Thank You Notes

Dystopian

Skylar: Skylarrr, it was so wonderful to get the chance to lead with you again! Thank you so much for being such an awesome co (your art and design skills are truly incredible), and I really appreciate all that you did in the planning and such to make sure our camp went smoothly + for actually indulging me in my obsession—this means way more than you probably think it does, haha <3

Silvi: I didn’t really know you before this session, but it was so nice to get to know you better throughout camp planning and the month of March itself! Thank you for your tireless work to keep us on track, for creating the cabin guide and activity one and all the work you did for our storyline—I’m endlessly appreciative. Plus, thanks for listening to all my craziness about Clair Obscur and getting into it as well, haha- I hope we’re in the same cabin in the future!

Tilly: Hi, Tilly! It was so nice to have you in my cabin this session again, and you were always writing SO much, so we have to thank you for your incredible help during cabin wars and also just your positive presence in Dystopian. Thank you so much for being such a wonderful camper!

Eris: Eris! It was so nice to have you in SWC this session! As a fellow Singaporean/Singapore-based SWCer, it’s nice to know that I’m not going to be the only one who’s one for cabin wars and whatever. But more than that, you were just such a kind presence in the camp, and I really enjoyed talking to you! I hope to see you around more in the future.

Cyro: Thank you so much, Cyro, for those little conversations about Clair Obscur and THE THING THAT HAPPENS, if you know what I mean. Anyway, it was so nice to have you in Dystopian this session, and I hope to see you around in the future and get to know you better!

All of Dystopian: Guysss, you all were such a great group of campers, and I’m genuinely so sad this session was over. Thank you all for being such wonderful people, and I hope to see you all again in future sessions!

Adventure:

Pepper: Hi, Pepper! I know we didn’t talk that much this session, but you’re such a wonderful, friendly, funny person, and I love seeing you around. I hope we’re in the same cabin again soon <3

Chocolate: CHOCOLATE. BLÜ EYES twin. 4.5k cabin wars giver. You need to sleep more, and I think you know that. Anyway, I’m not really sure what to say here that I haven’t said before, but just know that you’re an awesome friend and that I really, really appreciate you—more than you know (and more than I can put into words). I hope to be in the same cabin as you soon!

Rose: Hi, Rose! Even though we didn’t talk much this session, it was nice to impromptu set up a pen palSWC thread, which I hope we can continue even after the session…? Anyway, I would love to get to know you better, and here’s to hoping we’re in the same cabin in the future!

Cyberpunk:

Zy: Hi, Zy! Thank you so much for the last minute critique (especially considering that my piece was so much longer, skfghdkgj); it was so helpful! I hope to get to know you better in future sessions!

Ly: Ly, one of the other few Singapore people in SWC! It’s been wonderful to get to know you better this session, and thank you so much for your critique!

Fairy Tales:

Cat: Cat!! I know we didn’t talk as much this session, but I always love seeing you around, and it was so fun to lead WUC with you in October. Thanks for enduring my Clair Obscur nonsense, and hope we’re in the same cabin in a future session?

Lyric:

Alana: Alanaaa, thank you so much for just being such an incredible host and friend and person in general, haha- I don’t have too much to say here, I guess, but I wish we’d talked more this session, and thanks for being awesome <3

Rockie: Hi, Rockie!! We need to talk more, sobs- Anyway, thanks for being a wonderful host and person, and here’s to hoping we’re in the same cabin at some point in the future? I’d love to get to know you better, haha-

Alia: BIRTHDAY TWIN! Thanks for being an awesome person; I love talking to you, and you never fail to make me smile! I can’t believe that Script Theatron was two years ago, even though I’ve already said that, sobs- Anyway. Hope we get the chance to talk more in the future?

Dawn: Dawn <3 I know we haven’t talked, like, at all recently, but you’re an awesome person (and friend, if I may), and it was so funny how we used to always get shipped by the incorrect quotes, hahaha- Anyway! I would love to get to know you better, and I hope to talk to you more next session!

Fini: HI FINI! Thank you for enduring my many rambles about R. F. Kuang and screaming about TPW with me. And also for sort of (whether you know it or not) convincing me to read her stuff. I have found my favorite author because of you, so I owe you a lot!! Anyway. I hope we’re in the same cabin at some point soon, because that would be so fun.

Mouse: MOUSE! Firstly, you may or may not know this, but I have maybe sort of stalked your pen pal letters with Tell. Sorry. But also, you’re a really fun person, and you’re also super sweet and silly, and I hope to talk to you more in the future! Thanks for always being so welcoming and kind in SWC <3

Ave: Hi, Ave! Although we didn’t get the chance to talk that much this session, it was so nice to be your pen pal, and I’m really glad I could get to know you a little better! Thank you for being such an awesome host and an even more awesome person <3

Sandy: Sandy!! Thank you for being a fellow history nerd and great friend, and thank you for indulging my random rambles (plus for remembering my whole spiel on the Marshall Islands from a little while back—means a lot to me, actually). Anyway, I hope we can talk more in future sessions and maybe even be in the same cabin!

Mag-Real:

Starrii: Starrii, thank you so much for your critique on my fanfic! It was really helpful (and I hope you know that), and I also had a great time critiquing your poetry. I wish you the best of luck with that, and I hope to talk to you more in future sessions!

Paranormal:

Toko: HI TOKO! It was so fun to be your pen pal this session and to just ramble continuously about whatever it is that came to mind, ahaha- I love talking to you about R. F. Kuang, music (because you have impeccable taste!!), other books (like Ocean Vuong’s stuff—speaking of which, I actually recently have used The Emperor Gladness for my leader application for NEHS), etc. You’re also an absolutely INCREDIBLE writer; have I ever mentioned that? Anyway, thanks for being the awesome person and friend that you are, and I hope to be in the same cabin as you one day soon!

Other:

May: Hi, May! I don’t know whether you’re going to see this at all, but I figured I’d write it anyway on the off chance that you do. Thank you so much for being such an incredible friend, and I always love seeing you around. I miss you so much, and I genuinely still get close to crying when I remember you’re not really on this website anymore- Plus, you’re an incredible author; you’re definitely going places. I hope you get your hobbit hole, and mostly, I hope we meet again <333

Recca: Dearest Recca! Autocorrect still changes your name to all caps, and I think it’s a testament to the amount of times I’ve randomly dropped by on your profile to say whatever’s on my mind. Thanks for rambling with me and always being there to make you smile, and I hope you know that I appreciate you more than I can put into words. (On another note, I think your inability to write thank you notes has been rubbing off on me. Shame on you. But seriously, I hope you know that you mean a lot to me)

Hosts: To all the hosties, thank you so, so much for all your work to keep SWC running! It means so much to me (and the rest of camp, I’m sure) that you dedicate so much time and energy to creating this incredible place, even though I’m sure you all are already busy people, haha- Anyway, all this to say: I/we appreciate you. Thank you for making SWC what it is!

