Maps!

Hi all.

Do you use maps in your stories? How do you create the maps? Do you make the map first before writing the story, or does the story shape the map?

I built a map for my novel, using Inkcarnate.com, really easy to use interface, great website and not expensive for a membership.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts, opinions and suggestions.

 

Hi!
I use maps in my stories, and i believe i use inkcarnate, too (im using my phon e to type this, so i cant double check at the moment). I know i've used it in the past, at least.
My coworker hand draws his maps and they are SOOO legit! Like its amazing the detail he put into it, then he scans it into GIMP and adds texture and colors and stuff. Im attempting to redo one of my maps in GIMP.

Typically, my stories come first, then my maps. I get to a point in my story where i have all these places that i e either talked about or my characters have been, and i need a visual to keep them all straight. So i create a map.
I have one of them posted in my progress journal (that one may be the one i made on inkcarnate).

Theres another fantasy map creater that i like, but it takes a while to figure it out because you basically type in information (cities, population sizes, races/kingdoms/allegiance/etc, as well as hiw many lakes, rivers, forests and whether you want a Pangaea continent, an archipelago, or a hybrid) and it gives you customizable, generated options. You can even create banners for your people). I have one that i made using that system and i like it a lot, but the system as a whole, i need to mess around with it more

 

Yes. And yes. I love maps. For instance, the main continent in my WIP was once struck by an asteroid nearly wiping out the original races and reshaping it vaguely into a crescent moon. The shapes of landmasses, temperatures, cities, and cultures can have a large impact on the way I write. I tend toward discovery writing so as my characters travel across the map, their adventures are driven by my world-building.

I use a program called Wonderdraft by Tabula Rasa. First I sketch out on paper roughly what I want, then I go make it in Wonderdraft. It is super easy to use, has easy brushes, terrain types, rivers, city icons, road markers, etc. I want to say it's like $30 US and the purchase is one time. wonderdraft.net if you are interested in checking it out.

 

I think you mean inkarnate.com. Inkcarnate.com appears to be something else.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of maps, and particularly like the auto-generated ones from https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/. I find that if I just stare at them, I can't help but start imagining the civilisations and histories of the lands.

 

this is the one with the complicated customization piece.

This is one of the maps I made on Azgaar (and edited)

 

the one for another WIP i made on inkarnate:

 

I start with what the culture and interactions are supposed to be like. Certain terrain will give rise to certain lifestyles. Fractured terrain will give rise to divided tribes. Being stretched over latitudes gives rise to varying climates. In early development, harsh areas will demand innovation and expansion. Bountiful landscapes will be fought over. Junctions and intersections will be popular. Isolated areas are a wildcard, like a mutation; most areas that are cut off from other people will stagnate or regress. China united a large area and developed quickly, but it was also safe from outsiders for natural barriers. Likewise, America has had the advantage of ocean borders.

 

Oh man, how many SFF stories have I dreamed up based on random maps from old Civilization II or similar games I used to play. It's...a lot. Plus with games like that you actually go through historical development of a bunch of civs, in addition to the geography. It's like a perfect backstory generator.

 

That is gorgeous!

 

Awesome, id like to read that story

 

Yeah, I love maps, though I don't really make a lot of them. I've meant to, but you know, distactions... Anyways, I haven't yet started with a map, I tend to do them as the story starts to come together. I do think a randomly generated map could be an excellent spark of inspiration, though. I intend to try it out in the near future.

Here's one I made a good while back, the main setting for a novel. It's fairly rushed and barren, some of the writing is illegible, and the geography is outdated. Still, it feels great to be able to actually see the worlds in your head, even in a distorted form. I hope I'll get around to making a new version soon, along with more detailed local maps. I also want to chart out parts of the wider world.

 

No, my characters don't typically get lost.
I think maps are more a Fantasy thing. But
It would be interesting if Sci-fi did something
similar, but that would be a much bigger under-
taking for anything that takes place over many
worlds, and not just one (or a continent.).

I suppose it's much more interesting to show the
world, and not have a 'tour guide' of sorts for the
reader. Though I do know many seem to be keen on
having a foldout map when reading books that have
them. I don't understand why, considering it doesn't
have the same characteristics as a strategy game
where you move your pieces about the board.

To each their own.

 

Yes, I love maps and I sketch rough maps at the same time I create my stories, this allows me to have a better mental image of what is actually going on, it also allows me to decide travel routes and travel times.

Also, I think that the lay of the land influences a culture quite heavily, you probably would not get a horse heavy culture (like say, the Mongols) on heavily forested areas; by the same token, skin tone seems to be an evolutionary trait heavily linked to biomes, therefore, I also use that to decide where I put humans/species with different skin tones (this has a limited application on the modern era and is completely irrelevant in sci-fi).

 

From a very young age maps have been some of my favorite reading materials. I have even done some map making in connection with my former profession, civil engineering. The general fiction novel I am currently working on, while fictional, uses actual geography in the narrative. I have Google Earth Pro on my computer, and use it extensively in researching my writing. People can actually follow directions in my book. I wish them luck, because the destinations are mostly fictional.

As far as fantasy maps, I have drawn them too, though not recently. They were of alien worlds, and it was great fun. The maps in JRR Tolkien's Hobbit and LOTR, are integral to the stories and I feel really enhance them. I did my maps the same way Tolkien probably did. With pencil on paper for draft, then trace with pencil and then ink over. Tolkien probably did not have access to photo copy machines like I had to make copies for marking up.

Tolkien drew mountains in relief as most fantasy maps are done. I use contours more often than I do relief. It's a little harder for laypersons to read, but more precise. This is useful if you plan to use very detailed descriptions of topography in your story.

 

Personally, I have found Inkarnate to be the best online map maker. I use the payed version, but the free one is perfect good for anything that does not need a supper amount of detail. It can be frustrating to use at times, so I'd suggest actually taking the time to watch some of the intro videos. It's a great site, not supper expensive, and has a great selection of features in both the paid and free version. I'd recommend to anyone needed a good map, especially for fantasy.

 

Have you tried Google Earth Pro? I use the free version extensively. When used on a PC the 3d view of topography is great. There are filters that allow you to view historic satellite, and sometimes aerial photography.

 

Wait, you also have As and Bs in the UK?
In Germany, the A stands for "Autobahn" and the B for "Bundesstraße", so I didn't expect the letters to be the same in other countries.

 

They aren't. The equivalent of autobahns in the UK are motorways, which begin with an M, e.g. M1 and M2. Major routes which are not motorways are A roads, then less major roads are B roads. The A and B don't stand for anything, and are just the first two letters of the alphabet.

 

I enjoyed creating city maps from scratch on paper. Haven't done it for a few years. You can really let the mind and hand wander. Every junction you put down your mind is filling in little details ("This used to be the boundary and the main road, but then it got cut off half way and now its a dive..."). You can come up with the most amazing stories by drawing city road networks free hand without any forethought or planning.

 

Even better, OS Maps.