Summer Camp Prep 2026

Summer Camp Prep has arrived once more! This time last year, I was not only preparing to take my new puppy on holiday for the first time, but also trying to figure out my standing and limitations in terms of World Anvil's functions and my own ability to achieve goals. I was not in a particularly hopeful place at the time, as I had been out of work for nearing two years at that point and was beginning to feel somewhat helpless. Since then I have started playing with CSS, rewritten some of my older lore, and have managed to work out a basic categorisation structure that I am pretty secure with.

In 2026 I am no better off in terms of work. However, I have now resigned myself to this fate and am instead working on the things that I can change/do. I have a list of new objectives that I am planning to work toward, and am looking forward to what Summer Camp 2026 can bring in terms of new stuff for my World! Last year was a big deal for me in terms of good vibes and such, and I am hoping for a new round of positivity this time too.

Last year I managed to hit the completionist goal (Diamond+; all 40 prompts). I was quite proud of that, especially as I ended up doing some of it while I was technically away on holiday and without full access to the internet. For my first Summer Camp, yes, it was probably a more extreme goal to aim for. However, I have proven that I can do it, and I'm pretty certain I shall aim for it yet again. Honestly, I just like seeing all the boxes ticked!

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My Camp Club and Goals

While I am generally very excited for Summer Camp and absolutely would talk about it to anyone that would listen, my list of those that would actually listen to me is actually quite short, and as an Introvert I hate the idea of imposing on people with my excitement.

I am also typically shy around people I don't know, so tend to float around Discords like a ghost, consuming more write-ups than I offer. I keep my excitement and thoughts to myself unless directly asked because people scare me. I have lofty goals of the Diamond+, but I am more likely to work toward this quietly instead of shouting about it from the rafters.

For that reason, I quietly choose to acknowledge Camp Chill Feral and Dewy Diamonds as my Club and Goal. Click the images for more information!

by Lady Wynter via Canva

Dewy Diamonds Badge by Strixxline

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Camp Accountability Buddy

I'm roping my best friend Lolly into being my accountability buddy once more - in part because she now only lives a mere fifteen doors away from me, but also because she has a habit of always asking the right question at precisely the right time! I also like to think that I ask her some rather interesting and obscure questions with relation to both our worlds!

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Assignments

Assignment Schedule

First assignment: May 30th
Second assignment: June 6th
Third assignment: June 13th
Fourth assignment: June 20th
Summer Camp launch: June 27th

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Assignment 1: Love

The Pledge

For this year, I am aiming for completionist again! So that will be 40 prompts for A'arde.

Week 1 Hopscotch

For my Hopscotch, I rolled a 3 on the d4 and I intend to go hardcore!

Hop 1: Review and update your homepage and world primer

My A'arde World Primer actually had a pretty major update back in January, where I added some pictures, maps, recommended reading, and revamped the layout. The homepage likewise had a minor rejiggle of the layout, however I think I am going to update a few elements in it to keep it up to date. For example, the Lore Morsels section hasn't been updated in around two years! I also want to try to create a homepage banner that's a bit different to my current one - while I love my map, I'd like something a little more dramatic. I'm also toying with the idea of creating a new background image for the world as a whole, not just the homepage, though I admittedly love the parchment background as is...

Update: I have added a new Lore Morsel, updated some of the intro text, and have shifted some of the columns around to better balance the content.

Hop 2: Review and update your world CSS and layout

On the back of my World Primer update in January, I also ended up overhauling some of the fonts, colours, backgrounds, and borders of my world. I'm relatively happy with them, though I may attempt to change the border to something a little prettier.

Update: I managed to get a new border in, and I'm really quite pleased with it!

Update 2: The wonderful Nnie sorted out some code for me to correct a minor irritation with a long-standing bug that made my subheadings show as paragraphs, and not as headings! I am extremely grateful for her help as I would never have been able to identify that issue by myself!

Update 3: Changed the border again! The first one was okay but it looked a little out of place so I used it as a template to create something that I think fits better!

Hop 3: Create or update your world's meta document

It is no secret that I hate Meta. It annoys me and makes me feel like I have to know ALL the answers, like... right NOW. And I simply don't. But I am going to make the effort to poke it.

Update: Okay, I poked it. It's at 85.2% and that's where it's going to stay. I honestly hate updating Meta because I just don't know what to put in without having it be uber-specific.

Warm-Up Prompt

Write a Settlement that's associated with love.

A settlement that grew up around a shrine to the Elven Goddess, Brânwen.

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Assignment 2: Growth

Area of Focus

Ooof... damn... that's a punch in the ouchies as I absolutely hate limiting my area of focus! I get random ideas all the time, and narrowing my focus sets off my Autism in that it won't allow me to do anything that isn't related to that area that I have chosen, which then makes me spiral because until I've got that random idea out, I can't then focus on something else!

Stupid 'tism-brain grumble grumble...!

BUT...

In the spirit of the Homework, I'm going to make an effort. I'm going to give myself a really broad area of focus that is something very close to my heart but has seen little love from me on WA. My one sentence...

"An exploration from the notes I have on collected on The Realms and Peoples of the Fey!"

As mentioned, I have an expansive document of notes for these realms and their inhabitants, but nothing has been canonised on WA yet. There are 3 core realms of the Fey plus the Borders, stories, factions, people of note, etc... but very little of the actual content is written up here: 1 Plane, 2 Deities, 2 Archfey, 1 specific Location, 2 Creatures, 2 Books relating to the areas, and 1 Myth. That's pretty much nothing compared to what I have in my notes!

Week 2 Hopscotch

For this week, I rolled a 2 on the d4 and am committing to hardcore!

