SC 2024 Reading challenge
Hey,
I'm attempting to do the reading challenge this time. So I've never been much of a reader, but I'm on vacation now, so maybe I have the mental capacity to make it happen...
So my Summer Camp this year was kinda exhausting, not because I lacked ideas or motivation, but ... well at first I was busy with a very -censored- exam I had to take (which I finally passed on the second attempt) - a huge sham that one was. So in the end I was stuck with about 40% of the month left for SC. The themes presented seemed very promising, givingthe impression they could really help my world building here. The actual prompts, though, spoke a different language, so the SC became kind of a chore. I tried my best for good integration, which might be visible in the number of interlinking between the new and old articles. As I am still not much of a 'visual' type here, I put my focus on plausible content in/for my world and a good coherency.
What I read for this challenge was: 1) Incorrigible Aesthetic Hysteria
An interesting disease, that reminds one of the chaos, distrust and societal rifts we've been through with our pandemic as well as with the AIDS-panic in the 80s and 90s. This made this disease seem deeply engrained into the worlds societies and reflects their different ways of dealing with it.
2) Famine
Not a disease by itself, but a cause of all kinds of health related and society shaking issues known through human history. This article shows a realistic picture of the phenomenon 'famine' and its implication for the setting it occurs in. The fact that the governments acts to meliorate famines effects were built in deepens the understanding not only of this article, but for the setting and its history as a whole.
3) Gedankenleere
A take on what many societies in our world experience, too, at the moment: depression, anxieties and loneliness. This makes this article a bit more eerie than others, especially considering most of us know what a life with 'Gedankenleere' can look like from our own experience. It is also good to see, that the issue is adressed, not only as a heartwarmer, but also for a deeper rooting of this in its setting.
4) Chromatic corruption
A condition, that not only affects people, but seemingly the entire setting. This article is written from the human perspective, showng the utter horror of experiencing such a drastic change in environment and - if you're unlucky - your close ones or even yourself. The fear of losing ones identity or even the grasp of it is what makes chromatic corruption frightful. The question is: What comes after? What about those only half-taken by this condition? Is there a 'greater plan'?
5) Al nasite tas Kastaan
This article not only bristles with the naming conventions of this setting, which I often find amusing, but it also shows a subset of an entire society trying to break free from the shackles a new, but imposed form of life has put upon them. The people described here seem to have lost thir roots and want to return to it, which garners them some people's respect and other's disdain. Maybe in the future we may find out, what their life looks like in more detail and if they are sucessful in their striving.
6) Imkolotl
Sounded aztec-y and as long as Aztecs aren't your neighbours (all the sacrifices ...), they are cool. Turns out here we even have the most well known aztec-named animal in the package, the axolotl, as we're talking amphibians. The coherence of this society with the rest of the world is one great aspect and something I also always strife for. While the Imkolotl are somewhat 'from the past', it's nice to see remnants of them still exist today.
7) https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tovedorp-vertixico/a/schlickdigger-profession
Some jobs are just unfortunate. So is this. Often those doing crucial work within their society, do so under rough circumstances and this is well reflected here. Where to get food and loot from, when we're not in a glorious adventure setting? Ask a Schlickdigger ... Also nice was the connectednes to the rest of the world with a link to a material from this setting. Professions are also not among my favourite prompts, but this one sets a nice example.
8) Mama Poison
Came for the monitor lizard, stayed for .... the monitor lizard. ;) A friend recommended this one, most likely because of me obsessing over the local monitor lizard I saw sunbathing and swimming in and around the city's moat here. This story is quite funny, as animals as alien as reptiles sometimes provoke fear, more or less justified. If their are real world equivalents of such big lizards in this world, I can well imagine them inspiring some urban myths akin to the sewer crocodiles. Be on the lookout!
9) Suhmerset Moors
The prompt on an expanding geographic location also was a challenge, I did not take, as I just had no ideas for this. So I turned to one of the responses given. Here we have an expanding swamp - in the context of the setting nothing too horrible or threatening. But what causing this swamp to grow? Well, I was surprised to read, that corporate greed is the culprit. This instantaneously connects this sort of wasteland to the rest of the world, as we do not only get a description of what the area is like, but also, what its importance to the setting is. The history part gave a good explanation on the development of the area and on the players involved with it.
