Summer Camp Prep 2024
Hello, everyone! It's finally the time of year we've all been waiting for- it's Summer Camp time! I've been excited for this since last year, when I joined WA right around July and saw all the amazing articles people put out for Summer Camp. I couldn't really participate then, because my world was too new (and also I didn't understand what was going on), but I think I'm ready to join in this time around! (Hopefully!)
Week 1: Change
Assignment 1: Changes in Huran (they're really going through it)
There's always change happening within any kingdom, but Huran is currently going through rather more of it than usual. The usual social, political, and economic changes, yes, but the Hurani court also has to deal with the appearance of a serial killer that's taking out several of them at the same time, so... they're going through a lot of sudden changes, that's for sure. How the characters of the world react to everything going down is something I'm very excited to explore.
Assignment 2: My goals for a hopefully stress-free Summer Camp
As excited as I am for Summer Camp, I don't usually do well with answering prompts. I tend to overthink the topic, spend way too much time planning something that fits, then get frustrated and not write anything. So I'm going to try avoiding that this year by only writing a few prompts that inspire me and that I really think will fit my world. I also don't want to set too high of a goal, especially considering I'm going to be working on other nasty real-life projects, so I'll be aiming for the copper badge.
Assignment 3: Categories and tags... Tags and categories
My world is still relatively new, and I don't have enough articles yet for organisation to really be an issue, so I don't think I'm going to be changing anything about it just yet. The way I have my articles organised right now makes sense (to me, at least), so I'll probably only take another look at it once I have more articles written after Summer Camp is over.
Assignment 4: Updating the meta (allegedly)
The meta is where I keep my plans and personal thoughts, the place I write down inspirations and silly little ideas that might never come to fruition, so I've kept it private so far. It's been a while since I've properly looked at the meta and updated it to fit what I'm currently writing, though, so I plan on doing that to get a better feel for Huran's vibe, but I'm going to keep it private still.
Week 2: Refuge
Assignment 1: Taking refuge in Huran
Refuge is something I haven't given a lot of thought to, although now that I think about it, it does fit in really well with the story. In the midst of the terror and upheaval caused by the deaths of their peers, the refuge that the characters take in each other and their families is an important aspect of the story that will drastically change the existing relationships between them.
Assignment 2: Accountability who?
As I mentioned earlier, the SC prompts don't always inspire me or fit into the world I'm writing. So while I do plan on writing as many of the prompts as I can and hopefully fulfilling my pledge, I don't want to stress myself out about it by getting an accountability buddy. I'm just going to chill, write whatever I feel like writing, and enjoy the event!
Assignments 3 & 4: Tweaking the CSS and styling
I spent a good portion of last year working on CSS and updating the layout of my world, so I'm pretty much satisfied with it for now! I already have a template ready for some of the articles I plan on writing for this world, as well, although I do plan on working on a few more templates for plot articles.
Week 3: Belief
Assignment 1: Beliefs of Huran
This whole setting, and Huran in particular, is about belief. The religious beliefs of the Hurani have guided the course of the country's history and continues to be the basis for their culture. On the other hand, it also continues to be a major point of conflict between Huran and its neighbours that do not follow the same religion. The political beliefs of the characters are also foundational to the story, since much of it revolves around the politics and relationships between the different factions within Huran's court. What the characters believe is best for Huran, what they believe is best for them and their own, who they believe is worthy of their respect, who they believe is an ally, and who they believe is an enemy- it all influences their role within the story and their behaviour as they plot progresses.
Assignments 2-4: Inspirations
The inspiration for this world came to me while on vacation in Turkey, in between driving down the highway and watching sheep and cows grazing in the fields. In my head, I saw a quaint rural town in Ottoman Turkey, its peace suddenly shattered by a series of gruesome murders, and a solemn, inquisitive detective determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and uncover the truth... Since then, that vision has been changed by a lot; the quiet rural town has changed to a lively royal court filled with political intrigue and danger, and the Turkish-inspired setting is now a mixture of Turkish and Egyptian, mainly because I'm more familiar with the latter. It is a rather drastic change in some ways, but I think at its core, the story remains about a murder, and the relationships between the people who have to live with it.
Week 4: Decay
Assignment 1: Decay in Huran
In many ways, decay is what drives the events of the story taking place in Huran. Moral decay, because the characters are so caught up in power struggles that they have lost sight of their principles; societal decay, with the once-great Hurani kingdom falling to chaos and corruption; emotional decay, as characters lose their idealism and hope for a better future for their society. There are a lot of ways that decay plays a role in my world, particularly in the choices that people make when faced with the loss of power, culture, or their very lives.
Assignment 2: Writing space
I'm usually very particular about when and where I write; I only ever feel inspired to write in the morning, with the curtains open, and I have to be as comfortable as possible, maybe light a couple candles... Now that I think about it, that pickiness might be part of the reason why I write so slowly. Regardless, I've prepared a new space to write, right under the window where I can get plenty of sunlight. I've got my scented candle, and I've stocked up on ramen, which is always essential to get the creative juices flowing. So I'm as ready as I'm going to get for SC!
Assignments 3 & 4: Homepage and introductory article
So this is something I haven't worked on very much yet, because my world is still relatively new. I haven't seen a need to play around with the homepage when I don't have a lot of articles yet, so I'm leaving that for later. An introductory article, though, is definitely something my world needs at this stage. I'm a very, very slow writer, so it's taking a while, but I've already started working on it so... it's coming one day! Soon-ish!
SC 2024 pledge
Copper Party Badge
Copper-Badge [img:5650241] by Blue Fairy 74
The pledge turned out great and it will be interesting to see what you write. I wish you much success for the first SC and hope that more will come of it.
Thank you!! Good luck to you too with your writing! :))