Everyone: Aaaa, okay, there are genuinely so many people here in SWC that I would love to thank, so I’m so sorry if I missed you (I’m already running super behind on this, sobs), and here’s my general thank you note to everyone in camp! Thank you all for being some of the most wonderful people I know (and writers, too, for that matter!), for enduring all of my nonsense and helping me when I feel down, for inspiring me to keep writing with your own pieces and your support, and for being incredible friends as well. One of my favorite things about SWC is that the community is so amazing—you’re always so welcoming and kind, and it’s something I really admire. You all make SWC what it is. I’m so grateful to be a part of a community and incredible as this one <333

Snowy's SWC July '26 (Co)Leader App
Project version
All camp experience
Total word count (excluding bonus question): 1,984 words

About Me

Hi, I’m Snowy (she/her), and it’s so nice to meet you. I live in Singapore (SGT/UTC+8), but throughout the next few months, I’ll be between SGT, PDT, and EDT—more on that later.

We’ll start with the obvious: I’m a writer! I love to write, and I’ve recently been published in a cookbook which helps to tell the stories of Singapore’s migrant workers. I love writing poetry and whatever else inspires me!

I also enjoy reading stories. My favorite author is R. F. Kuang, and my favorite books include The Hunger Games, The Poppy War, and I Fell in Love With Hope…and a lot more.

Beyond just words, I love music. My favorite genres are indie, folk, pop, and any combination of the aforementioned three, while my top three artists are BLÜ EYES, Gracie Abrams, and Noah Kahan. I’ve been playing piano since I was in kindergarten, and I’ve recently acquired a keyboard as well! I’ve started learning music production over the past couple of months, which is awesome, and I hope to write some songs with my friends soon. In addition to piano, I’m sporadically learning/messing around on guitar. Turns out it’s a lot harder than it looks.

Aside from that, I enjoy playing soccer (left wing!), baking, and playing board games.

And, of course, the obsessions. My current obsession is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a dark fantasy-dystopian video game. Aside from that and the other things I’ve already mentioned, I love Shoot From the Hip, Sherlock, and good writing.
For the sake of keeping it brief, I’ve abridged my obsessions section, but if you’re ever interested in hearing more, I’m always happy to ramble.

I’m so excited for this session of SWC—it’s going to be my tenth and three-year anniversary!

(296 words)
Note: “BBC” has been removed from before the TV show name in this version because Scratch hates me for some reason. Whatever.

Experience

I’ve been in SWC for nine sessions so far, and across them, I’ve been a camper twice, a co-leader five times, and a leader twice! Last session, I joined as a Polar Bear for the first time as well. I’ve also led one session of WUC and camped once in JWC. (See the link in the project description for more details.)

Outside of that, I’ve been writing for three and a half years now, and I’m now officially published! Nothing long, but I’m proud of it all the same.

I’m a leader of my school’s creative writing club and was just elected for the next year’s leading team. Currently, we’re working on writing and publishing a collaborative anthology and brainstorming ways to share student writing.

I’ve also been chosen as a leader of my chapter of the National English Honor Society. I have very little to say on this now because I only received this news a few weeks ago, but I’m excited to learn more soon!

Some other leadership experience I have includes:

• Captain of JV soccer
  Former manager of Girls Who Don’t Fit In (large chat studio, now closed)
  Mentored younger students in a history competition
  Helped plan, organize, and run an overnight camp

All of these experiences have taught me about the importance of working with others, being flexible, and searching for solutions in the face of conflicts.

(231 words)

Cabin Preferences

If chosen as a co, I have no preferences on cabins I’d like to co-lead! As a leader, though, I have some ideas.

Poetry: I absolutely love this genre, and I’d be thrilled to lead a Poetry cabin! I’m thinking of doing something with the vibes of Dead Poets Society, where campers gather in an underground poetry society, maybe in protest of something? I also plan for it to culminate in a storyline poetry slam (which would be portrayed through a cabin writing collection of pieces people have written throughout the session). I haven’t fully developed this idea yet, but should I lead this cabin, I’d love to develop it further with my cos!

Mag-Real: I love treehouses. I’ve never been in one before, but everything I’ve read about them sounds awesome. I’d love to do a cabin set in a magical treetop village. It’d be very storyline-light, but I think it would provide a good atmosphere for camper bonding!

Comedy or Science-Comedy: In this cabin, the campers become overly curious scientists determined to answer the world’s silliest questions…and hoping not to destroy civilization in their pursuit of truth. This idea is based on Randall Munroe’s book, What If, and we could take some scenarios discussed in the book and expand them into more of a storyline.

While I love TCTWNW, I would prefer to lead a competitive cabin as I find that competition motivates me.

(236 words)

Time Management and Dedication

This summer, I acknowledge that I might be busy, and to be honest, I don’t fully know my schedule for July at the moment. Right now, here’s what I do know:

Now until June 5th: Some tests, finals (SGT)
June 5th to 15th: Visiting my old home (PDT)
June 15th to 19th: Competition! (EDT)
June 26th to 28th: Spending time with my cousins (EDT)
June 19th to July 30th: Not fully sure, going camping at some point and maybe taking a trip to another city for a few days but both of those things are unconfirmed, service work on a few days (EDT)
July 31st: Back in Singapore (SGT)

While I don’t have exact plans at the moment, I expect to dedicate at least an hour daily to SWC—probably more if necessary once it gets to the summertime. If anything else comes up, I’ll let my (co)leaders and the hosts know!

As for time management, my to-do list is one of my biggest helpers for managing my time—I have a general to-do list and a daily one that I update with my goals for each day to keep myself on track! One of my main assets here is that I also desire to just get things done. While I can struggle with motivation for certain tasks, I refuse to let myself fall behind, which pushes me to start early and work hard to finish it.

(236 words)

Communication and Accountability

I’m a very non-confrontational kind of person. As a people pleaser, it can be hard for me to advocate my own ideas. However, being a leader of the creative writing club over this past year has taught me that in order to make progress, you do have to offer and stand up for your ideas. I can’t honestly say I’m an assertive person, but as of late, I’ve been doing my best to reach out often and share my thoughts. I tend to present a series of ideas or solutions and ask for people’s thoughts on all of them—while always reminding people that I’m still open to other ideas!

I’ve also learned that when discussions aren’t moving anywhere, sometimes, you need to make an executive decision. For example, if I present three ideas and the general consensus is, “That sounds great!” I’ll attempt to move the conversation forward first by asking if people have any particular preferences. If that gets us nowhere, I’ll weigh the options on my own to find what I believe is the best way forward. After that I’ll say, “Would doing X work for you all?” This way, I’m still taking into account others’ preferences but moving us forward.

In times of disagreement, I also do my best to present the merits of my own argument as opposed to pointing out the flaws in another’s. Alternatively, I’ll present my main concerns but articulate at the end that if they have a solution to what I see as an issue, I’m still open to the idea. I don’t want to make people feel bad about their ideas, but if I’m genuinely concerned, this helps me to bring a new perspective onto the table without undermining others.

In group settings, I keep myself accountable by assigning myself tasks and explicitly saying that I’m planning to do them—ideally with a deadline, too. This ensures that if I fall behind, there are others to help keep me on track. I don’t want to let others down, so this also motivates me to keep myself on track. I will also ensure active communication by responding to the forum at least once a day if I can!

(365 words)

Scenarios

For this question, I’ve chosen scenario D!

