To ALL my FRIENDS (yes, you, silly...)
Thank you for being there for me. 2022 was a literal hell for myself and my family, and I was not able to be here much, in the community I love with all my soul. I ached for your
company, your
jokes, your happy dispositions, and even chatting about things we
don't agree on...cause I like you more than any differences between us.
SUMMER CAMP 2023 IS HERE!!!
Are you as excited as I am...to open the side doors of our
creative noggins and
let the brilliance seep out all over the floor? I hope so, 'cause I'm ready to
finger-paint with that goo!
Right -- on to the homework!!
Which world (or worlds) you’ll work on for Summer Camp and how many prompts you hope to complete?
If you know me at all, you already know there's only one world I work on, and that's Wanted Hero. After my breakdown last summer, it's taken me a year to get back on my feet, to establish
LifeOfFiction.com to rewrite my novels from Wendell's perspective, and to engage in this most excellent community event!
I've always focused on finishing each and every prompt, and to date, I've always done so. I'm not always confident, I'm not always strong, but I'll always shoot for the top and be ever-so-grateful for what i end up hitting. It's how I ride.
Theme preparation: POWER
Power
presents itself in many forms within this vast world -- but it is sought for only one reason:
control. From researching ancient scrolls, to tempting the darker beings of the unseen world, mortals seek to
control power. Whether it be for selfish reasons or to wrest it from those who would abuse it, the struggle is real and ongoing.
Silently working among the clouds, the
University of Magic remains a culmination of the arcane, tapping into the
Seven Disciplines to shape the world to their will. Working from the shadows, criminal organizations leverage fear and pain against humble citizens, tipping the economic balance of the nobles too fat to notice the extra hands on their purse strings.
My hope this Summer Camp is to pay close attention as to how power is being used, and how it will affect the ongoing stories of this world. My particular attention will be upon the
magic used by the races, and also how unique organizations like
Stilence, Mish, Trition, and Mise will use their true abilities in the storylines of the series.
Theme preparation: Frontier
I'm particularly excited about this theme, because it's been underused for years in my world. Hundreds of hours have gone into the development of the
Dragons Chasm on
paper, but nothing on WA. That will change. The first year I joined the community, I wrote about a frontier discussed in one of my first books about the
Demoni Vankil. It revealed a hidden camp, where prisoners were used in magical experiments. Another frontier I'm fond of and want to expand on is the
The Black Market, an entire community underground -- and no one knwos where it's located, because the only means in and out is teleportation.
Theme preparation: Relics
Ahhh, the glorious relics gifted to us still engaged in mortality.
I can think of so many items, and even people for that matter -- which excites me for this wave of prompts from Summer Camp! The first that comes to mind would be '
Chucks Keys'. No one knows where they came from or how old they are -- only that they work, and have saved the lives of our heroes more than once.
The next relic that comes to mind are the
Prime Gates still functional and used throughout the world, folding space for travelers to pass through to foreign lands.
Legend says these gates date back to the time of the very first
Gnolaum, or Hero of the Gem. The first and greatest of these gates can be found in the very courtyard of
Castle Andilain, though it was dismantled after the capture and baishment of
Mahan.
What I'm Looking Forward To Most
I don't know about you, but I create and write to find out
what I think about things. Bringing ideas to life, mixing and matching them, and then crafting a final combination to share with others helps me discover new parts of myself.
That's one of my
favorite things about Summer Camp -- because I get to go through that process with thousands of other amazing creatives...like
you.
I wish you the very best in your own adventures!!
Polina "Line" Arteev
I love the art all over this article! ❤ Have an AMAZING SummerCamp and I can't wait to see what ideas we get to explore as a community this year! :D
Seek a new dawn, in Malkora!
Join me in Camp Feral this SummerCamp!
Jaime Buckley
Hiya Polina!! Me too! I'm so glad you like the artwork. I have a live-in artist who does all this for me. You have an AMAZING Summer Camp right BACK!!
Your New Author Friend =)
Let's Talk Fiction!