10) Mhahar'ane - Traveler’s Date Cake
Depending on the setting, inventing items can be quite a challenge. When you're worldbuilding for the fun of it, writing a tool, scarf or cake is easy. Then the question stays, how to integrate it elegantly. Here we have a beautiful Arabian nights setting and a date cake fits this so nicely. Not much disbelief to be suspended here. I like the approach, that the recipe is not fixed, but instead every family or tribe has their own. A bit like Kimchi in Korea. Giving a recipe is also a nice touch, adding to realism. It looks like your typical pre-modern recipe: A 'handful of this', a 'dash of that' - exact measurements? Forget it!
11) Küstenknoten
The Küstenknoten is a short articlet about a small plantlet, that exists in the Yenort setting. You get a good impression of what the plant looks like and how it functions as a lifeform in its setting. It might seem a bit meaningless by itself, but adding a quote by one of the major characters in that setting, the Küstenknoten gets its rightful raison d'être.
12) Nongdaoren 农岛人
The Nongdaoren are one of the societies in this floating-island-setting, who seemed to have enjoyed a simple and peaceful life with what nature and their diligent agricultural work has provided them with. It's a shame they were removed from their island and can't continue their traditions. :( I like the small cultural bit about the dumplings and the borrowing from an aspect of Chinese culture not many people are aware of.
13) Ballad of Fire
A myth. Yes, I read those, too, in the hope to hone my own skills to write more narratively. There are dragons in the world? And they were not there from the beginning? A creation myth is always useful, but here a new element was introduced well after this world was conceived. This myth gives insight into how and why that happens .... somehow. Lets hope the gods act rightful in this world and it was not "for shits and giggles".
So what have I learnt?
Well, the articles I chose all had something, that I myself consider to be very important: They are not standalone articles, but somewhat connected to what exists around them. Sometimes I clicked on links in the articles to see, where they lead me.
During the next half year, I will not be very active, safe for one challenge and WorldEmber. The challenge is, what it is (I just like to have some 'push' from outside to make me write), but I will work on a concept for WE, to create more of what's important to me: coherency in the setting. Of course I am a well known troll, so the theme will be from somewhere over the in the absurdist corner, but hey: That's how you know me. ;)
I'm attempting to do the reading challenge this time. So I've never been much of a reader, but I'm on vacation now, so maybe I have the mental capacity to make it happen...
So my Summer Camp this year was kinda exhausting, not because I lacked ideas or motivation, but ... well at first I was busy with a very -censored- exam I had to take (which I finally passed on the second attempt) - a huge sham that one was. So in the end I was stuck with about 40% of the month left for SC. The themes presented seemed very promising, givingthe impression they could really help my world building here. The actual prompts, though, spoke a different language, so the SC became kind of a chore. I tried my best for good integration, which might be visible in the number of interlinking between the new and old articles. As I am still not much of a 'visual' type here, I put my focus on plausible content in/for my world and a good coherency.
What I read for this challenge was: 1) Incorrigible Aesthetic Hysteria
An interesting disease, that reminds one of the chaos, distrust and societal rifts we've been through with our pandemic as well as with the AIDS-panic in the 80s and 90s. This made this disease seem deeply engrained into the worlds societies and reflects their different ways of dealing with it.
2) Famine
Not a disease by itself, but a cause of all kinds of health related and society shaking issues known through human history. This article shows a realistic picture of the phenomenon 'famine' and its implication for the setting it occurs in. The fact that the governments acts to meliorate famines effects were built in deepens the understanding not only of this article, but for the setting and its history as a whole.
3) Gedankenleere
A take on what many societies in our world experience, too, at the moment: depression, anxieties and loneliness. This makes this article a bit more eerie than others, especially considering most of us know what a life with 'Gedankenleere' can look like from our own experience. It is also good to see, that the issue is adressed, not only as a heartwarmer, but also for a deeper rooting of this in its setting.
4) Chromatic corruption
A condition, that not only affects people, but seemingly the entire setting. This article is written from the human perspective, showng the utter horror of experiencing such a drastic change in environment and - if you're unlucky - your close ones or even yourself. The fear of losing ones identity or even the grasp of it is what makes chromatic corruption frightful. The question is: What comes after? What about those only half-taken by this condition? Is there a 'greater plan'?
