Summer Camp 2024: Reading Challenge & Shortlist

Although I was unable to fully participate in Summer Camp this year, because of real life getting in the way, I had a wonderful time reading through many of the articles submitted by my fellow Anvilites. There were so many excellent articles I read, especially in the process of judging my prompt, and I had a difficult time choosing just one to win.
My reading challenge this for this year's Summer Camp will consist of articles submitted to my prompt: A Degenerative Disease. Though I could only select one winner, these are the articles that caught my eye. I highly encourage reading and leaving a like or a comment on these articles. So, presented in no particular order:
My Shortlist

I always love Rin's articles, and this one is no exception. I always love consequences within magic systems, and this is quite an interesting one. I additionally appreciated how Rin was mindful of their wording, to prevent further stigmatisation of real-world mental illnesses.

I am a big fan of the use of quotes within articles, as they can help apply context to parts of an article, break up blocks of text, and show the perspectives of in-world characters on the topic you're writing about. This article utilised quotes to show the thoughts and feelings of those who encountered people afflicted with the condition, and painted a picture of how such individuals are viewed within this society.

Amélie's article was very fun and full of character, and I loved the illustrations and formatting of this article.

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This condition is a sad one, and what's especially terrifying about it is that the genetic code for the disease exists in every living organism. The excerpt within the article's sidebar was impressively well-written and kept my attention, and I'd love to read more from this author.

Hanhula remains one of my favourite worldbuilders, and I am astounded at the quality she maintains for articles in challenges like this.

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Something about the dread stemming from this condition causing its afflicted to turn to questionable methods is such an intriguing idea to me, and really paints the desperation of its victims well.

I appreciated the variety in prognosis for the many conditions submitted for this prompt, and this article showcased the more brutal and fast-acting side of that. This article also highlights an extreme response to its plague: the destruction of an entire colony.

This article is another example of consequences of magic, though what stood out to me about this particular article was primarily that only a few species were actually impacted by this condition. I also liked that, despite the condition not actually being life-threatening, the social implications of a lack of magic use caused some to think of it that way regardless. The article is additionally very nicely formatted.

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This absolutely phenomenally written article was of a rather terrifying condition, despite it being a non-fatal one. The author's descriptions of the pain inflicted by this disease sent chills down my spine, and I am so glad the condition does not exist in real life. I also enjoyed the formatting and quotes within the article, and just how much worldbuilding went into this condition.

The concept of this plague piqued my interest, and the recording transcripts were a very nice touch. The storytelling and worldbuilding that were afforded by this choice really brought me into the world, and the additional sections of text ensured that the information in the article was well-conveyed. This article was great to read.

My Goals

Over the summer, I have fallen behind on many of my worldbuilding-relation goals this year, and I want to remedy this in the coming months. Though I feel it would be technically be possible to get back on track with my Species-A-Day project before the year ends, I'd like to not pressure myself, and instead be content in what I have accomplished over the summer, both worldbuilding and otherwise. I do have to prioritise my career, and that unfortunately meant breaking a resolution that I was enjoying. However, this does not mean the project is over - what I intend to do, instead, is pick up where I left off with the project, and keep writing an article a day.