Summer Camp 2021 Imaginaerium: Day 6

Hello everyone!

Week 1 of Summer Camp is drawing to a close. How are you doing? Today, we're looking at a couple of articles on clothing from around the world: And if you're writing a gripping crime thriller, why not draw some inspiration from my homeland and the way we do our crime dramas:

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 DaniAdventures, life coach, author, and all around awesome bean!

Tell us about yourself!

I'm Dani, a superhero/steampunk/shifter/sci-fi romance author (under Cera Daniels), a goal coach for overwhelmed creatives, and creator of To Do List Adventures and Luridity. I have a Kidlet who loves to troll, a husband who likes to cook, a fluffy purrcat, a cat who thinks she's a dog, and a cat who thinks when he bumps into you it's YOUR FAULT AND YOU WILL BE SHUNNED FOR DAYS.

Primary World

To Do List Adventures:
Complete your real world tasks at your own pace to unlock a continually-expanding interactive science fiction story with RPG-style character growth, ancient mysteries, exclusive secrets, and more!

To Do List Adventures

What world are you working on for Summer Camp?

Any Summer Camp prompts I complete this year will be for my mature, erotic romance project called Luridity.

Check it out here:

Luridity

What is your past experience with Summer Camp?

Last year was my first, and I ecstatically made a divot in the articles and worldbuilding I wanted for To Do List Adventures. I did my stream more often, stayed up a lot so I didn't miss much, and after it was created, hyped so much with the Anvilite Streamer Corps!! Last year, I met the WorldAnvil community, which is just chock-full of amazing creators who are incredibly supportive folks, some of whom I now consider family :D

What did you learn from the past Summer Camps?

I learned that sleep is good and that strange sleeping hours are not sustainable for an entire month. I also learned that IF I pace myself well and don't write 1500-2000 words per article, I can actually succeed. ;)

How do you go about generating ideas for the prompts?

I think: where could this fit best, which of my characters could interact with it, and how could I pull it into a short story or novel so there is cohesion--and then start fitting my prompt answers in like a puzzle.

What's your approach to this Summer Camp?

Slow, steady, and many many stories!

What are your tricks for staying on track?

Momentum. Consistent creating and keeping a desire to build things. Cheering on others and brainstorming article ideas has been my favorite way to stay on track in the past.

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

Stuck days are going to happen. I either:
a) focus on cheering people on and building the hype, because sometimes while brainstorming with others our own ideas shake loose,
b) work on something else (images, writing something on the side that I have no expectations for, CSS and other design elements, etc.), or
c) take a short break and allow myself to rest. Rest for me is best spent soothing my brain, which might include sleeping, monotonous chores that require no thought, or refilling my creative well--consuming other media so that my idea-brain gets jumpstarted again.

Once you have your prompt ideas, how do you pick the "right" one?

Make something that either is or will become important to the projects I have in progress. The novels and short stories and quests I write should mesh with the articles I write in ways that can encourage the curious reader to explore more. If I create something on the fringes, I'm never going to use it, and if I don't use it, then it won't be something readers will necessarily be drawn to. Tone, theme, elements from Earth that I can twist, are great. But if I can't fit those things into my world usefully, the idea gets tossed.

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

Last of all, here's some music to keep you company while you write:

If you hear a voice within you saying, ‘You are not a painter,’ then by all means paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced.
— Vincent van Gogh

by Illahie

If you like what you've seen here and found it helpful, check out some of my other work and see it in action.

Mankind are not masters of this world, but children fumbling in the dark.

Araea is a weird-fantasy setting in a world where humanity has been forced to survive deep underground since time immemorial. The surface of the planet is a barren wasteland plagued by radiation, vicious storms and terrible beasts. In the dark, mankind have built cities and civilizations.

Araea

Welcome to the Megacorpolis! Greatest city in the world; run by marketing campaign and middle mangers, fueled by java and profit margins.

The Megacorpolis is a city of the future, free from notions of nationality or patriotism. It is a city ruled by corporations, by profit margins and marketing campaigns, run by middle-managers and algorithms. All under the watchful surveillance of everyone's friend, The Computer. Come on into the greatest city the world will ever see.

Megacorpolis

“They sacrificed to daemons, no-gods,
Gods they had never known,
New ones, who came but lately,
Who stirred not your fathers’ fears.”

The world stands at the dawn of the 21st century, entering an uncertain age. Monsters and magic, powers ancient beyond measure, lurk in the dark. In the shadows, another world lies next to our own, both a sanctuary and prison - a place beyond the reach of mortals. Welcome to Shedim, a dark occult world of horror and wonder. It is our modern world, where magic lurks in the dark and hides in an alternative dimension called the Shadow. In it walk both heroes and villains, prisoners and jailors, horrors and hope. In it, armaggedon awaits - or salvation.