Librarian's Diary, first page: A look behind, a look forward
Well well well, what do we have here? Lurking around, peeking around my shoulder are you? Oh please, you're not intruding, you're a most welcomed guest! You see, I wasn't noting down observations about the latest eidolon on the loose or makeshift transports. I was merely recording some thoughts about myself.
You see, I talk about my modest library and what happens inside from time to time, but it's been a while since I properly wrote anything down, and even that was scatterred around. So I decided to open this blank notebook and put down some thoughts. I may write a new page monthly, or every time a milestone has passed. We'll see.
On this summer
As a camper
My summer, especially the month of July, has been very busy. So much so that I was not sure to be able to reach diamond. On top of that, I designed a challenge that would make things even harder to brainstorm and come up with ideas. As a result, most articles are shorter and not up to my usual standards. But I still managed to write a new article in 33 worlds, for most of which it was the very first article! That, in itself, is a win.
What's more, some of those articles are functional primers for their world: The Greatest Game, Waysol (though this one is still a work in progress) and Light give most of the key to their world.
Despite my lack of time, I still went a bit crazy on some articles that have been given a special touch. Obegas has my first ever commission (from Mochi!), and certainly not the last. For Peacekeeper Drones, I deployed the bit of CSS wizardry I learnt from Storm's CSS tabs that accompany me in all my interactive shenanigans. I really like the double POV gimmick, it's probably going to be this world's characteristic. Lastly, Trailblazer's executives is a fun one because I misread the prompt and thought it was for a character, so it even has a bonus article with it.
As a judge
I was also a sponsor for this Summercamp, and the prompt I was given was "An organization fighting corruption". While it wasn't my first or second choice, I think I have a good grasp on how to write various kinds of organization, and thus what I expect to read when judging such a prompt. I explained my process in a wrap-up article that contains all 24 top entries and a bird. The prize I put on the line was a Deck of worlds as well as one extension of the winner's choice. Quite the fine prize, if I may say so.
With a lot of time spent travelling and WorldAnvil's inadequacy to mobile reading, it has been one hell of a ride. As I did for the WAWA judging, I wanted to read every single entries, or as much as I could, even those that I knew with a glance that they would have no chance of winning. The exceptions I made were entries in another language than French and English, and disqualified articles. I didn't know it was possible to submit articles from 2023.
As it was revealed last night on stream, my award went to Owen Davies's Divine's Folly. With a score of 24 out of 25 on my scale, it is a near-perfect article for what I was looking for. What kept it from the full score was the absence of illustrations and the tables that cut the name in a weird fashion on smaller screens (to be fair, that's more an issue with WA). That being said, I'm positively surprised by the quality of articles people are able to produce in the short time of Summercamp. It's even more impressive that Owen is a diamond winner!
A special mention to Crimson Nepenthes, which was my favourite read of the month. If I had to choose my personal favourite, this one would be the winner, but it sadly didn't pass some of the more objective criterion. I will still follow this world and author with attention.
Shinies
I won my fair share of badges in the span of two months. One of them was designed specifically for me (and by me), the others I had to reach out to harvest them. Let's review these additions.
Achievement badges
I earned these three badges by pledging for diamond and achieving this feat. The first one is given to members of the StoryTellers Circle led by my friend Myth Cross. To get diamond, all I had to do is reach my pledged goal. Which happens to also be diamond. Does it count as double diamond?
Community
When it comes to Summercamp, there are two schools of thought: Chill and Feral. While I happened to be feral before it was a badge, real-life obligations meant I had to take the chill approach this time around. While it was still a bit stressful, going in with no pressure and little hype helped me power through this month.
Challenges
I am, as far as I know, the only Wondrous Wandering Worldsmith. And well, it's kind of a self-given medal. Of all the people I know designed numerous worlds, most focus on one or two at a time. But since I had made a lot of empty worlds in the beginning of the year, I went crazy and added one (or two, in a single occasion), article to 33 worlds. It was hard, it was fun, but most of all I'm happy other people picked on the challenge, reaching for the more reasonable tiers.
I hoped that the spooky shenanigan will come on its own, but unfortunately that did not happen, and I kind of forgot to be spooky under the burning sun. With quite a stretch, Masks could qualify, but I decided not to count it. Acknowledging failures is as important as celebrating victories.
Looking ahead
I can't say how productive I will be in the second half of the year. Doing a PhD while running several events and being part of a national association is tiring and keeps me busy, who would have thought? Furthermore, I have finally began working on a secret project that will be my biggest, greatest, and most ambitious project to date on this platform. But it will take time, and most of the work will be done in the shadows. However, here is what you can expect for this month:
Mystember
I love mysteries. I love reading them, failing to decipher the hints, and be surprised by the grand reveal. But what I like even more are the various theories that evolve around a good mystery. And I do have a world clad with mystery and untold stories. Perhaps you missed it, perhaps you will rediscover it. That's right, take a deep breath, we're going back to Oblogga!
The Longest Journey
A challenge lasting for 5 months? Yes please! And while I have many stories and threads that I could follow in almost any of my worlds, I decided that while I brainstorm my secret project, it was definitely a good time to give some more love to my best world. Yep, it's still Oblogga. This month, we get wet.
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