Charting your territory

At my core, I think I will always be a fantasy and science fiction writer; it's what I grew up with and love.  Though I've written urban fantasy a lot in the past, Keystone Calamity is resolutely high fantasy.

One of my readers recently asked me if I had a map of Welland so that he could more clearly visualize Gwyn's journey from Tyr.  I didn't - and I was surprised that I'd never thought of it.

There was always something magical about opening a new book and being greeted by a map of the fantastical world you were about to visit.  Each locale was filled with mystery and intrigue and I would follow the protagonist's journey as each step was named: would the party venture to the Midnight Peaks willingly, or were they forced there by a ferocious storm?  Would they cross that desert in this book or the next or is it just there to leave me wondering?

When I admitted to my reader that I had not drawn a map of my world, I shared in his disappointment.  I whipped up a quick diagram to show him how they got around in the first few chapters and it looked a little something like this:

Tada! ヽ(；▽；)ノ  . . . （；へ：）

I never thought about making a map before because I was so intent on finishing the story.  I used to make all kinds of character biographies and world histories but they were just a means to procrastinate and avoid actually writing anything.  Thus, the lay of the land went undocumented.

I would like to make a real map of Welland someday.  Of course, it's all in my head, but it wouldn't hurt as a reference and look kind of neat to boot.  Until then, I recently went through a lot of my old junk and found a ton of half-written stories and artwork - including some decade-old maps from a story I never wrote.  (Probably because I was too busy making maps! (¬д¬。) )

Originally posted October 1, 2015.