The "Geography" in a Book

[Ross]

Hi guys.

I'm awful with the "geography" side of things within books, whether it's me "trying" to write one or even reading one. I can figure out the geography if I'm reading a book.

I'm wondering what you guys do to keep track of things and to make things much simpler when your writing.

Thanks

p.s. sorry if it's in the wrong place.

 

[Boneman]

FWIW I don't bother about the geography when I'm reading, I just want the story. But now that I'm writing I'm having to pay a lot more attention to it, which is a contradiction in terms....sort of.....ish..... Don't want to appear a complete dummy when someone points out 'you said it was four day's march to that village, and it took your heroine 6 months to get there.....' or vice versa. I have a huge topographical map covering one of my Harley Davidson mounted jigsaws (don't ask) with mountains, rivers, settlements shown, and I use coloured pins to track the progress of my protagonist and antagonists.

 

[Ross]

FWIW I don't bother about the geography when I'm reading, I just want the story. But now that I'm writing I'm having to pay a lot more attention to it, which is a contradiction in terms....sort of.....ish..... Don't want to appear a complete dummy when someone points out 'you said it was four day's march to that village, and it took your heroine 6 months to get there.....' or vice versa. I have a huge topographical map covering one of my Harley Davidson mounted jigsaws (don't ask) with mountains, rivers, settlements shown, and I use coloured pins to track the progress of my protagonist and antagonists.

That's a very good idea. Will have to look into having a go at this. Just without the Jigsaw

I think I will have to have a skim through what I've wrote so far and jot down what I can to remind me

Thank you

 

[Boneman]

No problem: because I've been writing this book for almost 3 years, it's the only way I can remember....... can't keep it all in my head.

 

[Ursa major]

Maps can be very useful, even for those who aren't going to include them in their book; and even for those who don't like seeing them in the books they read. (And some of us simply like drawing maps. )

Maps can be quite dangerous, though: at one extreme, they can become set in stone (well, paper or megabits) and cause problems with time-critical aspects of one's plot; at the other extreme, they become so flexible that they might as well not exist (while still providing some sort of spurious justification for the unbelievability that the author has introduced into the text).

 

[The Judge]

I have a huge topographical map covering one of my Harley Davidson mounted jigsaws (don't ask) ...

You have jigsaws mounted by your Harley Davidson?? I knew that story you posted in the humour section was autobiographical...

Sorry, Ross. Back on thread. I'd suggest that as well as a map, you have notes on a separate page in a notebook/on a computer file for each of the principal features, which you update every time the place gets a mention in your novel. eg that the city of Fredastaire is 7 miles wide and 14 miles from the river Geerogers - it saves you having to draw the map to scale. You could put this info onto the map, but as soon as you've accumulated a few facts, it will start getting difficult to read. It's an idea also just to note which chapter/page the relevant info comes in, so that if you have to change it to eg 15 and 30 miles, it's easy to find it again. You can also use it if you're describing the place, eg the soaring golden towers of the palace, so that later in the trilogy you don't contradict yourself and say they are ruby red.

Good luck with the mapmaking and geography generally - I was so bad at this at school, it was a wonder I could actually navigate around to find my way home. My handy tip - remember that water flows down hill - I always had my rivers going the wrong way!

J

 

[Ursa major]

You could put this info onto the map, but as soon as you've accumulated a few facts, it will start getting difficult to read.

The map? What's wrong with lots of maps? (Apart from time: but we must have given up on saving that because we come here.)

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've moved this thread to Aspiring Writers, since you'll have a better chance of attracting discussion and advice here.

(The focus in the Workshop is more toward specific exercises and projects that members can participate in, so people who don't feel in the mood to exercise their creative muscles just at the moment would be less likely to read your thread there.)

 

[dreir]

My handy tip - remember that water flows down hill - I always had my rivers going the wrong way!

I used to do this all the way through high school. And I was a geography A-student. Some things are just not meant to make sense

As Ursa said, maps can be very useful and also can be a pain. IMO you have to treat the map as a fluid, evolving thing. Let it affect the story, but at the same time allow the story to change it in return.

- Dreir -

 

[Theleb K]

Totally Agree with Dreir re. maps. By the sounds of it you definitely need to draft one out, but don't be limited by it. Change it and develop it as you develop your story. As someone else said the 'mapping' part can be alot of fun.

 

[Ross]

Totally Agree with Dreir re. maps. By the sounds of it you definitely need to draft one out, but don't be limited by it. Change it and develop it as you develop your story. As someone else said the 'mapping' part can be alot of fun.

Yeah.