The first step I’d take in a situation where campers aren’t participating in the storyline is to post a message in the cabin to remind people! Oftentimes, it’s a matter of people forgetting the storyline is going on in the midst of all of SWC’s other activities.

If campers still weren’t participating after that, I’d reach out on their profiles to remind them directly!

As for simplifying the storyline, I’ll see if there are stages that can be eliminated or combined. Additionally, for activities with things like word or participation requirements, I’d lower these to encourage campers to join!

Mostly, I think it’s critical to build in contingency plans when planning the story in the first place! Last session, I led Dystopian, which was quite storyline- and activity-heavy. Though our campers were generally pretty active, I think we were definitely ambitious in our planning, and it would have been beneficial to have a backup plan. Basically, this would amount to planning two sets of activities/storylines—one more ambitious version and one abridged version. Every few days, we could assess whether we need to shift elements to the abridged version, keeping things moving smoothly and allowing us greater flexibility during the session!

(208 words)

SWC Impact

SWC has provided me with a group of people who are always willing to help me out. Whether it’s doing a last-minute critiquitaire, redoing the weekly so I have a partner, or comforting me when I’m down, the people in this community have continued to step up and give me a hand. That’s helped me to seek to improve my writing and, more importantly, to connect with people.

As an introvert, being around people can be tough sometimes, but SWC is a community I don’t get tired of. The people here build me up and have taught me to celebrate my accomplishments. It’s a place that welcomed me when I first joined and has never stopped since. Quite honestly, SWC is the main reason I’m still on this website.

I hope to give others this experience too. I want to actively make the effort to reach out to new campers, say hi and start a conversation, and check in throughout the session. I want to answer questions about camp, stop by the critiquitaire in urgent times to offer critiques for others, and support people in and out of their times of need. If it means taking a few extra minutes to check in, it’s worth it. SWC is a community worth preserving.

(212 words)

Cabin Atmosphere

A fun, relaxed cabin emphasizing camper interaction and wellbeing while pursuing goals—whether writing-related or anything else—where you’ll be welcomed into SWC and make lasting friendships!
(191 characters)

One thing often gets forgotten during the session is SWC’s motto: life > SWC. As a (co)leader, though, I want to make this my primary emphasis by sending messages during cabin wars to remind people to take care of themselves, check in with campers from time to time, and and focus on quality writing and pursuing our goals rather than trying to do every daily or write a lot—if that comes at the expense of any of the aforementioned things, that is. I hope to check in with campers individually every week or so to see how their goals are going and how campers are doing in general! As for making friendships, I find that daily questions are great ways to facilitate discussion between campers, and I hope to consistently update them.

(159 words)

Checkboxes

I will be able to add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC!
I’m willing to put the camper signups link on my profile!

I can complete all responsibilities!

(41 words)

Bonus Question

Wonderland, surely, has an excellent library. If I was stuck there forever, I’d read up on all the Wonderlandian (?) literature and anything else I could get my hands on! I’d also find some people I enjoy spending time with, because as introverted as I can be, I might go crazy without any social interaction.

(54 words)

All Writing Camp Experience:

SWC • July ‘23 • Non-Fi/TCTWNW • camper
SWC • November ‘23 • Script • camper
JWC • January ‘24 • (forgot what cabin) • camper
SWC • March ‘24 • Script • co-leader with Alia and Pepper
SWC • July ‘24 • Sci-Fi • co-leader with Poppy and Summer
SWC • November ‘24 • Steampunk • co-leader with Luna and Reese
SWC • March ‘25 • Fan-Fi • co-leader with Alana, Skylar, and Pepper
SWC • July ‘25 • Gothic • co-leader with Willow, Emily, and Niko
WUC • October ‘25 • Hi-Fi • leader with Cat
SWC • November ‘25 • Real-Fi • leader with Surf and Recca
SWC • March ‘26 • Dystopian • leader with Silvi and Skylar, Polar Bear
SWC • July ‘26 • Dystopian • co-leader with Waterfall and Ember, Polar Bear

July '26 1k Intro!

Hi there!! I’m Snowy (she/her), and I typically reside in Singapore, but for this month, I’m kind of all over the U.S. (This sounds like the start to a leader app; I think I’ve just done this too much, haha-)

Anyway, I have a real tendency to ramble, as anyone who knows me even remotely well has probably figured out by this point, and the rest of this intro will probably be rife with rambles and unnecessary tangents. You have been warned.

Okay, before I get to my interests and hobbies, I’ll just tell you a bit about myself. I’m a rising junior (screaming), and I live with my grandparents, parents, sister, and cat, Sugar. I have lived in two countries in my life—Singapore and the U.S.—and I’m a triple citizen. I have a Chinese name that no one has really used since preschool, but I don’t think it’s listed as any part of my legal name, which is interesting. I have a mild tea addiction, and I’m currently having a cup of English breakfast. I dislike coffee (it tastes weird), even in mochas and frappuccinos, but I get my caffeine from all the tea. I’m currently reading Macbeth and really ought to be done with it at this point because I’ve been reading it for…far too long. But I’ve been busy. I speak English (obviously) and can speak Mandarin Chinese in a passably okay kind of way, and next year, I’ll start learning French as well! Once upon a time, I spoke some amount of Spanish, but I’ve kind of forgotten it all. I used to be fluent in Chinese when I was in preschool as well, but to be fair, that was a preschooler’s vocabulary, so it’s not that impressive. I’m learning to drive and will be taking my test in a few weeks. I use a lot of parentheticals when I write informally, but I very rarely use them in actual writing. I’m self-studying calc BC at the moment in preparation for the upcoming school year, and I’m hoping that I can get at least halfway done with MVC by the end of the summer, but we’ll see because I’m only like halfway done with calc currently. I’m thinking of going into something interdisciplinary like neurolinguistics or cognitive neuropsychology or computational linguistics or something like that, I don’t know.

This is starting to look ugly, so I’m now paragraphing for no reason other than aesthetics. Because I live in a tropical country, I freeze very easily. I like piano, video games, music, reading, writing, and a variety of other things. Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot to mention! I’ve played soccer since I was five or six (and, incidentally, piano from that time too), and I typically play left wing. I was JV captain this past school year! Apparently, if I want to make varsity next year, I need to improve on my kick power and ability to get the ball in the air, so that’s part of this summer’s project.

I think I’ve gone on for too long (i.e. over 500 words) about random things, so here’s the actual stuff about my interests and whatever.

Firstly, I love to read! I love realistic fiction, historical fiction, and poetry, though sometimes the poetry aspect can be pretty hit or miss. I have met three of my top five favorite authors and have signed books from four out of five of them! The thing is that I don’t actually know/haven’t decided who the fifth is, so you know. My all-time favorite author is R. F. Kuang, but I also love Kathleen Glasgow, Ruta Sepetys, and Ocean Vuong! I love many other people’s work, but there’s really too many to name here, so I’m going to leave it at that. My two favorite series are The Hunger Games and The Poppy War, and I have many favorite standalones, but for now, I’ll just list two: I Fell in Love With Hope and Babel. I ramble about books a lot, and if you start rambling at me, you can be sure I’ll ramble even more in response! I have an endless list of books I need to read, and I’m severely behind my reading goal for this year.

