to about my worldbuilding and I think that having him be my accountability partner would be a really fun bonding moment for the two of us. Regarding the styling of my world, I'm a bit less excited. I'm definitely not a CSS wizard. Frankensteining (and generally mangling) other people's HTML is more my jam. For that reason, I'm kind of limited when it comes to the aesthetics of Athanya. Even so, a few super helpful resources for styling without CSS were shared during the livestream today, so I have a bit more hope for the way my world looks. It'll take some time to go through my 200 articles and learn how everything works, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get things at least a little more polished before Summer Camp starts.Week 3 Theme: "Belief"
The new theme, "belief," is perfect for my upcoming goals for the world of Athanya. I've already been planning on putting work into the gods and religions of this universe for a while. What better time to stop procrastinating and just do it than during Summer Camp? Along with the obvious religious aspects of the theme, I have a personal fondness for urban legends, so I'll probably try to throw a few in there as well (the weirder and creepier the better.) Characters believing in each other is also something that I love writing about. Honestly, there are a ton of different interpretations I could see working with the vibes of the universe and my personal preferences. As with the other themes, I'm super excited to see the prompts and get to writing! I'm rather pleased about the "bank of inspiration" part of this week's homework because I already have one of my own that I add to and rifle through on a daily basis. It's hosted on Google Notes and consists of hundreds of random images, inspiring quotes, assorted lists, and various half-baked thoughts. My Google Notes app is kind of like my second brain. Nobody else gets to see it because it's so messy and raw, but it gets the job done. I've been working on it almost nonstop since I was in high school. At this point, it's crammed with so much inspiration that, whenever I feel stuck, I just scroll through it for a while and wait for the creative thoughts to start flowing again. I genuinely don't know what I'd do without that thing. If anyone reading this doesn't have a bank of inspiration, what are you doing?? Seriously, you need one. I don't know what I'd do without mine. While I am actively working on custom maps and character illustrations for Athanya, I am a seriously slow artist. To be completely honest, thanks to my crippling artistic self-doubt and tortoise-like speed, there's no way that I'll be able to finish all my planned illustrations and maps before Summer Camp starts. Thank goodness for free-to-use image resources like Unsplash. Without Unsplash, many of my articles would be barren. Up until recently, I used to have something against using resources I don't own, but I have since come to the conclusion that, if something is free and suits my vision, why not use it? Since then, I've been adding images to as many of my articles as I can and having a lot of fun finally visualizing the things that have lived inside my head for so long. I kind of already updated my official inspirations while I was working on my meta the other week. I added a few songs I've got on repeat, as well as some images that capture the general vibe of the universe. I plan on adding a few more as I stumble across them, but again, it's not something I can rush. I will be working on it over the course of this upcoming week, though. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a song that fits the mood, themes, and characters of a story I'm working on involving my man Valos Adrah. If I can find more songs that evoke the same level of inspiration, I'll be a happy Summer Camper.Week 4 Theme: "Decay"
I know I keep saying this, but I’m once again thrilled with the new theme. It might actually be my favorite of the four. Decay is something that fascinates my admittedly rather morbid imagination, so it’s already come up in my worldbuilding (see Ahbessa, the Lady of Sweet Decay.) Moral and physical decay both intrigue me because I know I can do a lot with each idea in this setting. Fungus monsters, the obscenely rich, corrupt authority figures, funerary rites, and more immediately come to mind. The one idea I’m most excited about, however, is a vague idea for a story I've got about a mage who’s undergone partial elemental dismemberment, a fate considered worse than death by many in Athanya. His body is actively decaying around him as he races to find a cure for the condition, struggling to maintain his moral compass along the way. The story is still in its early stages, but I was already planning for it to heavily feature the theme of decay in multiple ways, thereby representing my own struggles with having an active mind trapped by the limitations of a sick body. Summer Camp would be a great time to work on