Well I'm lucky as my uncle used to be an artist before he had a couple of strokes and can't really do anything like that any more, it's a shame because he was amazing. I'm sure he still knows what he's doing though and can help me draft one out and help me develop it at the same time

 

[Boneman]

By The Judge
You have jigsaws mounted by your Harley Davidson??

I said don't ask.........

Strangely enough, because of this thread I looked again at my map (Which covers the wooden jigsaw puzzle of a picture of a Harley-Davidson....do ask....) and damn me, one of my rivers flows uphill!!! Should make it easy for the salmon......

 

[Sonshu]

Hi guys.

I'm awful with the "geography" side of things within books, whether it's me "trying" to write one or even reading one. I can figure out the geography if I'm reading a book.

I'm wondering what you guys do to keep track of things and to make things much simpler when your writing.

Thanks

p.s. sorry if it's in the wrong place.

I solved the geography problem with something I brought for my role play gaming, campaign cartographer enables you to create with ease wonderful full colour maps that make travel time and terrain easy to solve.

It is well worth the investment as my map took me about 2 hours to do and has all the towns, villages and points of interest any writer could need.

It is one I totally recommend it and would post a link but some rubbish about must do 15 posts has come up. Go to profantasy website and check it out.


I got the whole bundle and although its expensive it had been a massive help in running RPG games and my book.

 

[dreir]

Yeaa.. I've heard of the thingy during my RPG years (impossible to get a good group nowadays where I am) and even got the demo version to try (this was years and years ago). I've always thought it was a cool program.

But personally I've always preferred my maps hand drawn

- Dreir -

ps: I even wrote a similar map-creation software half-way (or more like a quarter-way) once (I am, after all, a programmer), but that's another story

 

[Ross]

I solved the geography problem with something I brought for my role play gaming, campaign cartographer enables you to create with ease wonderful full colour maps that make travel time and terrain easy to solve.

It is well worth the investment as my map took me about 2 hours to do and has all the towns, villages and points of interest any writer could need.

It is one I totally recommend it and would post a link but some rubbish about must do 15 posts has come up. Go to profantasy website and check it out.


I got the whole bundle and although its expensive it had been a massive help in running RPG games and my book.

That looks really good.

Looks like something I should really get a hold of.

 

[Ursa major]

But personally I've always preferred my maps hand drawn

Being someone who doesn't tend to follow the herd, I draw my maps in PowerPoint. eek

 

[Sonshu]

That looks really good.

Looks like something I should really get a hold of.

I have the whole package and if you want to get the look and feel right then this is a total must. I checked high and low for other options but this stuff really is easy to use, stable and produces good quality work even from a total noob like me.

People have been amazed at the maps I had for RPG's and also it made getting timelines of travel easier for the books etc.

Can't recommend it enough.

 

[dreir]

Being someone who doesn't tend to follow the herd, I draw my maps in PowerPoint. eek

Uh.. You can draw maps in PowerPoint?? I find that astonishing.

I struggle to make presentations in PowerPoint!

- Dreir -

 

[Ursa major]

It's easy, if you start with Curves and then use "Edit Points"** (as well as the more basic rectangles, arcs, etc.).

I've produced continental road maps, contour maps (with elevation shading***), city maps (showing tram networks and expressway with the detail of the interchanges - yeah, a bit of the top there ), etc.

And then there's the diagrams of buildings (some with floor plans) and space craft (with active diagram-exploding, to show the details, and various other animated bits). Yeah, that's me going even more over the top.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, maps (and diagrams) can eat time, but if you enjoy doing it....






** - Bezier curves are your friends.


*** - I produce colour maps and diagrams, but I always check that they're clear when printed and displayed in greyscale and that the printed colours are not lurid.

 

[dreir]

And all that with PowerPoint. Wow.

You do realise that what you'd just described is something really amazing and probably one of a kind, right? Lol.

I mean, well, I know about curves and edit points, but that didn't remotely lead me to the conclusion that I can produce maps with them! And all those details..

The only problem I see is how to get a more 'natural' coastline look.. or do you actually use the edit points for that, too? (If you do, that must be a lot of points).

However, that exploding thingy (sort of a 'drill-down' feature, right?) and the animated bits sound rather neat, and I can see where they would be of help. Maybe, just maybe, I'd dabble with PowerPoint a little bit more after this. Maybe start with a big round island, then.. Hmm...

- Dreir -

ps: Sonshu, if I'm not mistaken Cartographer has drill-down feature built in, right? e.g. You can click on a dot that is a city and get to the city map (that you must've drawn beforehand, of course).