SC26 - Prep

Summer Camp is about to start, so let's do the prep work. I will turn 40 during SC, so I refuse to call it homework ... This article will be updated over the next weeks, so if you'd like to follow my progress, just follow this hub world. So let's dive into the actual prep work now. If you want, you can directly jump to the new content.

Week 1

Assignment

As usual, I am not committing myself to more than the minimum of copper. I was barely able to achieve it in 2024, as I normally need a lot of time to ponder on ideas before I can write an article that is not total BS. And I really don’t like to publish unfinished articles as well. Getting the art done, styling the articles … that takes almost as much time as writing them for me, so I basically need the time for 16 articles. So eight it is and hopefully many prompts will be to my liking during the first weeks.

At the moment I have five worlds. For SC I will write in four of them. Mirintha, Meowrintha, Nova Gaia, and Nebelfels. During WE I found that Camp Cozy didn’t really is what people want to read, so I will not write anything for it.

We are supposed to think about manifestations of love in our worlds. So I was starting to think about the four worlds I'd like to write for and how love is manifesting there. This is what I came up with (so far):

Mirintha

Everything that has to do with love also has to do with Kära, goddess of love. So for Mirintha I could write about her priesthood, a holiday, a rite, or a tempel. Those are already four out of eight possible prompts, which is a solid base. In case none of those templates is part of the first wave, I still have three worlds to choose from.

Nova Gaia

I have no clue how to cover this topic for my sci-fi world. I could probably come up with something for the indigenous population. As I have not thought about that a lot though, I would most likely cost me too much time to get anything solid done, so Nova Gaia is the least likely world to write anything about this topic. At least for now.

Meowrintha

In my cat-country I could basically do with love what ever I want. Most likely would be a holiday that the cute little cats celebrate. But there is also no religion so far, so maybe I can come up with something related to a deity. And then obviously is the love for all sorts of food or activity that our feline friends might have.

Nebelfels

Obviously there is the love for Quidditch. Then there (hopefully) is the love for the house a student has been assigned to. I am also thinking of the love for a pet or some local food. Maybe a teachers passion for what he or she is teaching. So here I am also rather free in what I could write about, as long as I don't stick to the prompt to literal.

Hopscotch

Next to the hopscotch. I thought I try hard mode... and then rolled a ONE, I swear! So updating the homepage and primer it is. And as Nebelfels currently has no finished homepage and certainly no primer article, this is a perfect fit.

When I wrote the primer for Nebelfels, I thought about how I should tackle this. Nebelfels is a Wizarding World fan fiction, meaning most people will already know the basics of the setting, and therfore, the article is rather short. But I really couldn't think of much to put in there, without spoiling everything. The focus currently is on the differences and similarities between Hogwarts and my own world. Feel free to give feedback on it, if there is anything I should add to it.

And then I updated the world home page a little bit. I added said primer article to it and also the first map. I am not sure on how exactly I want to set up the home page, so I might add a few more things in it before June ends. But for now, it shows at least the most important information.

Week 2: Growth

It is not that difficult to think about what can grow, but making a fit to the topics of my world is rather difficult. All these thoughts are well and good, but if the prompts don't end up fitting, it was all for nothing. Settlements can grow, but I am currently writing about a growing settlement, so not sure if I want to repeat that during SC. Character can grow, so maybe that could be a fit, but I'd have think about it a lot before writing one and as already mentioned, character might not even be a prompt for growth. I think I will just have to wait for the actual prompts and then be quicker with my thinking than I usually am.

Assignment

The actual assignment for this week is to set a focus ... well ... I did that last WE and it was a mistake, because I set the wrong focus. For summer camp I will try to focus on specific areas of my worlds, but I will already be writting for four worlds, so the definition of focus is rather loose here.

Mirintha

I decided to set a focus on my Kerdil aka dwarves. I have two different dwarven ethnicities and as I recently published a new article related to them, I already have a few things in mind that I could write for them. This focus still leaves me with a wide enough range of topics, while at the same time helps me not to jump from one idea to the next.

Nova Gaia

My science-fiction or science-fantasy (not sure yet) world does not have that many articles yet and for SC I want to develop the native species of Nuria, the planet where everything happens. As I haven't thought much about them I am really free here. But at least I know it will be anything related to the humans, which is at least something ...

Meowrintha

The world is still very new, so I have to see what the prompts will be. I would love to write another adventure that fit's one of the prompts, but due to the template restrictions of SC this is rather unlikely. I will keep my attention on the capital of the world. This allows for some character, settlements, maybe transportation, depending on the prompts.

Nebelfels

This world is also really new and not that big at all, so setting a focus without knowing the prompts wouldn't be that helpful. I will just wait what I can do here, if anything at all. Maybe some character, there will be a lot of them afterall. But the building itself and the little village close to the school also have a lot of potential for some articles.

