Summer Camp Prep 2026

Wow, it's June already.

For Summer Camp 2026, I am pledging Gold, answering 24 prompts.

This is my first Summer Camp.

Perhaps I should have aimed lower and gone for Copper instead, but I believe I can achieve Gold. I'm still getting a feel for World Anvil and improving my skills. My articles still look very pedestrian compared to some others, so I am not worried about winning any awards.

Week 1 - Love

Trigger Warning: My stories contain graphic sex (some non-hetero positive LGTQB), profanity, violence, characters with questionable morals, and a deranged llama named Feo.

Love is a central theme in my cyberpunk noir Augmented Valor world. I write a sex-positive world where no one cares who you have sex with. Sex and love are not always synonymous. An orgasm does not require emotional connectional. Sexuality is so nuanced, it's nearly impossible to define.

The theme of redemption and the transformative force of love runs through all my stories.

My manuscript , Aditi "Adi" Nizhóní Peshlakai , a Navajo-Indian ex-Colonial Marine woman, explores love's human complexities while struggling to keep her humanity despite becoming a heavily augmented combat monster.

I rolled a d4, so I am writing articles to get a better feel for my Augmented Valor world.

Warm Up Prompt

Write a settlement that is associated with love.

That one is easy, as the story of the Erosian colony, love is a central theme.

Shadows of Eros

READ

Week 2

This week's theme: Growth

My story set on IY98k is all about growth. Sam the sole military survivor (so far) now assumed KIA, must grow as a person and adapt to his new reality.

Surviving IY98k With Seven Minutes of Oxygen, An Augmented Soldier's Story

READ

Assignment: Choose your Area of Focus.

My area of focus is going to be: Geography of Chendiuria.

I rolled a d2, so I am making a list of related articles I already have and considering expanding them. I've been on WA less than a year, yet my skills improved. Some of my earlier articles could use some attention.

So I have revised some of the older articles to bring them up to my new skills.

Optional warm-up prompt.

Write a Geographical Location boasting different kinds of ecosystems.

The Romlinet Subterrane

Week 3

This week's theme: Loss

I rolled a d2 so I am going to go for a walk. Since my dog died in October of 2023, my walking has decreased significantly. I miss my Black Labradork.

I am also going to spend some time in my favorite fictional world, the Honorverse.

Assignment: Plan my writing time.

This is difficult for me. After nearly 23 years (22 years, 8 months, 29 days per my DD-214) in the US military, I still have a hard time sleeping past 0430 in the morning. Too many years of getting up for PT (Physical Training) has left an indelible mark upon me. Thankfully, I am the only morning person in the house, so I can usually get about 2-4 hours of quiet writing time before anyone else is up.

Optional warm-up prompt.

Write about a language lost to time.

What information written in this language is now lost? Why was it lost? Where was it used and by whom?

This is going to take some thought.

Here is the lost language article: Veyran Script

Week 4

This week’s theme: Family.

I rolled a d3, so I took a little bit of a break. I did some of my other hobbies, and just disconnected from all the electronic detritus that fills my life for a couple days.

Assignment: What's your goal as a worldbuilder?

Let's look beyond Summer Camp for a moment!

Why are you a worldbuilder?

World building is always something that I have enjoyed. I love the creative process, and spend countless hours creating new worlds and things in those worlds.

What do you aim to do with the world you're creating?

I write stories in all of my worlds. I used to believe that I was going to write books in my worlds, but now I am just enjoying creating and writing. Writing is not something that I expect to make buckets of money (but I wouldn't mind several buckets of cash) and do it for fun and PTSD therapy.

I had quit writing after I was forced to retire from the service. I was in a pretty dark place, my marriage was falling apart (my fault, I married far better than I deserve), and it felt like life was just hopeless. I finally connected with a therapist at the VA who helped me a lot. She got me back to the keyboard, transferring my stories from my collection of stenographer's pads, cheap government notepads, and binders full of notes.

Optional: Warm-up prompt

Write a Myth that reveals the "true" meaning of family.

What culture or tradition does this story stem from? How has it affected modern perceptions of family?

This is another assignment that is going to take some thought.