Summer Camp 2021 Imaginaerium: Day 12

Hello everyone!

It's no secret that human greed can lead to some pretty heinous decisions, ranging from vile to just head-scratchingly stupid. Like that time entire batches of Austrian wine was horribly poisonous and instead of fixing the issue they just sort of covered it up until they couldn't anymore, because that was cheaper. If you haven't heard about that... Here's today's fun story of human greed!


Sometimes, villains aren't masterminds with some cunning scheme that envelops all factors of their operation. Sometimes, they are just greedy, callous idiots.
As a bonus, a tale of the lost city of Iram!

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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 mistress of mushrooms, the countess of Cordyceps, and all around awesome person, Dr. Emy!

Tell us about yourself!

Hello all! My name is Emy, or Serukis on World Anvil. I am a Doctor of Creative Writing - like, for real. I got a PhD and everything. I’ve been part of the World Anvil community for just over a year and it’s now my favourite place on the Internet. I have two cats, five guinea pigs, and a bunch of fish, shrimp, and snails.
I love learning new things, reading other people’s worlds, and mushrooms.

What world/s are you working on for Summer Camp?

My one and only world – Etrea.

Check it out here:

What is your past experience with Summer Camp?

Summer Camp 2020 was my introduction to World Anvil and the community. I made a lot of good friends during the event, too. I managed to get the diamond badge for completing all 33 prompts last year and, even the prompts I found difficult, I had a lot of fun writing for all of them. I also read a whole bunch of articles from everyone else and it was very inspiring.

What did you learn from the past Summer Camps?

I got completely burned out after Summer Camp 2020. It was not so much the writing that did it, but trying to read everything. Most days I was reading 40+ articles before I would allow myself to sleep, and it wasn’t healthy. So I learnt that keeping up with my notifications should be lower on my priority list during Summer Camp and that my focus should be on both worldbuilding and having fun.

How do you go about generating ideas for the prompts?

Sometimes, an idea immediately comes to mind when I read a prompt, though that’s quite rare. If an idea doesn’t spark upon the first read, I have several things I can do.
First, I look through all the stub articles I have in my world, to see if any of them fit.
Secondly, I have a look at the prompt page and see what other people have written for that prompt. Sometimes, seeing others’ ideas might jolt an idea of my own. (No stealing ideas though, that’s not good.)
Thirdly, I’ll go have a shower or do some chores, to see if letting it sit in my brain for a while will help.
If none of these work, I’ll work on other prompts. Sometimes, writing an article for another prompt will generate ideas for prompts I have yet to answer.

What's your approach to this Summer Camp?

My approach this Summer Camp is to have fun and hang out with all my World Anvil friends. I don’t want to force myself to do anything to a point where I’m not having fun or I’m at risk of burn out. Worldbuilding is a passion for me and I don’t want to ruin that.

What's your tricks for staying on track?

I like to get at least one prompt done a day. I feel as though if I let too many unanswered prompts pile up then it becomes overwhelming.
Another trick is to talk to others and to have an accountability buddy who can poke you if you haven’t produced anything in a few days. I have a few of those.
How do you handle those bad days when we get stuck or can't seem to get writing done?
Rest. Have a nap. Take a break and do something fun. Read some others’ work, or a non-fiction book to get some inspiration back. Talk to friends and tell them you’re having a bad day and can’t get any writing done.
Anything but staring at a blank article and getting more and more frustrated with myself.
(At least, that’s the plan.)

What are your long term goals for Etrea?

I'm currently working on a fantasy trilogy set in Etrea, which is my first goal. Other long term goals I have is to write field guides or something set in my world, like 'Mushrooms of Serukis' or 'Beasts of the Teeth'.

What would you say to people doing Summer Camp for the first time?

Have fun and interact with the community. We don't bite, I promise!

Many thanks to Emy for sharing her insights with us today!

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

If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it

— Toni Morrison