2023 Summer Camp

Pledge

Summercamp is a month of writing articles based on community prompts. I tend not to find inspiration in impersonal prompts, and prefer to write what's needed for the story rather than what's expected. However, I'm a sucker for a challenge, and love trying new things. With tons of material I haven't put to article yet, Summercamp seems a great way to make a dent in that to-do list. And maybe I'll get a badge or two along the way. Want to learn more? Check out the Summercamp 2023 Rules

Goal 1

Use prompts as motivation to turn notes into articles.

Goal 2

Have fun participating the community event.

Goal 3

Become more comfortable sharing my work with others.

Worlds

The main world I'll likely be adding articles to. I've been running campaigns in this setting since 2020 and have notes on paper, Obsidian Portal, Campfire, and mystery locations in my brain. Of the 12 planets, 6 have existing worldbuilding, but only 2 of those have made it to WA.

The world for the podcast I'm part of, which is mostly for the Strixhaven D&D module. Since it's a WotC setting, and I'm not the GM, there likely won't be too much worldbuilding I can do here. But there are a variety of homebrewed characters, locations, and organizations that may be relevant.

My (currently private) world for any writing projects I want to share. Most of my writing, whether short stories or novels, doesn't involve substantial worldbuilding. Each project will have its own category for related articles and prose. If a prompt doesn't fit either above world, it may fit another story.

Progress

Power	7/8
Frontier	7/8
Relic	5/8
Communication	5/8
Wild Cards	8/8
Total	32/40

Camp Chill

by Rin Garnett

Remember the prompts are suggestions, not requirements.

Write what you're passionate about, leave what you aren't.

Relax when you feel tired.

Fight off any pesky brain-squitos trying to make you doubt your work.

Don't abandon your non-summercamp goals! Write that article you're itching to write, even if it doesn't fit any prompts.

(Shared with permission from Annie Stein. Read her thoughts on 'Camp Chill' on her Camp Pledge.)

Themes

Homework

Power

I consider power in two ways: Social and Technical. Social power is power dynamics between people and groups, while technical is about sources of energy. My focus is always on the former, and I've dozens of examples of this in Talos. I prefer the hand-waving approach for the latter, so prompts of that nature will be a challenge.
Social Power

This planet has no laws and no true government. It's run instead by factions, each gaining and keeping power in various ways, run by different powerful people.

• What factions exist?
• Who runs them?
• What do they want?

Technical Power

Talmar is two decades in to a massive reconstruction and uplifting project. The former-industrial planet is slowly joining the modern era.

• How was Talmar powered before?
• How is existing tech being retrofitted?

Frontier

I've been considering frontiers as "pushing boundaries" - the boundaries of a map, of a field of study, of a social class or dynamic, or even personal comfort zones. Any place with new ground to tred, whether for society or for an individual, is a frontier. Time will tell if the prompts agree with this interpretation.
Scientific Frontier

The Blue Spire Academy draws psionic students and professors from across the sector. If any organization can push the bounds of psionic teaching, it's BSA.

• Who attends and works at BSA?
• What new advances have they made?

Physical Frontier

Sagaria is a largely-unexplored continent on Devali. Aggressive plants and territorial creatures make the forests, jungles, and mountains deadly to even experienced adventurers.

• What became of early explorers of the region?
• Can anyone survive out here?

Relics

I love this concept. A relic can be a historic artifact or ancient structure, or an old way of thinking, or a person from a dying order. There can be relics in curriculum that aren't relevant anymore, or relics in our language from dead cultures assimilated into ours. Endless possibilities! I hope I get to explore multiple angles on this concept.
Cultural Relics

These aliens went extinct thousands of years before humanity began traversing the stars. Their enigmatic ruins dot several Talos Sector planets.

• What still remains of these creatures?
• What caused them to disappear?

Organizational Relics

The Syndicate is a black market organization that went through an organizational overhaul twenty years ago. Their new specialty is ancient tech.

• Where do they find the materials they sell?
• What aspects of the old Syndicate still remain?

Communication

This one is a struggle. I don't do conlang and writing about infrastructure is less exciting to me. I'm approaching this from the directions of secret language - known only to specific in-groups - and transparent language - meant to be readable to all. I'm a bit sad I've already written about Devali's Language of Flowers...
Secret Communication

No one knows where the Emerald Legion originates from, only that they mean harm to any not in their ranks.

• How do they keep their language secret from outsiders?
• How do they communicate with hidden groups?

Transparent Communication

Glowcore is the Nisoran tradition of being as visually loud as possible in celebration of Nisora's historic defiance.

• What does glowcore communicate to the in-group? The out-group?
• How are these messages conveyed visually?

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Articles

Power

Frontier

Relic

Communication

Wild Cards