Read Things 2024

I went feral and did all the prompts. All. Even the two sneaky ones that I would have missed if not for my husband pointing them out. Thank goodness I convinced him to do Summer Camp this year.
So now it's time to read things. All the things. Well, no. Ten things, with the option for more.
How I usually do these challenges is to pick a few of the prompts and select a few articles from each one that look interesting. I think this year I'll add on that it has to be from a similar genre to my own world so that I'm picking up specific details, in the interest of editing my own stuff so that it's more effective. Approximately. It's surprisingly difficult to pick up on "has superhero elements" from an article title.

So I Read Stuff

I'm choosing which prompt to read from based on my favorite of the prompts I wrote from each week. It's rather arbitrary. And I reserve the right to change my mind.

A Conflict in a Changing Environment

The Perpetual Alloy Conflict, by DMSirSwank99. This one was a little hard to read because it was very dense, especially the sidebar, but the level of detail was fantastic. Sometimes you gotta think about the actual numbers involved in a conflict, to get a sense of scale.
Decay of a Pocket Realm, by TaraFaeBelle. It's fairly short and quick. I love the idea of pocket dimensions (have a few in my own world). This one has become an educational microcosm to set against the current story, from what I can tell. Loved the scale of the changes for this particular environment. Don't be afraid to go big.
Ellen Allen's Last Straw, by Moonlight Bard. A very funny article, with a smaller scope than a lot of other conflicts. Don't mess with old ladies. Also, in a more general sense, don't forget about the more personal conflicts when considering what to write.

A Charity or Other Good-Focused Organization

Vigilants of the Green, by Jeffrey Lebowski. Just because a prompt specifies things that an organization does, it doesn't mean it does these things well. A wannabe vigilante organization that's had a minimum of success stories. Good intentions isn't enough to actually succeed. I also liked the little details about how they're seen by the community (buffoons, to be sure).
Go Safely Home, by Alishahr. A fun variation, a nice service in a world that probably needs it. A lot of prompts can lead to little things that just fit so nicely in a world.
Bloom Research and Scouting Corp, by GreyTailZA. An organization focused on dealing with a specific problem, but in a comprehensive way. I really liked how the core principle was straightforward but the organization tackled the problem from multiple angles. Also the sidebar was fantastic and easy to read and very informational. The whole thing was pretty well written.

A Spurious Document

My Dearest Sleetiepie, by Hanhula. I liked this one because it provided an answer for where the document did actually come from and didn't leave it unknown. The whole thing was a nifty mystery that served to highlight someone I'm assuming is a bigger character in the overall world story.
Your Exhausted Scrap Thief, by AsterVela. Left me wanting more, in a good way. An interesting cast of characters that I wanted to learn more about.
Laws of Incorporation, Terran Meritocracy Navy, by Rahjar. Amusing little article, clearly an in-world prank. Makes me want to write one of my own.
Hivemind Sentius Network Technica Guide, by Orthais. A tabloid journalist instigates a conspiracy theory and just by reading the article I can't tell how much is true, and that's so much fun. The whole "dubious" element of this prompt really made it so much fun to be creative, because whatever you end up with doesn't have to be the truth. But it could be.

A Decay-Resistant Material

Cerica Stone, by POCGamer. Filled the prompt really well, and it would be an incredibly useful material, but what caught my eye was the bit at the end detailing a lesser form. It wouldn't necessarily need to be as predatory as in this article, but it opens a lot of possibilities if you can take one material and then expound on different types of it.
GraphoSilk Sheets, by JaeDMC. The slightly unhinged housewife is evident in the tone. It's always great when an article is able to get a little flavor from the world. Makes it more engaging, and more immersive. Also, those sheets sound amazing.
Bluestone, by M.R.R. Shelswell. The fun stuff comes from the details. This article has an elemental breakdown of the material. I also appreciated the little detail of it usually being cold, even in the sun.

And Now, My Goals

I don't really have many goals for the rest of the year. Complete World Ember, but to what degree will depend on whether or not my regular work picks up or not. I want to get the details for my superhero book into World Anvil. Didn't get to do that during Summer Camp as much as I would have liked.
If all goes well, I would really like to reorganize and rewrite some articles, so that it can be more prepared with spoiler level and tone to be a public thing for my books. That's probably the biggest thing. Not so much writing as rewriting.