Just A Note

This year was, in my opinion, the best Summer Camp yet. The prompts were good, as always, but a major part of the satisfaction was not having a single moment to spare for engaging in this contest. Health, work, fires popping up all around me, but YOU amazing people of the World Anvil community reached out, like you always do, and encouraged me to try. To take a shot at…something, no matter how small.
So I started Summer Camp anyway — and ended up earning a diamond badge.
So my MAIN reason for this page is to say THANK YOU, for talking with me, hooping and hollering, making me laugh with endless encouraging memes and gifs, and best of all — the new friendships! You made my month, and in that, my year thus far. You are one of the top reasons I call this community and the World Anvil platform, my online family. I love you for that.
Right! Onward!!
The following nine prompts selected are from my favorite prompts. There are some that truly inspired me…and the rules for this challenge don’t allow for the full gambit I wanted to share. So know that there were far more that inspried me than these nine!

a material only harvestable from nature

Why this prompt?

The fact that anything can only be harvested from nature and not manufactured in a lab or through magic is a fascinating idea to me. This was one of my favorite prompts to accomplish—and with the brilliant minds of the WA community, I was anxious to see what concoctions of creativity I could find.

My three choices:

Funny how less can be so much more in worlds where we go crazy with worldbuilding. Though this article had fantastical names, the applications of this material was clever and sound—something I often forget.

When we write, it’s important to engage as many senses as we can, the goal to make the experience emotional for readers. I’d forgotten how important food is, and how you can get a readers interest if they want to try what you offer!

This may sound simplistic or silly, but this article inspired me in the way it gave people purpose. Mining/harvesting and even growing crystals took my mind to consider the economics, the labor and transportation involved. Brilliant.

A profession associated with leaders in your world

Why this prompt?

The focus is usually on leaders. Those with the stories, the reputations, the places in history—but what about those who helped put them in power? What about those used as pawns or as sentient weapons to achieve dominance or control in ones own field? I wanted to see how community members stretched to define this prompt in their own minds.

My three choices:

This article had me considering a normal function of real life politicians, and putting them in a more obscure position. How can I weave a tale to explain social conditions that will both make sense and still turn the stomach of a decent hearted reader?

How much should you reveal to a reader to bring them deeper into your world? Should you divulge each and eery detail of a character, or explain a class/profession to shine a light over multiple toons?
I choose the latter.

It’s challenging to write about spiritual or what some readers would categorize as ‘religious’ content. It’s even more challenging to write potentially sensitive content in a familiar way that enlightens and inspires. The Queen’s Justice is a perfect balance, IMO.

An artifact that embodies a hideous or monstrous idea

Why this prompt?

This was my second favorite prompt overall, but the most fascinating of any prompt. To consider something with such power and influence and to unleash it in a world held my attention and curiosity. I wanted to see how wild fellow creators would get.

My three choices:

It’s not just the device and its intent that got me. I was inspired by the hinting at the results of being trapped in such a creation. The skill of placing an ‘itch’ in the mind of the reader. To feel the fear of what moves in the dark, only to pale in comparison to the inescapable impaling.

I found myself both intrigued and curious as to how I was transformed as a reader — being guided unknowingly down dark path. How can I use items and their revealed truth, given to readers one inch at a time, to expose them to the fate of a wrong choice?

To cleave to something that looks to be one thing, only to be betrayed by the truth of its nature? Powerful. Oh so powerful. This inspired me to consider a whole new level of ‘red herring’ to get to a readers heart.

Looking to the Future

Now that Summer Camp 2022 is over, I’ve had some time to consider some tough questions. I never thought I could complete more than a few prompts, but with so many kind people cheering me on, hope was my constant companion.

So what are my new goals?

My whole life is being reconstructed right now. Working hard to get healthier, fixing broken relationships, raising the last five of my 13 children (all boys but nine), and trying to be there for my 22 grandkids. It’s a lot to take in even if I didn’t have goals, but I do!
These articles inspired me to look at Wanted Hero closer and in a new light. To open the doors, to reformat and rebuild using the newest versions of the World Anvil platform, so I can continue to grow into the future. That means new artwork, new links, rebuilding the front page and how I’ll be revealing the world to those curious (and bored) enough to take a closer look.

What will I work on next?

The most important thing I can think of right now is planning how to present this world. How to share all the stories I’ve been working on for decades? As I learn word craft and grow into a more competent writer, I’d like to share the stories in my mind and heart. If enough people find them interesting enough, I just might rewrite the 20 books that used to be available — by making them better.
(Wink)