Maps, maps, and more maps

by Rich Feitelberg

feitelberg.net

Let's talk about maps and their role is the world building process.

Wait a minute! Why do I need a map? I don't write about fantasy stories. 

Well, first of all maps aren't just for fantasy stories. And second, most stories will benefit from thinking about the locations featured in them and placing them in the larger context of the world in which they exist. You may not need many maps and you may not even have to create them yourself but even a short story about a single location could benefit from a map. It can be a simple floor plan where the action takes but it's a good idea to plan a little so the story can flow naturally around and through the location. 

Of course, some genres scream for maps more than others. Fantasy stories pretty much requires a fair bit of world building and lots of maps. You need maps of towns and the surrounding area and you need area/world maps showing typography, vegetation, resources, political boundaries, wind currents, ocean currents, latitude, roads and, trade routes. You don't need all this all at once and if you apply Tenet 1, then you’ll only build want you need as you need it.

Space faring stories may need maps of planets and star systems.

Period places and historical fiction may benefit from maps of the period.

And if you write some other genre you may find a map here or there beneficial because it helps you describe a location.

Obviously depending on the needs of your story, you may be able to find the maps you need as you research for information about your world. This is most likely for historical fiction and stories involving real life locations. But others genres require you to create your own maps.

How do you do that? Well, you need a graphics program like Photoshop so you can create them. Another option to investigate is random generators. They can create world or area maps quickly if you don't care about the shape or typography of the world. If you do, you need to roll up your sleeves and draw something yourself.

I use Photoshop for my map of Thalacia because the roads are in one layer, the vegetation is in other, and so on. I use a trick from wargaming and place a hex grid on the map so and figure out where to place trees, coastlines, cities,and other objects. Hex grids are used to simulate natural boundaries. The grid is in its own layer so I can hide it easily.

To create town maps, I’m using a new program I found called Cityographer. It does some of the work for you and then I export the map and edit it in Photoshop.

For floor plans I use Dungeonographer and draw what I need.

As you can see there's a lot to do, which why Tenet 1 is so important, only create what you need.

So with a few maps and some general notes on the world, you’re ready to take a deep dive. Actually you'll need several. We'll look at one those next time.

Happy world building!

Tenet 1: Build Only What you Need #OurAuthorGang

By Rich Feitelberg

http://feitelberg.net

So you want to writing a fantasy story? Great. One thing you'll need is a world to set it in. The term for doing this is world building. It's a bit of a misnomer because the world part isn't what you think. It's a frame of reference thing.

For example, the Lord of the Rings and the Wheel of Time and many other stories require a whole world to tell their tales. But Thieves' World doesn't. For that, you need a very detailed city and lots of characters.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, only requires the bits that are different from the modern world. So you need the school he goes to and some idea about magic and potions and the back story of some characters.

My point here is world building varies from story to story and gets me to my first point: build only what you need because building a whole world can take months or years and drive you mad with all the details. So I'll repeat myself: build only what you need.

How do you do that? Well there's no one way to do it. You can read articles online and even a book entitled, Planet Construction Set, which will outline aspects to consider. But all that's not needed to get started. A simpler -- and in my mind -- an easier way is to think of the world as a character in your story. Is the world modern? Medieval? Futuristic? Steampunk? Ancient Greece? Set in a specific period or location? In each case you'll need different information to define the world.

What's the technology level? What races or groups exist? What religions and government? As you answer these questions, you'll quickly sketch out and define the world and provide yourself with a skeleton for the information that will come later. Of course, to answer these question you may have to do some research on religion, government, technology, and so on.

Don't be afraid to do it. I will serve you better later.

That begs the question: how do I know when I've built enough? Answer: you won't. Or more precisely, you can't know, at least unless you start writing. You'll hit points where you need more than you've got. That's okay. You can stop and work those parts out. I don't recommend skipping over that point in the story; it will likely lead to extra rewrites and revision. I also don't recommend that you start writing until you have a general sketch of the world; otherwise, you'll be working without a net and decisions you matter later will introduce inconsistencies, which will lead to rewrites.

Example

Here's how I'd answer these questions for my fantasy world:
Is the world modern? No 

Medieval? Yes with magic thrown in.
Futuristic? No 

Steampunk? No 

Ancient Greece? No, but there are influences of ancient Greece in the world like the name of the country, Thalacia and its capital Andropolis. 

Set in a specific period or location? Specific period, no? Location yes; Thalacia  

What's the technology level? Medieval, no black powder weapons. But magic which can simulate modern technology if I let it. I decided not to because it would ruin the flavor I am trying to achieve. Magic as seasoning, not entree. When I write stories focused on my favorite wizard, then magic can be the entree.

What races or groups exist? Lots of them: elves, humans, dragons, giants, dwarves, gnomes, lizard men, goblins, and other associated fantasy races. 

What religions and government? Religions: several, the christian sect, jewish, muslin, and various pagan religions, plus most other races have their own beliefs. There are also older religions that have died out from humans of past centuries. 

Governments: Most races have some form of government, monarchies mostly. Humans government vary worldwide; in Thalacia, the feudal monarchy prevails. And most other races have a similar form of government with a strong single leader, like a king or thain or tribal chief or matriarch, depending on the race.

Once you know all this, or at least some of it you can think about maps. And that is the topic for the next post. See you there.

A Few Words to Say Hello #OurAuthorGang

A Few Words to Say Hello

By Rich Feitelberg
http://feitelberg.net

Hello everyone. I'm new here and thought I'd begin by introducing myself so you can get to know a little about me. My name is Rich Feitelberg. I'm a fantasy novelist and poet. I've written five novels in my fantasy series, the Aglaril Cycle, and a collection of poetry, Paraphernalia in My Pocket, and four collections of short stories. You can visit my website, feitelberg.net for details if you're interested.

                 

What got me writing more that anything is a steady diet of comic books (I'm a Silver Age junkie), Star Trek on TV (I'm talking Captain Kirk, not Jean Luc Picard), and an overactive imagination. I used to daydream a lot and imagine all sorts of adventures for myself.

I was fascinated by maps too, especially old ones. And it didn't take long for my to doodle and create imaginary lands for my adventures. Later, I got more serious about it and got into world building, role-playing, and character development.

So when I thought about what to blog about here, I immediately jumped to questions I've got from other writers are book fairs: "How did you create the map of your world?" They are referring to the large map I display at such events. It is a portion of Thalacia, the land in which my fantasy series takes place. It draws people in and sometimes helps me sell a book or two.

But the actually process of mapmaking and world building for a fantasy novels (or series of novels) is  a topic I think readers of this blog would enjoy. So that's the journey in front of us. Hope you'll stick around and join me on the voyage.