Summer Camp Pledge 2022

For July 2022, I pledge to focus on worldbuilding and prioritizing my writing.

Creative Goals

I want to build more of the universe around The Spaceport to bring this space into existence. Right now it is a baby world with many story ideas. I've been dreaming of writing these stories since the 1980s. Over the last few years, I've been drafting them out. My hope for this year is to finish at least one of them and release it.

I want to invite people into this fun universe that I've created so they can see the worlds that have been wandering around in my head all of these years.

My goal is to create a series of articles to make this place feel real and vibrant. The Spaceport is intended to be a play area, where science fiction and fantasy fans can come to play, interact, and explore. It incorporates many fandoms in ways that embrace the playfulness and the joy that come from being a fan. In the background of the stories, more realistic themes intrude, allowing readers to interact with these themes in a less threatening and more welcoming environment.

Motivation:

My motivation is to bring the world to life and share it. A deeper motivation is that I love the themes of Spaceport: diversity, empowerment, and creativity. I want to have this place to express those motivations. There is a power in creatives that shows up in The Spaceport books.

Here's my full playlist:

Prompt Prep

Expanse

My world is currently an expanse of underdeveloped space. I have many ideas for cultures and interactions, actually 5 drafted novels, but the world building is empty. This expanse of emptiness has much potential. I'm excited to put everything in one space and to make it accessible for people to explore and comment on. My hope is that it can become a world that responds to its visitors, so the expanse needs to be wide enough to allow for new ideas and new paths of exploration.

My hope in this area would be to create sample spaces so that people understand my intention as I expand on this universe of story and adventure.

Inspiration

This song echoes with the hope of humanity to connect with others in the expanse of the galaxy.

This song captures the mood and the adventure of exploring the new horizons, as well as the sense of both wonder and danger. I love the rhythm and the way it builds.

If I was going to turn the vastness of space into a song... this would be it.

Leadership

Leadership is a theme in this universe. From the leaders at the Spaceport who still need to be fleshed out to the leaders they encounter in their travels, I have many opportunities for development. I continue to debate how to handle leadership in the 'port. I have a core group of characters, but it feels like they should be more democratic than they are currently.

Each character has their own leadership style, and this theme feels like it will allow me to explore those. I'm also keeping open the option of developing leaders in the universe around them: from tour guides to world leaders. One that may cross over with monstrous is a financial leader. I also have leaders in medical technology. One of my characters becomes an unlikely leader in medical development as he is dropped into a galactic symposium to share medical knowledge. I would love to bring him to life so that people can enjoy him.

Who makes the best leader? One who is a natural leader and who wants the position? Or someone who is dropped into that role but who has deep concern for those they lead ?

Inspiration

There is a romance in some of the stories. These songs capture the mood I'm going for.

This feels like one of my heroes. He's always trying and definitely overwhelmed. Bonus, this is from the right time period.

There is risk and playfulness combined in the story. "The ones who stood for something more..."

Discovery

My human characters are discovering that they are not alone in the universe. Every episode is a new discovery as they incorporate alien technology carefully into the port so as not to give away the secrets they are discovering. They struggle with the ethical challenges of how much technology to keep for themselves and how much to share. Discovery also carries over into monstrous as discovery is not always positive. What happens when aliens inadvertently introduce viruses and insects into Earth's ecosystem?

Inspiration

I love the sense of adventure with this song. It feels like discovery to me!

Monstrous

Villains! I have villains! I can't wait to develop my spider people more fully. Every story has a villain: from the monstrous ravages of cancer to the questions of right and wrong in land conflicts, there is limitless potential for exploration in this area. A behavior that seems perfectly normal: for example an avian species eating a bug, can seem completely monstrous to insectoid races.

Sometimes the most beautiful can hide the most deadly of predators. One person's dinner may be another's massacre.

And what is justice? What if you have the cure for a deadly disease but you choose not to offer it? Isn't that the definition of monstrous? But what if revealing that cure would destabilize a society and send millions into trauma?

I suspect I'll be delving into the definition of what truly makes something monstrous!

Inspiration

This has a little bit of an ominous feel to me even though it isn't at all sad. "Something at the edge of space..."

One of the races that comes to visit is very shark-like. They're the bankers of the universe. This is how I imagine them:

Galeus_melastomus_017.jpg

Concept art for Galeuns by Irvin Kilde

a shark with big eyes and a long nose

Many of my races would be seen as animals or insects on Earth. Here's a hint at one of the recurring baddies:

640px-Plexippus_paykulli_-_50959617953.jpg

by spidereyes2020

spider

And a song, appropriate for the 90's setting:

Background:

This is my first summer camp, and I'm excited to explore the prompts at the same time as I'm learning to use the power of World Anvil in new and exciting ways to share my work with others who may enjoy it and connect with readers.

The Spaceport is about people connecting from many different cultures and working together to overcome challenges and build something amazing out of a space that others considered to be useless and slated for demolition. And of course it is full of puns and playfulness in the process.

Setting SMART Goals

Specifics for achieving the goal:

Where will you write?

I write best at my desk. I hope to also take at least one session out of the month and write using my phone at the local beach.

Setting aside the time

For work, people are allowed to book sessions with me on my calendar. I have just set aside at least one hour each day of the month of July for writing.

Community

My friend and I will be doing the challenge together, so she will support me and hold me accountable to staying on track.

I also want to spend time in Discord for the community, togetherness, and inspiration.

My challenge goal will be to complete all 31 prompts, reaching for diamond, because I'm competitive that way, but don't want to push myself beyond sane limits and go for double-diamond.

Prompts and Submissions

Follow along to see how I do!