Summer Camp 2021 Imaginaerium: Day 11

Hello everyone!

Are you excited for the second wave of prompts? Have you finished all the first ones? :D
Funeral traditions are always interesting, so why are they hanging coffins on cliffs?


As a bonus, here's a big dust storm from Australia. Are you including weather in your Summer Camp?

And because why not; cashew nut liquor!

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For today's Imaginaerium, we are going to peer into the brilliant minds of the Anvilites who are taking part of Summer Camp and see what advice they have for us. One of WA's greatest assets is its amazing community, so lets get better together.
Today, we're talking to the amazing Annie, who's joining our summer camp maness for the first time.

Tell us about yourself!

I'm Annie, or Ninnie, Nie, or however you happen to read @nnie. I have a chronic illness, but I haven't let that stop me from dabbling in lots of stuff over the years. To name a few, web design, media, illustration, art, tabletop roleplays, and I could go on for ages.
I like creating, and I go where life takes me, be it a challenge to make and host an art exhibition, a friend who wants graphics for their mod, or an amazing server announcing a summercamp worldbuilding challenge!

What world are you working on for Summer Camp?

I'm working on the Morning Realm, a DnD world that I'm currently running a campaign in. I'm having fun fleshing out a classic fantasy world, and diving into old folklore and history for extra inspiration.

Check it out here:

How do you go about generating ideas for the prompts?

Before summercamp I wrote out a list of the articles I knew I needed for the world anvil, and I promised myself to have a glance at that while deciding what to write. I've done that every now and then, but what has actually been inspiring me the most is the community, and talking to others about their worlds and their approaches.
I also do a lot of research, which helps flesh the articles out and get me past the wordcount.

What's your approach to this Summer Camp?

I've been listening to those with experience, who say to just start writing and lean on the community when necessary. Unsurprisingly, people with experience know what they're talking about.

What's your tricks for staying on track?

Forgive my media background showing, but KISS; Keep It Simple, Stupid! I have such a bad habit of wanting everything I do to be the most impressive take ever made, and putting ridiculous expectations on myself. I know myself, and I now know that when I get overwhelmed and start struggling to stay on track, it's probably because I forgot to just keep it simple. So I take a deep breath, and then I dial it back.

How do you handle those bad days when we get stuck or can't seem to get writing done?

I tell myself it's okay to be unproductive. Us creative sorts, we can feel like absolute failures if we aren't constantly creating. Taking a break feels like the end of the world, so we push on until we get writers block or art block.
I've learned that it's better to take the break early, recover, and then get back to it. I can trust that I will be creative later. It isn't going to go away just because I stop to catch my breath. It was hard to learn, and some days I have to learn it all over again.

What is it like working on a Tabletop RPG setting for summercamp?

I find limitations help me be creative. When I have completely free reigns I get overwhelmed with all the posibilities. With this setting being for a campaign, there's a built in audience too, and more of a reason to work at it. I'm not just entertaining myself, I'm building something for my players to enjoy too.
Of course when working with a tabletop like D&D, that comes with its own baggage. There's an expectation that you'll allow all the official published races and classes, with only a few minor tweaks in the flavour. Deviating too far from fantasy convention can be frustrating for the players, who then have to take into account the ways your world deviates before they throw themselves into roleplaying.
I'm perfectly willing to cut anything I genuinely don't like, but in general I try to stick to the "Yes, And" principle from Improv. Yes, amazing dwarven artisans exist, and so do incredible dwarven astronomers!

Many thanks to Annie for joining this years summer camp :D

Finally, here's some music to keep you company while you write:

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

— Douglas Adams