C. L. Norman

Valdemar. Pern. Middle Earth. Oz. Narnia. Discworld. Shannara.

These are just a few of the worlds that great writers have created and then allowed readers from all over the world to go and play in them. Multiple books with multiple characters people them and each world has its own rules and feel and ambiance. And each one is real in the minds of their fans.

These worlds have always been an inspiration to me. I have a hobby of drawing maps of fantasy worlds and once I even fleshed it out with details on the people, countries, imports/exports, and more. However, I’ve never used that information to write a story or a series of stories connected by place and/or time. And yet it has always been a dream of mine to create a world that other people think of as fondly as they do of home.

And so while I work on other projects, I am going to create a world that I can use as a setting for several stories. I invite you to come and take a peek at my process and let me know what you think or if you are of a mind to create your own world, let me know what you’re doing.

To Map or Not To Map

For me this isn’t even a question. For years I’ve doodled coastlines along the edges of my homework or filled drawing pads with maps. As I place landmarks on the paper the world takes its first breath and stories, people, and histories start parading through my mind in wonderful vivid color.

But some of you may want to start somewhere else. Maybe with a timeline of important events in history or with a pantheon of gods to rival the Greeks. Or some other place.

Where ever you start, have fun with it.

For my purposes, I am going to start with a map.

Before I grab my pencil and paper there are a few other things I need before I start.

1. Drawing paper. I suppose I could use any old paper that comes to hand but I like drawing paper. It has a nice texture and the spiral top keeps my maps all in one place.
2. A couple of pencils. And by pencils I mean real pencils. None of those mechanical jobs. I hate mechanical pencils. My husband says I am a pencil snob. I say “So what?” I like the wooden pencil so much better.
3. Colored pencils. Maybe. I’ve never colored in a map before. I always worried that the coloring would obscure the labels on the cities and landmarks, or that it would make it difficult to add/change things later. So I will probably hold off on coloring until I am sure I have everything I want on there. Which might be much, much later.
4. A small notebook. The notebook is for all those crazy ideas or notions or thoughts that pass through my mind as I am drawing. Maybe this harbor is where pirates came ashore a millennia ago and are the fore-fathers of the great Alandai Empire. Maybe that lake is home to a mysterious spirit that only appears once every sixty-six years. These ideas may not be used later but if I don’t record them in some fashion I will forget them in the course of my busy life and the flood of thoughts that race through my mind during this creative process.
5. Time. This one is probably the hardest to come by but I’ve found I can do these maps in small steps easily in the space between other events in my life.

Decisions, Decisions

Do I want to show the entire world on the page or do I want to leave parts hanging off the edge that can be explored later? This question is a doozy. Having the freedom to add places later is a very, very good reason to leave parts of the map hanging off the page but I always think that if my characters (at least the more educated or worldly ones) know about those places, so should I. So I think I will show the entire continent(s). Besides if I don’t draw a circle around the page, there could always be lost continents or secluded island chains or any number of other mysteries beyond the borders of the known world.

What does the big picture look like? How many suns or moons does my planet have? Were the first peoples to this world native or did they come from somewhere else? Do the inhabitants have contact with other worlds/dimensions/etc? These and other questions like them don’t have to be answered yet but I like to keep them in mind while I start. The answers may influence which geographical landmarks I want to add.

Next week, I’ll put up a preliminary map and start in on cities, regions, countries, etc.