These come from two different conferences I attended. It always amazes me that I can attend two panels about the same topic, geography, and come away with completely different notes.
Geography is important but the story should be about the characters and not the world. Don't feel like you have to build the entire world, just build the portion that you need. When it comes to maps, only draw the map to tell the story. If you have to have the map in order to understand the story then you've failed.
Don't feel like you are limited to what we have on our planet. Instead of having a frozen north try having a frozen east. So long as you explain why something happens, like water running uphill due to a magical accident several years earlier. You can use geography to determine pints of conflict. In a feudal society people will fight over water rights, fertile land, and trade routes. This is also where you can have here there be dragons. It is motivation for exploration. Geography is not just about the unknown but the unknowable.
Once you have your geography figured out, then there are a few other things to take into consideration. Make sure that the characters where the correct clothing. When traveling make sure you know how much food and water is needed for traveling. In addition to that, make sure you know how far people can reasonably travel with their methods of transportation. You can't have a horse travel as far as a car. Transportation evolves and it isn't always the most effective or efficient. And lastly, communication between cities is just as important as traveling.
Great point...only build the portion that you need. I'm working on a MG fantasy and need to have the world better in place in my mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! :)
(I found you on inkPageant)
I am glad I was useful. My problem is that I don't normally build enough. Ironically I should listen to my mother more when it comes to this. She tutors math and the first thing she always tells her students is to draw a picture. I don't have to use the picture in the final draft but drawing a map helps to set things in stone.
DeleteMay I agree and disagree at the same time? While I agree wholeheartedly where you're coming from, I tend to do a little extra world-building for a few reasons. 1) It solidifies the "grand" setting in my mind, 2) it plants seeds for further (or future) story telling, and 3) I just love cartography! That said, a reader should never have to look at a map to know where they are in the story. Good advice and post!
ReplyDeleteI agree. World-building never hurt, so long as you finish the novel. Thanks for the input.
DeleteThese are some excellent points about geography. I especially liked the thought on communication between cities.
ReplyDeleteI like to take historical examples for this: pony express, telegraph lines, and even satellites. If you ever get the chance when you go to a historic site ask the tour guides about how the people communicated. There is always some kind of communication to the outside word.
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