Hopscotch

For this weeks hopscotch I rolled a 2 and as I am doing Hardmode, I have to do 1 and 2. Well, I already mentioned the reasons for the different focus topics I choose in the paragraph above. That leaves me with the second task, and I’ve decided to choose the part with the concepts. I already have a concept for both of my dwarven ethnicities and I would really love to elaborate on them a bit further during SC. So hopefully a prompt fits. I also have some concepts for species that are related to the Kerdil, as well as a disease. If the prompts fit, I think I could do all eight articles just related to the Kerdil.

But I also have some concepts for the Kaarn of Nova Gaia. I don't want to go into the details here, as I don't want to give away to much in advance. There are some first thoughts on their society and history and to what extent this could lead to conflict with the human settlers. The concept I'd like to work on in Meowrintha is their religion. Hopefully the prompts will support that. For Nebelfels there aren't really any concepts to work on, as this is a fanfiction project and most of the content is already predefined. And the one concept I came up with on my own (so far) I have already written and the article is only waiting for the illustration to be published. This completes the preparations for week two.

Week 3: Loss

This is a rather wide field, but then we were supposed to set a focus and voíla - focus and theme don't really fit for me. So I need to think about other ways to write about loss and so far, not much came into my mind beside this:

Mirintha

In Mirintha we have three species that are lost and with them all their culture, language everything. But I wanted to focus on my dwarves and so I'd have to think about what loss they could have suffered. Hopefully something comes to mind. If not, I will just have to write about something else and not stick with the focus.

Nova Gaia

Obviously humanity has lost their home. The people of the TSS Confidence have lost many people during the accident, they lost contact to the rest of humanity, and you might say the lost their goal. On the other hand the Kaarn, the native population of Nuria aka Nova Gaia, has also lost something that I don't want to say yet.

Meowrintha

Loss is not something I have thought about for Meowrintha. I am sure individuals lose stuff all the time, but this is certainly not worth a deep dive. As I will not be able to write a new adventure for you, I can't use loss for that, even if it would be really nice to have you find something important that was lost.

Nebelfels

Loosing a Quidditch match is what first came into my mind for Nebelfels and loss. But there could be other things lost. Maybe a book was lost and this is the start of a campaign. Or another important item was lost. It could also be that one of the NPC has suffered a loss that shaped them.

Assignment

This weeks assignment is to plan our writing time. Which I pretty much can't do. I will write mainly on Thursdays and Fridays before I have to work. The planned eight articles require at least 2.400 words. Which would be easy enough to achieve, but my articles tend to be more around 1.000 words, so I need to write 8.000 words. This means I should write about 300 words per day which is really a lot for me. We'll see soon enough how things go for me. If the prompts for the first two weeks aren't ideal, I will have a problem for sure. So, if anyone would point a gun to my head and I'd have to say what my writing routine will be, I'd probably say: I will write at least 300 words daily and if I can't achieve this, I have to make up for it on Thursdays and Fridays.

Hopscotch

With this, we move on to the hopscotch and I rolled a four for week three, so let's start with number one, my usual creative process and routine. You might already have guessed the answer to this: I don't have one. I have the most ideas while cycling to work or back home, but I pretty much can't take notes at that time. Writing always gets squeezed in here and there; there’s simply no other way. I don't write much in the evening or the weekend, because I prefer to do stuff with my husband together, not next to him, and he really is not into worldbuilding. Don't interpret anything into those words, that I didn't say. I mention this, because I know people will do so otherwise. Second hopscotch is "Go for a walk" ... I'd say, a ride counts as well and even if I don't count my daily commute, I still go for a fun ride at least once per week, so check on that.

Number three is my favorite one "Read and article (or more) from other Anvilites". This is something I am trying to do daily. Primarily from the worlds that I follow. I am not only reading the stuff, I am also commenting on 95% of the articles I read. Personally, I appreciate the few comments I receive even more than a little heart. Those are handed out so easily, and although I’m happy to receive them, a comment is something else entirely. When someone takes the time to tell me what they liked, when someone asks me a question and gives me food for thought, that is the greatest form of recognition for me. And that is exactly why I make such an effort not only to like other people’s articles, but also to comment on them. By the way, I don’t mean to disparage ‘liking’ comments with this statement, nor am I suggesting that people who don’t comment might be any less enthusiastic about an article. I know that people often read that into what I say, or even think I’m ungrateful when I write things like this. I’m not, really, but personally I simply want to give more than ‘just’ a ‘like’. And to even encourage more people and hopefully cheer them up with my comments, I will start something in June, that you will be able to read in my monthly recap.

