Geography

[Lord Rae]

How do you handle layout of towns/cities/rivers in a fictional setting? Do you create a map of your own? Or do you wing it?

[Quantus]

I find a map, even a rough sketch is crucial for me to keep the distances and directions and landmarks all straight.  But I dig on the worldbuilding side of things more than most, and would make such a map for all my DnD campaigns as well.  You can still "wing it" as necessary by adding things as the need arises, but it keeps you from accidentally saying west instead of east, or forgetting that you put a big river or mountain range in the way of your march or whatever. 

[Lanodantheon]

Visual representations are the best way to go, though if you do wing it you should keep good notes.


If I remember correct, the maps in the current editions of Lord of The Rings weren't commissioned by Tolkien. They were extrapolated by a fan working on her Masters and she just dug through the original text and did all the math.


I myself will be using maps on my future fictional projects, even just sketches of blobs with inaccurate scales because they are handy and because in real life, work with maps. It does make all the different in the world if you are describing a group of characters who are looking from one end of a city to another, but on the map they would logically be looking across the major sky-scraping landmark, which would block their view entirely.

[Quantus]

On the other hand, if your story only sees one or two of the locations or lanmarks, and the rest are only referenced in passing it may not be as big an issue, as if there is actual travel involved, or multiple POV's.  But again for me teh actual map is by far the easiest way to keep it all straight in my head.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Do whatever you need to keep it straight in your head, but only put in the text what that story needs.

personally, I really don't like maps in books, and I have a perverse fondness for stories set in locations where the geography cannot actually be mapped in a consistent logical sense.

[Quantus]

I have a perverse fondness for stories set in locations where the geography cannot actually be mapped in a consistent logical sense.

What do you mean?  Are you talking settings with amorphous geography or some such?

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

What do you mean?  Are you talking settings with amorphous geography or some such?

Sort of.

One example would be a traditional sort of Faerie, where geography among other things does not necessarily behave entirely rationally.  (I'm pretty sure the faerie realms in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would not be mappable, for example.)  If walking a mile north, a mile west, and a mile south takes you to a different place from where just walking a mile west takes you, how would you represent that on a map ?

Another would be the sort of space-opera that has interstellar travel, because i see nothing to require that distances in whatever form of hyperspace or wormholes etc. you use for interstellar travel have to be consistent with distances in relativistic space;  I am pretty sure that the wormhole linkages between systems in the Vorkosigan books don't map to the relativistic-space positions and distances between those worlds.  In that case there is a map, I think in The Vor Game in the editions I have, illustrating that the wormholes are sufficiently consistent with each other to be mappable by themselves (ie, ignoring where they are in relativistic space), but I see no reason why they would have to be.

[Quantus]

Sort of.

One example would be a traditional sort of Faerie, where geography among other things does not necessarily behave entirely rationally.  (I'm pretty sure the faerie realms in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would not be mappable, for example.)  If walking a mile north, a mile west, and a mile south takes you to a different place from where just walking a mile west takes you, how would you represent that on a map ?

On a globe near the south pole    Sorry, old riddle.  I see your point though

Another would be the sort of space-opera that has interstellar travel, because i see nothing to require that distances in whatever form of hyperspace or wormholes etc. you use for interstellar travel have to be consistent with distances in relativistic space;  I am pretty sure that the wormhole linkages between systems in the Vorkosigan books don't map to the relativistic-space positions and distances between those worlds.  In that case there is a map, I think in The Vor Game in the editions I have, illustrating that the wormholes are sufficiently consistent with each other to be mappable by themselves (ie, ignoring where they are in relativistic space), but I see no reason why they would have to be.

Oh certainly in space, or even islands out at sea, to one degree or another, unless travel times need to become an issue for whatever reason.  And even that's really just a matter of x is further from z than y is.  Unless there are natural regions, for example in the sea scenario, there would be climate differences for those islands further north (or possibly south) than the others, and more tropical ones near the equator.  Assuming a earth-like planet of course.

But have you come across it much in your average land-bound story?  In instances where the geography is not actively changing/mutable I mean. 

[Snowleopard]

Another thing to keep track of - is how long it takes to get from one place to another in the setting of your story/novel.  Every now and then I've read an author who got that mixed up leaving me scratching my head and going - wait a minute - it took you an hour last time to get from there to there - now it takes you five minutes.?

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

But have you come across it much in your average land-bound story?

I don't actually write many of those, fwiw.

[Gruud]

This is one I've been ignoring a little, in favor of the writing, as it won't be a factor until later books.

I have a map, crude as it may be, and I've decided on a rough scale. And I also have movement rate info for various means of travel etc.

Then I'll have to extrapolate backwards to fit a hybrid's as yet undetermined gestational period, so that the group leaves at the right time, hits certain points in the world at the right time, etc.

Anyone know how long (in canon) an elf is usually pregnant? 

[Snowleopard]

Varies I think depending on full elf, dark elf or part elf.
I think it's whatever you decide.

[Quantus]

This is one I've been ignoring a little, in favor of the writing, as it won't be a factor until later books.

I have a map, crude as it may be, and I've decided on a rough scale. And I also have movement rate info for various means of travel etc.

Then I'll have to extrapolate backwards to fit a hybrid's as yet undetermined gestational period, so that the group leaves at the right time, hits certain points in the world at the right time, etc.

Anyone know how long (in canon) an elf is usually pregnant? 

You could always make it a staged gestation that needs external conditions/stimuli to advance to each stage. That way timing is less important than geographic/plot progress