Okay, writing now! I started writing for my own enjoyment in the summer before seventh grade when I wrote an admittedly horrible Hunger Games fanfiction. Now, I’d say my favorite genres to write are poetry, realistic fiction, and whatever else comes to mind—usually this strange fusion genre that I don’t quite know how to describe. I’m inspired by many things, but most often online poetry or writing snippets, songs, and other things.

I’m a big fan of music as well. I’ve been playing piano for two thirds of my life—more than that, actually—and while I hated it for ages, I finally started to like it more around two years ago when I figured out that I could just play based on the chords for songs I like. I’ve been learning music production for two months now? I use Logic Pro, and it’s great. I’m currently transcribing Look at My Life by Gracie Abrams and Yellow Forest - Nightfall by Lorien Testard (from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, more on that later), and it’s on my to do list to write down and finish the composition I started last week. Who knows if that’ll actually happen? I’m going to try to start a band with some of my friends, which is really cool, but the one issue is that the only instruments we have are voice and piano/keyboard. I’m going to start learning guitar for real at some point, but currently, I just mess around whenever I feel like it. I’m currently primarily playing Old Lumière - Révérence and Turkish March (I forgot which movement, but it’s the one that everyone plays. I’m learning it for like the third time.), but I also have some “for fun” songs, which include Alicia, Renoir, and Près de Lui from Clair Obscur, along with Risk (Gracie Abrams), and Wait for It (Hamilton). I love indie, pop, folk, and a bunch of fusion genres such as folk-rock, pop-rock, alt-pop, and any combinations of my aforementioned three favorite genres. I will ramble about music forever, so maybe don’t get me started on that. My three favorite artists are BLÜ EYES, Gracie Abrams, and Noah Kahan, with Erin LeCount probably right after that. I’m not entirely sure. We’re currently waiting for another album of the year contender, Daughter From Hell, but I’m super pleased that both BLÜ EYES and Noah Kahan released new albums already this year! (Also Maisie Peters, Holly Humberstone, and many others.) It’s been a good year for music.

Miscellaneous interests now: I like watching comedy, specifically the British improv group, Shoot From the Hip, though I watch Taylor Tomlinson as well! I’m a big fan of Sherlock Holmes adaptations (though I haven’t read too many of the original stories), but my favorites are Enola Holmes (Enola Holmes 3 today, yay! I’ve seen the second one twice this week in preparation) and Sherlock. I’m a firm believer in the unpopular opinion that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the best Hunger Games book, and it’s also an excellent movie. My top three favorite video games are probably Child of Light, Gris, and, obviously, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

You know what? Let’s just get it over with. I’m a HUGE fan of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which I will tend to refer to as simply Clair Obscur or E33. It’s an indie-dark fantasy-dystopian turn-based role play game, and it’s a masterpiece. I reference it far too often, but who wouldn’t? It’s got such incredible characters, artwork, music, plus a great storyline and even better writing. I also could go on about this game for hours and probably have! Seeing as I enjoy making my obsessions other people’s problems, I led Dystopian in March ‘26 and based it off Clair Obscur. It was so fun. I’m going to stop now before I go down the rabbit hole, but if you ever want to hear more, just message me and I will talk your ear off; don’t worry!!

I’ve just realized that I haven’t actually said some of the basic stuff. I’m co-leading Dystopian this session with Waterfall and Ember! This is my three year anniversary of SWC, so it’s my tenth session. I also can’t always count (I still count by twos as “2, 4, 8, 6” but that’s also partially because I’m used to doubling and sixteen comes after eight), so I may occasionally say it’s my eleventh session, but if I do, that’s a lie.

There’s much more to talk about, but I didn’t actually mean to start this yet, so I really ought to be productive now. Calculus, Python, SAT prep, and everything else on my to do list awaits me!

I’m looking forward to getting to know you all this session <3

July 1st, 2026 Daily:

Hello, future me!

It’s hard to believe that this (at least, when you’re reading this) marks the end of yet another year of SWC—your third so far! I hope you still are learning new things as you participate, and I hope you’re finding ways to enjoy what you do.

I write to you now not really knowing what you’ll be doing for the writing comp. I have some ideas, of course, but nothing super concrete—and I kind of have a feeling that it might be like that until close to the last minute, right? Because that’s how it tends to be. Either way, I hope you find an idea (or two ideas so you can do fanfic and main) that you’re excited about and want to pursue. I hope it’s one that you’re genuinely interested in writing and that means something to you, because I don’t want you to just write for the sake of competition and neglect what writing was meant to be for you, you know?

Obviously there’s a lot of things I hope you’ve accomplished by the end of this session. You’re pretty obsessed with your to-do list, so I have some ideas of what you’ll (hopefully) get done by the end of the month. Firstly, I hope you’ve finished studying the curriculum for calc like you were planning on doing, and I hope you’re done or almost done with the Python course! I hope they’re things you’ve enjoyed learning. I hope you’ve written a journal entry basically every day like you were supposed to, because that’s actually the summer homework you have. If you haven’t…well, have fun explaining that to your teacher. Haha.

Anyway, mainly, though, I hope you can find the joy of writing again. I know you’ve been rather unmotivated to write anything and have been struggling with finding the love of it that you used to have, so I hope you’ve found things that make you excited about writing once again. Next month, you’ll be starting that writing course you’ve always wanted to take, so I hope you’re coming in with renewed enthusiasm and passion and, obviously, a lot of great ideas.

Sincerely,
Your past self
~
Word count: 363 words

July 2nd, 2026 Daily:

→ “It’s fire, it’s freedom, it’s funny looking” (misheard lyrics from “The Greatest Show”)

Clara shook the bars of her cell and screamed into the abyss. Was anyone even listening?

For the past two weeks, she’d been stuck in this cell with no hope of life outside the walls of the jail. No hope of life, even. She would die in this miserable cell—unless they hanged her first.

In the books, rebellion looked so easy. All the protagonists had to do was to firmly believe and everything, it seemed, would fall into place. That’s why she assumed the same would be true of real life. She’d forgotten that, as a human, she had no plot armor to fall back on. No safety net, no next page that forced the author to keep her alive.

There would be no future pages for her.

The realization knocked the wind out of her as well as any punch could, and before she knew it, she was on her knees and begging anyone, anything to let her out. She had meant to make things right. But nothing was right, not anymore.

“Quit crying,” said Ellie, who was locked in a cell maybe a few feet or a few yards away from her.

“Sorry,” Clara said in reflex.

“Don’t you do that,” Ellie told her. “Let’s think of a plan. We can get out of here. We could…We could…” Ellie’s voice trailed off, and Clara could hear that she was trying desperately to come up with some way to make things better and unwrite their certain death, even if she couldn’t see the fear on Ellie’s face.

“No windows,” said Matthew, another in their group. Clara hadn’t realized he was in the same wing as she was. “No furniture. There’s a gate, but there’s no way to open it without the keys.”

“Keys,” Clara repeated quietly. She thought about this. In the movies, the heroes always found some way to get the keys from the outside of the gate inside, and once one person was free, they’d break everyone else out.

“It’d be a little more helpful if we actually knew where they were,” Ellie sniffed.

