SC 2024 | Reading Challenge

by Strixxline

Reading Challenge: Sponsor Style

My reading list for the very first prompt of Summer Camp boasted 354 total articles! That's a LOT of reading! However, it was a stellar experience and you all came with some true excellence. Much like last year, choosing one favorite was near impossible. How dare you all be such incredible creatives?
Don't actually stop, though. Keep feeding us these delicious articles, thanks!

Our Winner: Cloudburst Coastside by Jontaro

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Jontaro's talent is in infusing every article with a strong dose of personality and wit, while giving us lots of great information on the topic at hand. I'm a huge fan of articles that are both informative and entertaining, and Cloudburst Coastside was exactly that.
If you're not crawling through the world of Oniran, you're seriously missing out.

Camp Feral Badge by Strixxline

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Judge's Shortlist

I will go positively feral if I cannot share MORE than just one article. I had a lot of favorites!

The Hateful Above
by Qurilion

The Obsidian Wastes
by Tyrdal

Gilgamesh's Rest
by Barron

Neither Tundra
by RiverFang

Surrealia
by Orthais

Rovia Region of the Moon Izi
by Chrispy_0

Sárezket
by Hanhula

La'anan
by Loyalair

Metadimensional Space
by Those2Nerds

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Judge's Longlist

No, really, I loved too many of these articles. I have to share the love with ALL of these!

by Strixxline

Final Notes

Much like last year, making a final choice was pure pain. There was so much amazing content to sift through, and I had to do it at lightning speed. Talk about an impossible challenge! Nevertheless, getting to experience all of your incredible worldbuilding was such an honor!
The shortlist is now published just so I can tell more than just one of you how cool you are, and that I really look forward to exploring more of your worlds over time. Keep making amazing worlds!

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My Own Tumultuous Region

If you're curious about what I created for my own prompt, I welcome you to read about the Melocazh Cliffs, a subregion of the larger Melocazh Barrens located in the Kingdom of Arsavela. Though I didn't get to flesh it out much, it is a place of harsh weather, curious disappearances, and mysterious forces emerging.

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Looking Back & Pressing On!

Closing Thoughts

I had such a blast with this year's Summer Camp! Well, it's always a fun time, but I achieved a lot this year, in spite of a lot of obstacles trying desperately to stand in my way!

I can't overstate how proud I am of myself for keeping up with my diamond goal this year! It was a tough month, full of setbacks, illnesses, and hectic schedules. Low energy all around, and a shortage of time... it's a wonder I was able to do as much as I did! I have the community to thank for that, I think. Whether it's the regulars who join me in my writing streams, or the lovely beans who live in the SummerCamp channel on the Discord server, all of the encouraging voices sure kept me feeling like I could make it through, no matter what tried to hold me back!
In the end, I achieved less than I originally set out to do, but I didn't spare a lick of stress over that fact. I earned the badge I yearned for, and it came to me in a place of joy and fun! What more could I ask for? It's just a shame that most of my article editing will have to wait until after the awards ceremony.
_{Excerpt from my recent journal post}

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My Goals for the Rest of 2024

My first goal is to make more art for myself!

Now here's a goal I've already gotten a head start on! As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on a brand new illustration for Ayun Sovos, my new world, and there already exists another lovely little drawing I made earlier this year!
My plate has finally cleared up enough that I can focus on more of my own projects, and that's a really exciting thing! I can't wait to see what new, exciting things start popping up across my worlds!

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My second goal is to explore my new world!

I have a brand new world to explore... there's so much to get to know! I have so many more stories planned for Ayun Sovos, and I'm eager to explore the characters and more that Ebi will encounter on the Path to Adventure!

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My third goal is to immerse myself deeper in Malkora!

For six years, I've been here building Malkora... but so much is still missing! I need to take a more immersive approach to building this world, and I've been inspired by my own process of building up Ayun Sovos...
Be on the lookout for stories set in Malkora, is all I can say for now!

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Oh! And, WorldEmber is coming...

My SummerCamp Hub

I tracked this year's prompt completion with some shiny progress bars! Check those out in my SC hub article, and you can see how many prompts were dedicated to Malkora or Ayun Sovos!

Favorite Entry

The article's a little under-developed so far, but I'm so excited about all of the potential ART that can go into this in the future!

My Pledge

It's fun to look back and see what plans I made, what ideas I came up with, and how much actually showed during the actual event. Here's my pledge article!

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Feral Fridays!

Looking for more articles to read? How's another 60+ excellent reads for your list?
Each week of SummerCamp, I requested submissions of articles from each theme to read and share on stream, then showcase in these articles!
Be sure to give these articles some likes and kind comments as you go!
Thank you for all of the submissions, friends! It's been lovely getting to read your work!

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