Hop 1: Why did you choose this area of focus? Why is it fun to write?

Despite A'arde's focus on the Material Plane, my true passion is the Fey. I have done a lot of research into British Fairy lore, which has informed a lot of my decisions in terms of how and what I create within the Fey spheres. These notes make up a significant proportion of my rough work and drafts, and the only reason I haven't focused on them on WA is because they are not currently relevant to my players. I'm trying to condense my Google Docs down now due to AI scraping crappery, to this seems like a great opportunity to start shifting over my more beloved creations!

Why is it fun to write? Well... because it can be both dark and whimsical at the same time! "Random Bullsh*t Go!" is pretty much the byline of the Fey - all chaos and beauty and frivolity mixed with the deep-seated understanding that yes, this fairy will absolutely turn you into a dragonfly for the shiggles.

I can be as chaotic and random as I like, without needing to worry about whether it makes sense for the Material Plane. Because no, it absolutely does not, and that's the way it's meant to be!

Hop 2: Make a list of concepts you'd like to explore.

• The Planes of the Fey (those not already written about)
• The Realms of the Fey
• The Deities
• Factions
• Notable Fey
• Rules and Social Graces
• Species
• The Fey and their Relationship with Corruption
• Tales and Histories
• Languages and Names

Warm-Up Prompt

Write a Geographical Location boasting different kinds of ecosystems.

Lios Dùileach; a part of the Planes of the Elemental Fey

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Assignment 3: Loss

Plan Your Writing Time

Okay, so I don't really have much that I can offer in terms of a writing plan because my days vary so much due to my carer responsibilities. The only time I can really make some form of plan is when I'm going on holiday, because there will be five of us in the holiday house and I will likely be doing the same as I did last year and writing while everyone else is still in bed!

So from July 18th to the 25th I will be writing from Pwllheli, Penrhyn Llŷn, in Wales, rather than my own home near Worksop, and will be attempting to write between 6am and 7:30am.

For the rest of the time, it will be "I'll write when I'm not doing chores"!

Week 3 Hopscotch

I've rolled a 4 on the d4 and am committed to hardcore so... here we go!

Hop 1: What's your typical creative process and routine:

Routine is difficult to pin down, because it very much depends on what's happening day to day. I'm a carer for my disabled husband, so a lot has to work around whether he has additional needs or appointments for the day, as well as the regular adulting things that need doing. For that reason, I tend to build routines only a couple of days beforehand, and then they change almost as soon as they arrive! The only time I had a real strict routine was last year during SC when I was on holiday. My routine was to wake up and feed my puppy, then write for an hour until people woke up, then make them all tea. Yep... I was designated morning tea person. Writing kinda worked around that routine for seven days, and it was probably the most consistent I ever got!

Process... honestly I'm not sure how to answer this one. This might just be the autism in me, but the only real answer I can give is "it depends". Like... what am I creating? Are we talking art or writing? And then within that, what am I creating in terms of topic, etc? What's the writing or art style? There are so many questions for context with this...

Hop 2: Go for a walk!

I literally walk every day because of my dog, so I took a couple of photos on my last walk of the route and some of the wildflowers on the way!

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Hop 3: Read an article (or more) from other Anvilites

by LollyBeau

Hop 4: Gather music or other media to inspire you

Okay... My focus theme is the Fey and their lands, culture, etc. I base a lot of my Fey lore on Scottish and Irish mythology, culture, aesthetics, etc., and being of Scottish descent myself I am actually a massive fan of bagpipes and Gaelic rock music. I also have a thing for military band music or music that has a heavy rhythmic beat, so this particular track from David Chas on my "Inspirational Music" playlist really spoke to me. I do have other tracks on the playlist, plus a playlist I reserve for A'arde as a whole, but this is the one I will share! Track 6, "Cù-Sìth - Courier of death", is one that I particularly enjoy because in A'arde, the Cù-Sìth were a major part of the Wild Hunt, which is one of my favourite myths!

Warm-Up Prompt

Write a Language lost to time.

Vabensitth - "Of Deities", a language that even the A'arden Gods cannot fully translate or comprehend

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Assignment 4: Family

What's Your Goal as a Worldbuilder?

I started building A'arde as something of a personal indulgence after a bad experience at a gaming table. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn't sure that I was going to go back to playing TTRPGs after that, so I created some parts of the world to cheer myself up after I became attached to their concepts. After a while, I started writing little stories in the world, then expanded it to be used for my own games when I decided to DM. I think, in a way, expanding into the games was a way to prove something to myself - that I wasn't a bad RPer and that I wasn't a bad gamer. Even now, I use the world as something of an indulgence whenever I'm feeling a bit blue.

Realistically speaking, I don't need Summer Camp to help me do what I do. I mostly take part because I like to collect (digital) badges and get a dopamine hit from ticking things off lists! It gives me a sense of having achieved something, even though other things in my life might be dragging me down.

So overall, my goal as a worldbuilder is to make something I am happy with and have fun. I share what I am proud of, and nothing more. This is why my games take place in Curtana, the country I know the best!

Week 4 Hopscotch

I have rolled a 2 on the d4, and will be going all out once more!

Hop 1: Which articles do you need to achieve your creative goal?:

I'm assuming this means the goals from the question above? Uh... well... I don't know. I just want to write things that interest me and make me happy.

Hop 2: Find an accountability buddy:

See here for my accountability buddy!

Warm-Up Prompt

Write a myth that reveals the "true" meaning of Family

Coming Soon

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Prompts

A link to my competition homepage will become available here once the challenge goes live.

Wave 1: Love

Wave 2: Growth

Wave 3: Loss

Wave 4: Family