Suddenly, a booming voice Clara didn’t recognize came from what she thought was the doorway. “I know where they are.”

Matthew said what they were all thinking first: “Who are you?”


“I am your liberator,” whatever it was said. The creature stepped into their wing of the jail, and Clara was blinded by the light.

It was fire. It was freedom. It was…

…really odd-looking.

Ellie said as much. “You look like you’ve just stepped out of one of those things in horror movies that melts the skin off people.”

Their supposed liberator narrowed its eyes. “Well, obviously, I don’t look like a person. I’m not human, idiot. I’m a phoenix.”

Matthew laughed audibly. “You’re a phoenix.” His tone made it abundantly clear that he didn’t believe that in the slightest.

“Yes. Are we going to have problems?” Then the phoenix clucked.

Matthew took a moment to catch his breath from the laughter before saying, “I guess not.”

It really was a weird-looking phoenix. It didn’t have feathers. Its beak was short and stubby. Its wings were more like that of a baby chicken, but it stood on two legs and was around the same height as Clara’s little brother.

“Well,” Ellie said, “let’s do this.”

Clara, though, had a hard time believing freedom could come from anything as stupid-looking as this. But who was she to complain?
~
Word count: 575 words

July 3rd, 2026 Daily:

Snowy: Okay, so I actually have seen you around SO much but have never really talked to you that much! I guess that's what this is for. My first question: Outside of writing, what do you enjoy doing?

Willow: lol same for me i always just admire on trackbear how many words you can write because WHAT,,, I enjoy a lot of things actually! in my free time, I enjoy playing video games, specifically forsaken and cookie run: kingdom at the moment. as well as drawing, both digital and traditional (this year I'm participating in artfight :0). I am also on the swim team and often join meets, although I'm not very good if I'm being completely honest. is this a back-and-forth thing or do you want to finish asking your questions first?

Snowy: Ooh, that's so cool!! I also love video games, and my favorites are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (obviously, I talk about it a lot, ahaha), Child of Light, and Gris! I love a bunchhh of others, too, but I think that's just my top three. And drawing, that's awesome! I've never been an art person, but I admire the people who are sooo much- What do you typically draw? And I don't actually know much about Artfight—tell me more! As for swim team, wow, that's so cool! And hey, getting out there is still something, right? I'm thinking this is kind of a back-and-forth thing with some amount of follow-up questions? Because we're doing this in comments, so we can kind of have multiple conversations at once. Regarding Trackbear: Yeahhh, I tend to get a little overly competitive and also forget how much I write during SWC season. Probably not as much this session, though, since I have many other things to do! I'm currently learning Python and calculus, which has been taking up a lot of my time- But my main hobbies are probably reading and piano! I'm playing in a recital for piano in a few months, actually, which is both nerve-wracking and super exciting, seeing as I haven't performed in six years.

Willow: ooh those games sound cool! I've personally never played them, but my friends often tell me about them lol. also, artfight is an annual art competition where people draw each other's characters! it's a a great way for the community to bond. python is honestly amazing, and I love it! speaking of which, what are you currently learning/creating in it? I honestly enjoy creating little choose-your-own-adventure stories I'm exciting for you for your recital! I understand how nervous you may be— considering it's your first time in a while. but I think you'll do great! what piece are you playing and what made you get back into piano?

Snowy: WAIT, which games? I have friends who play video games, but a lot of them are combat games. I have some friends who play E33, and a handful that also play the Project Moon games (they have been nagging me to play them; I haven't yet gotten there-). Ooh, wait, Artfight sounds like such a good way to connect with other people over art; I love that! I just finished a lesson on loops, and I'm currently attempting to code a program that tells you whether a license plate is valid. I am currently struggling to do so because I made my code not super readable, so I'm thinking I might redo it in the morning, haha. I really want to create a choose your own adventure story with it!! It probably takes SO much work to map out, but it sounds awesome. What have yours been about, if you remember? With regards to piano, well, I never really stopped playing altogether, but for starters, I moved to Singapore during COVID times and never really got back into performing then, plus my teacher of like five years from after I moved until last year didn't really do recitals for her students, I think? But my old teacher moved, and my new teacher does them, so that's kind of cool. But also because I messed up really horrifically at my last recital, so it's mildly terrifying… Initially when I was doing piano, I was not super into it—this was for like a solid eight or something years, I think? I hated it, but my mom told me to do it, so I did- But it turned out well, since I started to love it after I started doing more arrangements based on chords and playing the things that I like to play, not just what other people say, you know? So the song I'm playing is really cool, and it's one that I picked, which is nice because I'm more motivated to practice it! It's Old Lumière - Révérence by Lorien Testard, arranged by Caliko, and it's from Clair Obscur because I'm obsessed. Okayyy, I should probably sleep now, but I'll respond to you pretty much as soon as I wake up!

Willow: alright, talk to you tomorrow ^^ )) wait I think I know those games too lol. my friends play stuff like omori, ddlc, and some other ones that I honestly forgot- I LOVE loops like they just make life so much easier (as well as functions!) honestly your project sounds like a lot of fun and cool :0 having messy code is so real because I swear, every time I come back from a break, I can NEVER understand what I wrote and just sit there confused for me, I don't exactly plan them out, I just sorta start them and hope for the best. in the past, I've done where you're stranded on an island. there was also one I did that was about socrates reincarnating and taking over the world, which was a very silly one and something I really enjoyed coding. what is something you're looking forward to code, once you learn the skills to create it? or are you more of just taking it one step at a time, and seeing where it takes you? as for the piano, I'm happy that you get to do recitals again! I always enjoyed them back when I played the flute. and I completely understand what you mean by “playing stuff you actually liked”, because the reason I quit was because I didn't really enjoy classical music. perhaps I should try again—this time playing songs I actually like. speaking of which, what genre/artists do you enjoy listening to? also, are you more of a person who decides if a song is good or not based on the lyrics or melody? personally I'm a mix of both, as oftentimes my favorite songs have both pleasant instrumentals and lyrics that I can relate to.

