Summer Camp 2023 Reading Challenge & Recap

My 2023 SC Experience

My experience with World Anvil's 2023 Summer Camp was extremely positive. It's prompts helped me flesh out needed aspects of my world that I hadn't touched on previously or didn't flesh out as much. In addition to that, it helped me improve my writing more with additional feedback and research, improving my overall quality (in my honest opinion anyways) of writing and gave me more courage to jump in and start writing my first book. It's always enjoyable meeting new people with similar interests in writing and worldbuilding.

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My 2023 Reading Reviews

Below are 3 prompts and 3 articles per prompt that I read and commented on. They're solid articles and can be a good source of inspiration,
Prompt: "a powerful organization in your world"
1.The Dominion of the Polympian Empire

Comment: "Holy crap. That was a lot of reading but was an easy read. It was well put together and honestly, I love the various symbolism used such as the bars for the military and the Ecclesia Domini. And I love that they appear to be based on/inspired by real world symbolism/iconography, making it easier to understand. Nice work!"

2. High Kingdom of Albis

Comment: "I love the way you did the formatting on this. The layout is smooth and easy on the eyes. Plus having the interactive map on it, too. Well done!"

3. The Syndicate

Comment: "A secret society in the arctic. Spooky! Absolutely love your simplistic map!"

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Prompt: "an animal associated with, or symbolizing, power"
1. The Forest Sprigan

Comment: "Usually sprigans and other similar creatures would be hunted down and peace wouldn't have been an option. I love how you took it off the typical path with that. Good job :)"

2. Greater Hawk Moth

Comment: "A creature that isn't typically seen as a symbol of power in real life, but with a whole new meaning. That's awesome! Gotta go off the beaten path sometimes."

3. Aurrum Mountain Goat of Leshiven

Comment: "Ramsday is a very cool way to celebrate this animal. Good job! :D"

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Prompt: a building or landmark used for, or associated with, communication.
1. Etemenanki

Comment: "Extremely well put together, in formatting and otherwise! Keep up the good work."

2. Public Information Posts

Comment: "A community notice board. Don't see enough of those around and absolutely love it! Good work."

3. Command Alpha

Comment: "Seems like the legions takes their communication very serious, if they're using the best materials for the buildings. Very intriguing read!"

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Bonus Prompt: "a character who excels in manipulating others"
1. Lord Royenne

Comment: "I love how this is in the format of a newspaper. Gives me old timey serial killer vibes, too. Keep up the good work!"

2. Valeryn, the Silver Tongue

Comment: "Most characters like this would be seen serving only their interests. It's nice to see a character that favors their own wellbeing but equally that of their own people as a balance. It's not the generic "Self serving" motives. Good work."

3. Dr. Anabelle Evingston

Comment: "Great read. Love that you added a theme song and the sketches are pretty cool, as well."

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Bonus Prompt 2: "a method used to carry goods over long distances"
1. Daggerfly, Insect Mount

Comment: "I agree with Barron's comment. It's not often you see insect based mounts and the picture helped visualize what you were meaning. I also love how, through breeding, other unique variants have come into existence, much like real world horses and dogs, to help in various niches such as warfare. Good work."

2. Crystal Conveyance System

Comment: This gave me stargate vibes with Tok'ra tunnels, which are grown and shaped crystal tunnels. Always thought ideas like this were cool!"

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Overall, I enjoyed reading these 9+ articles. I read a few additional ones as well but only commented/liked the nine ones I enjoy the most out of them. It's amazing to see such creativity and passion out there and I hope to see everyone grow even more as writers, worldbuilders, Dungeon Masters, authors and more. This community as a whole is filled with greatness and I look forward to seeing what they do with the future challenges.

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My Goals for the next 6 months:

My immediate goal for the coming 6 months are to begin to truly start writing my trilogy of short stories; The Ancestor Isles: Origins, The Ancestor Isles: Frost War and The Ancestor Isles: Elder War collectively called "The Legends of the Ancestor Isles."
But that's only the beginning, as I want to learn more about other peoples writing styles and discover more of my own personal style and what I'd like that to be. I want to begin building my network of like minded people to truly take steps towards furthering this hobby of mine into something successful.
Learning to edit pictures better for the sake of my articles is another goal of mine. It can add depth to it and make it more enjoyable.