it. I'll be honest, my writing space was in need of a good cleaning session. I try to keep it clean for the most part, but when I get absorbed by my writing, the energy drink cans and laundry tend to pile up. That's what happened over the last week while I was adding images to my articles. Thankfully, everything's been restored to some degree of order. Now I'm just hoping I can keep it that way for a little while longer. My world's homepage isn't the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and, unfortunately, I'm not sure how to improve it. Like I said earlier, I'm not a CSS wizard. I'm not even very good at using World Anvil's text fields. The one thing I feel I have control over is the content of the pitch and the art covers for the three featured categories. The pitch is ok and I'm working on the art, so I don't know what else to do. I guess I'll have to think about this one a bit more over the course of the week. I'll add an update here if I think of anything. Since I've been working on this universe purely for myself for so long, it didn't have much in the way of pillar articles. With that in mind, I decided to create a primer for Athanya. Summarizing all the most important info has been a fun challenge because, at this point, everything about this world is so ingrained in my imagination that I take it for granted. Creating the primer not only helps any potential new readers, it lets me see the important stuff at a glance and has given me the opportunity to see my world through fresh eyes. If you're interested, you can take a look at the primer here. It's not finished as of the time I'm writing this, but I'll hopefully have it in order once Summer Camp officially arrives.Conclusion
Yeah, if you couldn't tell, I'm a little bit excited about my first Summer Camp. I love the themes and can't wait to see the prompts. Now that my physical health issues are improving, I'm just hoping my own mind won't hold me back. Progress
Copper Change
Silver Refuge
Gold Belief
Diamond Decay
All Articles
Copper Change
8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Tumultuous times are interesting moments to set stories in, whether they be due to natural disasters, sickness, conflicts, or others. Characters face unusual challenges, infrastructure breaks down, and society as a whole can change.
Change can be big and small—from the size of a small community or city to the entire universe—, and it can be positive and negative.
Silver Refuge
8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Where do you go when everything around you changes? A refuge can be a literal place (like a building or a city), but it can also be anything that keeps you safe or comforts you. The change someone takes refuge from can also be small in the grand scheme of things—sometimes, small changes can have deep consequences on a specific person or group.
Gold Belief
8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Religious belief is a foundational element for many cultures, but belief doesn't have to be about religion! Beliefs can be about superstition, urban legends and myths, people you believe in, and more. Essentially, anything and anyone that inspires people, for good or ill.
Diamond Decay
8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Most things decay over time, but, just like all other themes, decay can be understood in a multitude of ways. There's physical decay, but there's also moral decay—both often go hand-in-hand with old organizations, and physical decay can be used as a metaphor for moral decay. And decay isn't always a bad thing - an evil empire might crumble so something better can flourish. Think about how people in your world try to prevent decay too!
Prompts
Copper Change
Prompt 1
Geography/Location
Prompt 2
Natural Law
Prompt 3
Character
Prompt 4
Condition
Prompt 5
Document
Prompt 6
Ethnicity
Prompt 7
Military Conflict
Prompt 8
Vehicle
Wild Card
Prompt 9
Myth/Legend
Wild Card
Prompt 10
Building
Silver Refuge
Prompt 1
Settlement
Prompt 2
Technology
Prompt 3
Geography/Location
Prompt 4
Building
Prompt 5
Formation
Prompt 6
Item
Prompt 7
Tradition/Ritual
Prompt 8
Species
Wild Card
Prompt 9
Ethnicity
Wild Card
Prompt 10
Organization
Gold Belief
Prompt 1
Organization
Prompt 2
Myth/Legend
Prompt 3
Character
Prompt 4
Document
Prompt 5
Item
Prompt 6
Language
Prompt 7
Rank/Title
Prompt 8
Tradition/Ritual
Wild Card
Prompt 9
Settlement
Wild Card
Prompt 10
Species
Diamond Decay
Prompt 1
Myth/Legend
Prompt 2
Material
Prompt 3
Profession
Prompt 4
Organization
Prompt 5
Tradition/Ritual
Prompt 6
Species
Prompt 7
Condition
Prompt 8
Technology
Wild Card
Prompt 9
Character
Wild Card
Prompt 10
Geography/Location
Tracking Statblock by Graylion
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Hope your health keeps improving so you get to enjoy your first Summer Camp in full! Best of luck on the road to silver!
Thank you! :) I'm hoping I might be able to even surpass silver, but we'll see how it goes!