Snowy: Whoa, we must have a lot of video game knowledge in common, I guess? I've heard of those games, but I don't really know much of anything about them, haha- I play more indie video games, usually, or really just whatever my dad recommends! I'm currently playing Neva (which I haven't worked on for ages) and Hades II, though I haven't actually played Hades I yet. And yes, loops are great; they really do make life so much easier. AND THAT'S SO REAL. I am momentarily possessed with genius, and for a little while, everything makes sense. But then I go and do something else for like ten minutes, and all of a sudden, my genius is gone and nothing makes sense anymore. Those CYOAs sound awesome! And it's great that you had fun with it; that's the most important part. I'm mostly taking it one step at a time now, but I'd like to do a CYOA program if I have the time. I mostly started learning because I saw a really interesting project using computational linguistics at a college tour, so I've been looking into the subject to keep that path open in case I decide that's something I want to pursue! I don't have that much CS experience, so that's why I started Python. The nice thing is that I did take two coding courses in middle school with Scratch, so I understand the logic. I just need to get used to the syntax and setup. Since I'm also doing this for comp-ling, it might be cool to try making an analytical program of some sort, but I definitely need to learn some more before I start anything like that. Ooh, you played the flute? Honestly, music's so worthwhile if you love the things you play, but if you don't have the opportunity to do so, it's significantly less fun. So you should definitely try using your skills to play things you like! As for what I like to listen to, I'd say my favorite genres are indie, pop, and folk, though I like combinations of them and their subgenres as well, like folk-rock and alt-pop! My two favorite artists are BLÜ EYES. and Gracie Abrams, with Noah Kahan and Erin LeCount closely behind! I also listen to some video game OSTs as well. I'd say that lyrics are probably slightly more important to me? I mean, if I hate the melody, I probably won't add it to my playlist, but I can grow to like the melody more than I grow to like lyrics, you know? Like with Erin LeCount, I love her lyricism, but initially, I wasn't as big a fan of her melodies. But I've since decided that I absolutely love the production on her songs, and she's one of my favorites now! Basically, if I have mostly neutral, maybe somewhat neutral-negative feelings toward the melody, but I like the lyricism, then it still goes into my playlist, but if I'm not really a fan of the lyrics, then it generally doesn't make the cut for favorite songs. I relate to the pleasant instrumentals and relatable lyrics thing! That describes my favorite songs as well. What kind of music do you listen to? Who are your favorite artists?
~
Word count (Snowy): 1,167 words thus far…

Word War With Seagull

But hang on a second. Based on the way I’ve said this, you’d have thought we went through a breakup or something. That’s not what this was, not at all. We simply had to move because we got sick and tired of the crazy things happening in our old place. Once, we found a live chicken in the closet. We’d lived in that place for five years at that point, and never once before had we found a chicken, had we heard of a chicken in the closet. I still wonder sometimes how on earth it managed to survive for that long without any food, but who knows? And that was only the mundane, but there were the kind of crazy, perhaps supernatural, things you’d expect in a haunted house in a theme park. The kind of things that made you question your own sanity, like the mist leaking in through the vents in the morning, every morning at 4:57 a.m.
~
Word count: 163 words

July 5th, 2026 Daily:

Sherlock was out of sugar.

This was a problem, primarily because it meant his coffee was rather bland. On the other hand, it was a problem Sherlock had no time for, but one he made everyone else’s.

“Sherlock, dear,” Mrs. Hudson said from outside the door.

“Just a minute!” Sherlock responded. A pause, and then, “JOHN! THE DOOR!”

Then Sherlock went back to his fingernail clippings. Extracting the DNA from the attacker underneath them was elementary, practically child’s play, but he’d removed evidence from the crime scene despite Lestrade’s specific instructions not to. Why he’d ever say such a thing to the world’s greatest detective, he had no idea. He was simply doing them a favor; they’d be stupid enough to get it wrong in one way or another.

“Sherlock,” Mrs. Hudson called again.

“John’s coming,” Sherlock said.

“Are you sure he’s home?”

That gave him pause. Now that he thought about it, John had left, hadn’t he? Yes, that was right. John had left for some date he didn’t want to go on, judging by the effort he put into his appearance. Well, he wouldn’t be interrupting much.

“I’ll get him.”



John was at the door in twenty minutes flat.

“What is it?” he burst out as he pushed open the door.

Sherlock let a drop of the fingernail solution fall into a Petri dish. “Mrs. Hudson was at the door.”

John scoffed. “That’s your emergency? You were right here!”

“Busy,” he said. “Come to think of it, where is she?”

“She went back to her own flat, you idiot. You could have opened the door for her yourself.” John shook his head in disbelief.

Sherlock ignored him. John didn’t understand the magnitude of his work, how a brilliant detective had no time for such mundane activities. “Did you get any sugar?”

John’s eyebrows knitted. “Sugar?” he repeated.

“Yes, sugar. I told you we needed some,” Sherlock said.

“And when was that?”

“About noon.”

John’s tone took on an incredulous lilt as he spoke. “I wasn’t even here at noon. You really thought it was acceptable to interrupt my on my date to get you your—“

“Oh, don’t be that way. You didn’t even like her, did you?”

And when John laughed, Sherlock cracked a smile. He did love being right.
~
Word count: 382 words

July 6th, 2026 Daily:

Enter Queen Desdemona through the palace gates. She steps out into the palatial garden and sees one of the gardeners trimming the candy-colored roses.

Desdemona, marching up to the gardener: “Peasant! Quit that, would you? You must let the candy roses grow large, not prune them like that. They look disgusting now that you’ve ruined them.”

Cut to frame behind the gardener, a few feet away.

The gardener, looking around: “S-sorry, were you speaking to me?”

Desdemona: (huff)

Desdemona: “You have ears, don’t you? Who else would I be speaking to?”

A pause.

Desdemona: “And you shall address me as ‘Your Royal Highness’ or ‘Your Excellency’ or something of the like.”

The gardener, now very nervous and wringing his hands: “I’m so sorry; it won’t happen again.”

Desdemona gives the gardener an expectant look, also looking down at him.

The gardener’s eyebrows knit, and he spends a second trying to figure out what he’s done wrong this time.

The gardener: “My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty.”

Desdemona gives a sharp nod, then turns around with her nose up in the air. She begins walking away, armed by two bodyguards.

Desdemona, shrilly, while walking: “Next time, it’ll be the chocolate block execution for you!”

Cut to the gardener, who stiffens and watches Desdemona walk away. He holds shears half-open yet with no plants to cut. When Desdemona is out of the frame, his hands shake so badly he drops the shears, but he quickly picks them up, looking around frantically to make sure no one saw his mistake. He takes a shaky breath and returns to the shed.



Desdemona, angrily, pounding her fist against a wooden table: “I mean, just look at those flowers! They’re hideous!”

Bodyguard 1 seems to shrink away from the queen, but bodyguard 2 glares at him.

Bodyguard 2, evenly: “Yes, my queen.”

Desdemona: “What a state this place is in. Trim the roses?”

Desdemona gives a short laugh, sardonic and mirthless.

Desdemona: “They’re ruining my beautiful candy roses, and I just can’t handle it. I won’t let this go on!”

Bodyguard 1 nods along, but his eyes are unfocused.

Desdemona: “I’ve decided. I’m going to have the entire gardening team executed tomorrow on a chocolate block. Serves them right.”

Bodyguard 2: “And who will replace them?”

Bodyguard 2’s eyes widen immediately as she realizes she may have just defied the queen. She presses her lips together.

Bodyguard 2, carefully: “I don’t mean to question you, Your Excellency. I only seek to help you replace the gardeners with a more competent team as soon as I can.”

However, Desdemona catches the mistake, and she leans forward slightly as bodyguard 2’s shoulders begin to drop in realization of what’s to come.