5) Al nasite tas Kastaan
This article not only bristles with the naming conventions of this setting, which I often find amusing, but it also shows a subset of an entire society trying to break free from the shackles a new, but imposed form of life has put upon them. The people described here seem to have lost thir roots and want to return to it, which garners them some people's respect and other's disdain. Maybe in the future we may find out, what their life looks like in more detail and if they are sucessful in their striving.
6) Imkolotl
Sounded aztec-y and as long as Aztecs aren't your neighbours (all the sacrifices ...), they are cool. Turns out here we even have the most well known aztec-named animal in the package, the axolotl, as we're talking amphibians. The coherence of this society with the rest of the world is one great aspect and something I also always strife for. While the Imkolotl are somewhat 'from the past', it's nice to see remnants of them still exist today.
7) https://www.worldanvil.com/w/tovedorp-vertixico/a/schlickdigger-profession
Some jobs are just unfortunate. So is this. Often those doing crucial work within their society, do so under rough circumstances and this is well reflected here. Where to get food and loot from, when we're not in a glorious adventure setting? Ask a Schlickdigger ... Also nice was the connectednes to the rest of the world with a link to a material from this setting. Professions are also not among my favourite prompts, but this one sets a nice example.
8) Mama Poison
Came for the monitor lizard, stayed for .... the monitor lizard. ;) A friend recommended this one, most likely because of me obsessing over the local monitor lizard I saw sunbathing and swimming in and around the city's moat here. This story is quite funny, as animals as alien as reptiles sometimes provoke fear, more or less justified. If their are real world equivalents of such big lizards in this world, I can well imagine them inspiring some urban myths akin to the sewer crocodiles. Be on the lookout!
9) Suhmerset Moors
The prompt on an expanding geographic location also was a challenge, I did not take, as I just had no ideas for this. So I turned to one of the responses given. Here we have an expanding swamp - in the context of the setting nothing too horrible or threatening. But what causing this swamp to grow? Well, I was surprised to read, that corporate greed is the culprit. This instantaneously connects this sort of wasteland to the rest of the world, as we do not only get a description of what the area is like, but also, what its importance to the setting is. The history part gave a good explanation on the development of the area and on the players involved with it.
10) Mhahar'ane - Traveler’s Date Cake
Depending on the setting, inventing items can be quite a challenge. When you're worldbuilding for the fun of it, writing a tool, scarf or cake is easy. Then the question stays, how to integrate it elegantly. Here we have a beautiful Arabian nights setting and a date cake fits this so nicely. Not much disbelief to be suspended here. I like the approach, that the recipe is not fixed, but instead every family or tribe has their own. A bit like Kimchi in Korea. Giving a recipe is also a nice touch, adding to realism. It looks like your typical pre-modern recipe: A 'handful of this', a 'dash of that' - exact measurements? Forget it!
11) Küstenknoten
The Küstenknoten is a short articlet about a small plantlet, that exists in the Yenort setting. You get a good impression of what the plant looks like and how it functions as a lifeform in its setting. It might seem a bit meaningless by itself, but adding a quote by one of the major characters in that setting, the Küstenknoten gets its rightful raison d'être.
12) Nongdaoren 农岛人
The Nongdaoren are one of the societies in this floating-island-setting, who seemed to have enjoyed a simple and peaceful life with what nature and their diligent agricultural work has provided them with. It's a shame they were removed from their island and can't continue their traditions. :( I like the small cultural bit about the dumplings and the borrowing from an aspect of Chinese culture not many people are aware of.
13) Ballad of Fire
A myth. Yes, I read those, too, in the hope to hone my own skills to write more narratively. There are dragons in the world? And they were not there from the beginning? A creation myth is always useful, but here a new element was introduced well after this world was conceived. This myth gives insight into how and why that happens .... somehow. Lets hope the gods act rightful in this world and it was not "for shits and giggles".
So what have I learnt?
Well, the articles I chose all had something, that I myself consider to be very important: They are not standalone articles, but somewhat connected to what exists around them. Sometimes I clicked on links in the articles to see, where they lead me.
During the next half year, I will not be very active, safe for one challenge and WorldEmber. The challenge is, what it is (I just like to have some 'push' from outside to make me write), but I will work on a concept for WE, to create more of what's important to me: coherency in the setting. Of course I am a well known troll, so the theme will be from somewhere over the in the absurdist corner, but hey: That's how you know me. ;)
Thank you for including my date cake - I'm really happy you liked it.