Summer Camp 2024 Pledge Document

Here we go again: it's time for Summer Camp! I've just finished a rough (very rough) outline of a new series, and I've been kind of obsessed with this project lately, so I'm hyped to dedicate a whole month to it! Without further ado, let's go!

Week 1: Change

Assignment 1

Change is going to be a big theme in this series, though the focus is on personal change rather than societal change. Though it's a "chosen one saves the world" type of story (because that isn't cliche!), it's basically a series of redemption arcs. Magic in this world is corrupted by sin, and each act involves the protagonist extending compassion to a corrupted antagonist and helping guide them toward the light. The protagonist himself also changes and grows a great deal through his mission.
It isn't only characters who change, though. The spirit world, which lurks just beyond the physical world, normally exists in harmony with it, but that's about to change. There's a war brewing, which is what the protagonist must stop. Though the spirits aren't causing the corruption, they're taking advantage of people whose magic is corrupted—including several of the antagonists before they're redeemed. Of course, the more people the protagonist helps, the more resistance he faces from the world unseen...
I don't know exactly what the spirits' unwelcome influence on the world will look like yet (besides the direct attacks on the protagonist), so that's definitely something I want to explore.

Assignment 2

As much as I'd love to dive deep into worldbuilding for a whole month, I'm going to aim for copper this time. I'll be on vacation during the first week, then doing training for a new job (yay!) when I get home, not to mention I'm also going to be writing the story for Camp NaNoWriMo. Yeah. I'll aim for the small award.

Assignment 3

I'm not good at organizing what I have, let alone anticipating what I'll need to organize and then trying to organize that. Regardless, I've made a few basic categories for now: "Characters", "Locations", "Magic and metaphysics", and "Religion and philosophy". As usual, I've made a separate category for Summer Camp.

Assignment 4

Well, I just created this world, so the meta's completely up to date. :) It's only halfway complete, so I'll keep building on it during prep month.
And that's it for the first week's work!

Week 2: Refuge

Assignment 1

Funny enough, I was working on outlining a scene where the main character seeks shelter in a temple when this week's theme was announced. It's like these themes are hand-picked for me! The hero of the story is a monk who's been called on a journey to help others and save the world. Having taken a vow of poverty, he's dependent on the charity of others. Individuals aside, I can see temples being points of refuge for him. He has to sleep somewhere!
This ties into the change theme, too. Many people--especially the devout--turn to faith as a refuge when things change beyond their control.

Assignment 2

I asked my mom to be my accountability buddy and yell at me if I don't write. She said (jokingly) she won't let me eat until I've written. So I think I'm set. (Yes, I'm only going for copper, but I'm also doing Camp NaNoWriMo. Even if I'm only doing 1-2 prompts here each week, I'll be writing something every day.)

Assignment 3

Honestly, I have no idea what to do for this. I don't know CSS or how to make templates, so I think I'll stick with the default style/layouts for now. Maybe after I've got some articles written (but NOT DURING JULY), I'll think about how I could restructure them. It's a lot easier for me to structure things after I write them.

Assignment 4

I'd like to learn CSS and customize my articles in the future, but, uh, I'd have to learn CSS. And I have an outline to finish. Maybe another time.

Week 3: Belief

Just as I was wondering if this week's theme is going to be as relevant to my project as the last two, I find out it's the most relevant one yet! Let's take a look at the assignments, shall we?

Assignment 1

Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Umm, this is just week 1's first assignment again?

Assignment 2/3

I have a Pinterest board! It's set to private (sorry!), but I'd say that counts as a bank of inspirations. For this assignment, I spent some time browsing for more inspirations to add (visual and non-visual), including:

• This collection of old photographs of Paris with cultural and historical context, to serve as inspiration for Leuteca, a major city that's a recurring setting in the trilogy.
• Images and/or quotes for each of the major characters.
• A new section for aesthetics for each magic type.

I'm also trying to put together a playlist, but, uh, I've only found one song that fits so far. I'll keep my ears open for more that fits.

Assignment 4

N/A, this is a new project.

Week 4: Decay

Assignment 1

What kinds of decay would fit my world or story? The idea of moral decay resonates with me. Magic in this world is corrupted by sin, and what is moral decay but an embracing of sin?
The final antagonist, which is going to be born of corruption or something like that, is to bring chaos into the world, which entails both moral decay and an unorthodox sort of physical decay, in that it's the destruction of order.
As for preventing decay, aside from the usual mundane things, purification magic is capable of reversing decay. This has two "flavors", since it's not a magic domain in itself but the intersection of divine and life magic. Divine purification magic is primarily useful for things like banishing evil and cleansing corruption (though not its root causes). In the case of life magic, purification works best at the organic level, like removing rot or disease.

Assignment 2

My family and I are going to be travelling the first week of Camp, so I'll be working around the environment rather than optimizing it. ^^; But I'm stocked up on writing supplies, and I'll pack my tablet and bluetooth keyboard for typing up articles. (I like traveling light, so the laptop's staying home!)
I have an office at home that's currently home to a large number of color-coded sticky notes forming my storyboard. Hey, I like to visualize the plot structure! I also love tearing scenes off the wall as I write them and seeing my progress unfold. (I'll take a picture of the storyboard to reference on vacation.)

Assignment 3

I'm using a brand-new world, so the homepage is up to date!

Assignment 4

I haven't filled out much of my profile and don't really care to, but I went through it to make sure what is on there is up to date. I also updated my pfp, since it was an old picrew of me and I don't look much like that anymore. So now it's a wug (I wonder what two of them would be called?).
NINE DAYS LEFT! Let's do this! :D