Desdemona: “We’ll execute them tomorrow. And you, peasant, will go with them.”
~
Word count: 464 words

SWC July 2026 Weekly One
Total word count: 1,975 words

Part One:

• Language barriers between nations, much like our own world—often take inspiration from real-world languages
• Many fantasy worlds can be more rudimentary (as opposed to things like in sci-fi) because they take place in a different world
• Powers with a cost: Many times, there are complex magic systems in fantasy worlds, but this magic isn’t all good. There can be unintended consequences that disproportionately harm a people (e.g. colonialism fueled by the need for silver in R. F. Kuang’s Babel), the magic user, or a limited amount of available magic/magic contained within a specific source that prevents it from being entirely unlimited
• Fantasy worlds often come with their own mythology, origin stories, etc., which could be in terms of religion, fables, or mythological ideals of people or events to live up to. This often drives characters’ hopes, willingness to continue, and it can also manifest in figures of speech!
• Many fantasy stories have both a real world and a fantasy world, and sometimes, characters (or just certain characters) can travel between them
• The characters often go on a journey to stop some opposing magical force or to prevent the overuse of magic

Ideas:
• Historical-fantasy or history-inspired fantasy story where people are given the power to destroy—but not create or fix. Instead of magic as a good thing, it’s something many fear.
• Fantasy epic based on a mythological journey of some sort, perhaps could blend more real-life quests like a crusade for freedom

(243 words)

Part Two:

In many ways, my fantasy world is inspired by the Marshall Islands. Seeing as I’m going with more of a historical fantasy type of thing, it will parallel the events in the Marshall Islands in the 1940s and 50s (namely, the major nuclear tests), though in a more “magical” way. In this case, the aggressors share greatly Eurocentric ideas—though this is not explicit, as this takes place in a different world not defined by the continents in our world. They are significantly more technologically advanced than the fairly isolated people of (INSERT NAME), an island somewhat recently colonized during the war effort which ended approximately a decade earlier. At this time, the technology reflects that of a slightly earlier period of our world—the aggressors (name to be determined) are experiencing a period of rapid economic growth and concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich, very similar to America’s second Market Revolution. Animals do not feature prominently in the cultures of either side, though they are valued as pets and wartime commodities to those of the European-inspired aggressors; thus, they tend to use dogs and other creatures on patrols as a form of extra against the Marshall Islands-inspired place’s people. Of course, it’s far more a part of the Marshall Islands-inspired place’s culture to be peaceful, given that life is significantly more community-focused, and given their history as a fairly isolationist country due to having a small population, they prefer not to get involved in conflict unnecessarily. However, this doesn’t go both ways; the power to destroy, which is in the hands of the European-inspired people (I really need a name for both of these peoples and places…) gives them the ambition to become the greatest power in the world, and they often are willing to disregard the needs and wellbeing of the colonized people. However, they generally do not blatantly harm their wellbeing—or rather, it’s generally not the intention, just what they see as a “side effect” but a necessary evil. In this culture, there’s still an idea of white superiority, which brings them to believe it’s acceptable to treat these colonized lands and people as commodities or goods, often neglecting the human aspect. It’s not always intentional, once again, but it is nonetheless very harmful and institutionalized, putting the colonized at a constant disadvantage by taking away their power and subjugating them.

The story takes place primarily in the Marshall Islands-inspired place, which was formerly idyllic before its colonization. Since then, the water quality has worsened, and the food supply has begun to diminish as the western civilization exploits the resources and exports the majority of it for profit. In addition, pollution has begun to cloud the air in the western continent due to the extreme levels of industrialization, though there is little of an environmental movement to prevent it, nor is it a major focus of the story save for the people from the Marshall Islands-inspired place who go there for diplomatic and/or healthcare reasons and find themselves thoroughly horrified.

While technology may be less advanced than in the parallel time period, cameras and motion picture (even with audio) exists in this world, and it can be sent real-time back to the “main continent” (i.e. the Europe-inspired continent).

The power in this world looks like a connection to the ocean’s currents and tides, which seems fairly innocuous initially, but the intention is to harness the water to create man-made tsunamis. Rather than a magic source being depleted, the limitations come in the good vs. “evil” side effects of the magic. The European-inspired people believe their power comes from their superiority and is proof of it; however, it turns out that it came from a genetic mutation that rapidly became more common due to its desirability, and the government of the European-inspired nation now encourages programs that are almost like eugenics to provide more power to the nation.

(653 words)

Part Three:

The water here was once a comfort, a mother brushing her child’s hair gently, speaking bedtime stories softly in a tiny ear. Since they have come, though, the water has only been violent.

I count the days since they’ve parked their boats on the water—my water. More than two thousand notches in the dirt floor beside my bed, and I still wonder if they’re ever going home. But then I hear their voices in my dreams, creeping in like the worst kind of nightmare.

“We’re thinking of the north side,” they say. “Nothing is in the northern area, if that was a concern.”

I grit my teeth when I hear their voices, even if only in memories. Their nothing is the coconut trees I used to play under and the rocks I used to balance on, calling myself a mermaid. Beautiful. It was all so beautiful.

“It wasn’t,” their commander, I think, responds. In my memory, he looks the most sickly of them all. Far too tall, far too thin, and with skin that makes him seem like a ghost from the stories. At first, I thought that’s what he was.

Now, I run to the water, where the air is so bad I can hardly breathe, and I hope. I am not a concern. This place is not a concern.



They have made the currents violent, and even if they ask our king for permission, I know they mean nothing of it. We could say no, and all they’d do is call it evidence of our barbarousness.

In the town square, they have set up a rickety building for their City Hall, as if our gatherings weren’t enough. I hold my breath when I pass by, hunch my shoulders, and put one foot in front of the other until I’m so far I can’t remember what it looks like. It’s an eyesore, that place.

But at least it’s not as bad as the factories.

I shudder to think of our home turned into something it’s not, all for their own desires. They want whatever money can buy, and we’re choking for it.

A soldier walks by, the water circling his hands like a weapon. Defy me, it says. See what happens if you try.

I, too, share the water in my veins, but unlike him, I do not wield it as something dangerous. It’s a kinship for me, for all of us, but he leeches off its power. If we chose to learn, perhaps, we could do the same things he could. Create waves in the ocean bigger than our homes, then quell the sea at will. Open vortexes in the water that consume everything.

I don’t doubt that’s how they won the war. There’s a kind of reckless abandon that comes with knowing nature is on your side, and people become bodies and vessels, not flesh and bone.

“What are you looking at?” he asks, and I tear my face away. I hate the way his language sounds, so crisp and unnatural.

My tongue slips into old habits when I speak, “Nothing, sir. I’m sorry.”

“You could at least speak properly.”

I hurry off after that, because I don’t want to know what it was like for all those casualties of war who must have been far too much like me. I don’t want to see the side of the ocean that devours people without reason.

(568 words)

Part Four:

We are not their prey.

I repeat this like a mantra as I face them in the forest. I am not their prey. They will pass over us; they will find a better offering.

The dragon-crested soldiers look me up and down, as if I am theirs to keep, to hold, to play with. The wonders of our own magic only extend so far, and they keep the threat of sudden dismemberment over the top of my head while we keep our distance.

The weaker part of me wants to run and hide. When will it be over?

The stronger part of me knows I must stand my ground. This forest is mine, and they will take none of it. We are not their prey, I remind myself as I stand stock-still and pray for them to pass over us this time. Our forest will not be their place to occupy, nor will we be pretty items in their collection.

“Watch it,” the dragon-soldier decorated with ribbons bites out as I sway forward.

Do not apologize to them for anything. They are not your rulers. You are not their prey. You are not theirs.