Last one is "Read a book to inspire you". Currently I am reading "The Archimedes Engine: Exodus". So this is more of an inspiration for Nova Gaia if anything. And with this I have finished this weeks hardmode hopscotch, which luckily wasn't even that hard.

Week 4: Family

A logical choice when you think about the fact that both Christmas and Thanksgiving happen during this time, both holidays where family normally (should) be the focus. But obviously family is also a complicated thing. So far I haven't encountered a single one where everything is just good, there is often more to it than meets the eye. So, let's see what I can come up with for my four worlds.

Mirintha

My focus lies on the Kerdil, and for them family is really important. As I have two ethnicities, which have quite a different few on society, family is also interpreted slightly different, so this might offer me some creative room to explore. Escpecially thinking about clans as family and how a caste system causes family trouble.

Nova Gaia

I already introduced the first important person of Nova Gaia and obviously she has some family. But as I wanted to explore more of the native population and not the humans of the planet, I am not sure if I am prepared enough to actually write anything for this theme here.

Meowrintha

There are not many families in Meowrintha yet, but one family related article. So maybe I can go with a more abstract prompt, if available, like tradition or something like that. And I can also easily write about someone of the royal family, so there is always that fallback option.

Nebelfels

Obviously everyone in Nebelfels has a family. But I might be able to bend the prompts a little bit for this, because the four houses of the school are also kind of a family for the students. There is a very close sense of solidarity within one’s own house and, in most cases, a clear rivalry with the other houses; to a greater or lesser extent .

Assignment

This week’s assignment and my conclusion regarding my worlds might, once again, cause some people to take a dislike to it. So you might want to skip this part if you don't like controversial opinions.

Nova Gaia has no real purpose. I might or might not write a book one day, but currently it is mainly to give me some creative alternative in another setting (sci-fi) then the rest of my worlds are (fantasy). Summer Camp will surely help me to get the world going, if the prompts work. I worked on it last time during World Ember, I think. So it was dorment for quite some time and hopefully SC will help me to reanimate it.

Meowrintha is only there to write a world without much drama. Even if drama might make a world more interesting, this one intentionally doesn't have any. Even if the focus of the world are the adventures I want to write, primarily for my few followers, I do still need some flesh around the bone. My readers have to know where things are, how live is in Meowrintha, and who the important people are. So I think SC might give me the motivationi to add some stuff to it, but certainly not an adventure.

I am writing two of my worlds, Nebelfels and Mirintha, because I wanted to set up my own Pen and Paper worlds. And SC will most certainly not help me to get anything important done for it. It will surely help me to fill the world with live, but nothing essential will come out of it, I am sure about that. Because the most important articles I have to write are rules, explain the classes, stuff like that. And I find it more than unlikely that any of the prompts will fit those required articles. I’m happy to be proven wrong, but I really don’t see much potential here.

Hopscotch

Let's move on to the hopscotch now. This time, I rolled a three, which is really good. First, which articles do I need. Well, I already mentioned that, kind of. For Nova Gaia, which I only started, there are too many to list. For Meowrintha, I don't need any specific article. I can just go and work with what I have. For Mirintha I have a very long list of very specific articles, which I don't think will match with any of the prompts. Same goes for Nebelfels. I have to write about the four houses, but it is unlikely that any prompt will fit.

Step two is to either find a community or an accountability partner. Well, I already have a community. Two, to be precise. The German writers and the cookie cottage. So there is no need to find another one. And finding an accountability partner ... that is rather difficult. People that came into my mind already have one, most of them partner up with the same person each SC and WE. And to ask some "random" person, linked with the risk of being rejected, is just too high for me as to do it. So I guess I will not be able to get either of those two tasks done. In case anyone else is still looking for an accountability partner, feel free to get in touch though ...

Last step for my hopscotch this week is the question of interaction between the focus and the rest of my world. For Mirintha the Kerdil are essential. They are one of several species with two ethnicities and I certainly need them to be done at some point to even start a campaign. For Nova Gaia my focus, as you might remember, is the native population of Nuria. They will make everything I do for Nova Gaia more interesting and, therefore, are essential for the world. Without them, the whole story would be totally different. I don't have a focus for Meowrintha and having one wouldn't really impact the world any differently. For Nebelfels goes the same, no focus here, because it depends too much on fitting prompts and also the world is still too new. And that is it. Prep-work for SC 2026 officially done!

After-SC-Prep

The final thing I did for SC is setting up an article to summarize the whole event. There I will write down how everything went, what I thought about the prompts and themes, and which articles I did write for which world. I am already eager to see if I can divide them evenly across all four worlds or if one of them will have more articles then the rest. Hopefully, I can write two per world, but I would also be fine with eight in just one world. As long as I can achieve to write eight good articles, including art work, I will be happy.