Water swirls from his palm, the beginnings of a tempest with the power to take everything. Though a part of me craves safety, I know I must not cave to him. He is no better than I am; he has only harnessed an arcane magic I refuse to partake in. He is not me. I am not his prey.

We are blessed enough to be at peace with the dragon-soldiers most of the time. We need not fear constant danger, only the intermittent kind. But it’s no less chilling. I spend most of my time on my toes, pretending I do not fear him.

The edge of the forest is close enough to run, if I wanted. I could stand my ground. I could run and hope that the water is not quite so kind as to save such a threat.

I should tell you that I am not always this violent. They, too, are not violent. For the most part, we coexist, albeit with tensions, but nonetheless, we coexist. On some days, though, I think we may as well be mortal enemies.

He stares at me with the depth of oceans in his eyes, as if he’s seen too much. I hope he knows the fire in my own.

“You,” the dragon-soldier says, nodding toward me. “That’s the one.”

They confer in rapid, hushed tones, and I catch a word in a language I only know bits and pieces of: troublemaker.

Troublemaker. A different label—not prey, not an inferior. But a troublemaker. That’s a label I can be proud of.

“I know what you said,” I tell them, and fire sparks at my palms. Fire, a kind of power all my own, perhaps enough to show them that they’re not dealing with a weakling. They will not have my home.

Fire, a power that will save me, perhaps, just this time.

I am not their prey.

(511 words)

July 8th, 2026 Daily:
from The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

To live—
it’s beautiful.
Mornings, searching for their names,
you’ll find us.
Gutted and shuttered,
rubbed to braille,
hollow bones spill and fall each time the wind
blows through this place, unseen.
The train never stops in our town, and
we live on the edges
of a river that becomes the morgue of our dreams.

Out of the dark,
the birches shatter when dawn’s first touch
sing through fog.
As if in retribution, it made us
into what we were becoming all along:
relics of our mislearning.
Walk through generations of wanderlust
between that finite dark of sightless visions.
If you miss,
you’ll find us.

You could lose the shine and name.
Hope glows with no name to comfort the ravages. Winter joined the high school kids,
having nowhere to go,
and Walmart hasn’t changed.
Statues for what it means to wait
crush each morning, and you’d turn the page
on the polished red trucks and 195 million years.
What do you really know?
The last way out of town—it’s the bridge a lifetime
from first light.
The ghosts never leave.
~
Word count: 181 words

ACTIVITIES
Week One

NOTICE: Intelligence has informed us of the existence of an insurrectionist group located primarily in Sector Gamma, the industrial and most densely populated part of the city. We know little about their operations, whereabouts, or leadership. It’s up to you to find them, stop them, and prevent an uprising.


Our citizens need to know the dangers of in any way helping this group. Treason is not tolerated in the Directorate.

Each word count group must work together to edit the letter (below) to convince the citizens to report on any rebellious behavior and remain wholly loyal, in addition to affirming their faith in the Directorate. Keep the ideas the same, but feel free to add some details if necessary to get your point across! Each WCG must choose one of the following audiences to edit the letter for, appealing to their interests:

• Industrial workers
• Factory owners
• New initiates in the insurrectionist group

To the citizens of Imperia,

Some of you have heard of a group spreading different ideas and publicizing the faults of the Directorate, which we disagree with. Anyone who doesn’t tell us what they know about this group will be put on trial for treason, and being a part of this group—or helping them in any other way—could have consequences. We want you to inform us of anything you know. Stay aware. Stay loyal.

Once you’ve completed the editing, feel free to try applying the strategies you’ve learned to your own writing to make it more persuasive! Keep in mind your audience and what you want to convince them of, then use language evoking the emotion you want them to feel and tailor your words to make it most effective for your chosen audience.

—Activity Two—

To find the roots of this rebel group, we’ll need you to go undercover and patrol the streets. Listen carefully to the conversations you hear, and report all knowledge to the Directorate. Await next steps.

To complete this activity, at least five campers must go outside for a minimum of 30 minutes—stay off screens and spend some time disconnecting. When you’ve completed 30 minutes, post a comment on this project, and the description will be updated shortly!

July 10th, 2026 Daily:

Belle pushed the door to the library open and stepped in. Through the ornate stained-glass windows, light filtered in, spreading radiant rays across the hardwood floor.

“Good morning!” Belle said brightly.

The librarian poked his head out of the closet from which he was pulling cleaning supplies. As he did, he knocked a bucket to the floor, which landed with a loud clang.

“Oh, dear…” he said as he stooped over to pick it up and replace it, then pushed his glasses back up his nose. “There we go. Now, how may I help you?” The librarian looked up, and his face brightened upon seeing one of his favorite people in the town. “Belle! Good morning to you as well, dear.”

Belle was one of the regulars around town; she’d often come down to the library twice or more a week. That one, the librarian thought, is one smart cookie.

She parsed through a book on display toward the front of the library, then picked it up and held it to her chest. “Say, do you have any more of that series? The Midnight Opera? I finished the first one this morning, and oh, Charles, it was absolutely magnificent.”

Charles, the librarian, laughed. “My, didn’t I send you home with a stack of books just three days ago?”

Belle raised her eyebrows. “Actually, it was only two days ago.”

Checking the calendar on the wall, Charles realized that it was, in fact, Wednesday—not Thursday like he’d thought. “Well, well, so it has been. How do you do it?”

“Anyone who wishes to be intelligent ought to dedicate a significant portion of their life to literature,” Belle replied.

“Right you are.” Charles once again pushed his glasses up—somewhat unnecessarily. “They should be in the section right”—he strolled across the room—“here.”

Belle looked up at the topmost shelf, where the rest of the series stood. “Hmm. Do you happen to have a ladder?”

“Oh, it’ll be somewhere in the back room.”

Soon, Belle climbed down from the ladder with not one, not two, not even three books in her hands, but four. She teetered slightly as she jumped off the bottom step of the ladder, her arms far from empty.

“Four of them?” Charles said this with a twinkle in his eye.

“You know I’ll be finished with them by Sunday.”

This was an exchange that was practically scripted: Twice a week, Charles would comment on the amount of books Belle checked out, and twice a week, Belle would come back with all of them finished.

“Ah, but you forget. We’re not open on Sundays.”

Belle placed another two books from the table nearest to her in her arms. “Monday, then.”

Charles pulled out the ledger where he tracked the books checked out. “I think it might be best if I filled it out on your behalf. You’ve got your hands full at the moment.”

“Perhaps so. Well, I’ll see you soon, Charles.”

“See you soon, dear. Tell me about them when you’re done.”

Outside of the library, the villagers commented, like always, on the curious young woman who single-handedly put the library in their town to use.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” remarked the banker to his wife as he walked toward the river. “I wish I read the way she did.”

“Look at her, Ma. She’s beautiful,” a young farm boy said.

“She looks like a fairy,” his brother added.

Their mother hushed the two. “Ah, but more importantly, she’s well-read.”

“Boys, you ought to take a page from her book.” The shopkeeper laughed at her own joke. “I bet she reads more in a week than you have in your lifetime.”

“I bet she’s the smartest person in town.”
~
Word count: 620 words