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Tips on Drawing a Map for My Novel



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Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:49 am
Monki says...



So, yea. I just need some tip about drawing a map, you know, for a novel. If anyone has any examples that they've made, I'd love to see them. :) I just need tips, examples, advice, anything.
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:26 am
Gladius says...



Well, I've got a couple maps drawn up I might be able to put up for you... *a minute later* There. How's this? It's a computer-drawn map from paint (which stinks), but it's the exact same as the the hand-drawn one. It's a northern region on the continent which I've created, so it's pretty much all ice so I can't really give you any advice about varying terrain from this particular map, but I'll see what I can do.

What do you have problems with when you start maps? When I first started drawing them, I made the mistake of drawing borders and putting the terrain within the borders. So (in a different map) I have one country with varying terrain and pretty much all the others are specialized. It doesn't make for a very realistic map, when you've got red-rock, volcanic mountains making the border between a plain and foothills. So when I redid the map I drew in terrain first then made the borders.

Also, I recommend making your scale (how many miles in an inch of paper, for example) before drawing the borders and writing. My countries are all so small because I needed my main group to reach the mountains in days--so now the main country is only, like, 200 miles across! >.< Yeah...it definitely helps.

Did that make any sense at all? XD
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:40 am
Dynamo says...



Books like Eragon and Lord of the Rings are perfect references, since they both have maps. (At least I think they do. I know Eragon does.) In my opinion, the best way to map out your story's world is to start off with the major landmarks and cities and work your way down from there. Don't worry about making mistakes, you can always make good copies later.
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:41 am
Sam says...



*nerd*

I did mine on posterboard--it's kind of hard to see, but it's got all the main buildings.

If you're just going for layout, don't worry too mucn about scale. If you need to know where things are in relation to other things, it shouldn't matter too much. Just make sure you have a list of buildings ready to go when you plan, and leave a little extra space--I kept coming up with new places (and subsequently new plot points) when I was making mine. And if you forget one, you can squeeze it in. ^_^

When you're finished, you can look over your outline and mark where different events happen so you'll know what the surrounds are like. It's quite helpful, actually. A pain in the butt to make, but amazing in the long run.
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:53 am
Gladius says...



That's interesting advice, Sam. I think, Monki, the way you draw your maps depends on what kind of novel you're writing. Mine, for example, works for my fantasy stories where my characters go running around the continent trying to stop disaster after disaster of a battle. XD If I was doing a more rural setting, Sam's method would definitely work better, and scale wouldn't matter as much 'cause your not as worried about distances.
When Heroes fall and the Sacred Blade is captured, can Evil be stopped?~The Wings of Darkness

I'm also ZeldaMoogle on Fanfiction.net!

"Funny is a formula for which there are a million variables, and it is impossible to backtrack unless, possibly, you make a living out of it."~Rosey Unicorn
  





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Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:17 am
Monki says...



Wow. I was just sort of interested in seeing everyone elses style... But, I think I've got a pretty good style of my own now by combining some of yours. :) I'll post my first map when I finish it. :roll: And, yes, there are maps in Lord of the Rings and Eragon. (LOTR rocks! Dunno about Eragon. I've only "skimmed" through it.)

Well, I'm going to go draw my map. (It's going to be hand-drawn. I cannot use a computer to draw maps. Phew!

<3,
Monki

P.S. Thank you all so much for your help! :smt060 You guys are awesome!
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:12 am
Monki says...



Why was my topic moved? I thought it was in the right place? I pondered putting it in 'Tips' but I thought it was better in 'Art and Photography'... Because, it is art you know.
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:36 am
Sam says...



Monki--you didn't post an artwork for critique, so I figured you'd get more reads and responses here. ^_^
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:35 pm
Leja says...



I find graph paper especially helpful in planning things in relation to one another. And, you know, it's right there during Math class XD

I know you've probably already begun drawing, but I thought I'd share my opinion anyway ^_^
  





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Sat Jan 26, 2008 9:34 pm
Pacific says...



Holly Lisle has an workshop on making maps. She's also got an example too.

http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/ ... kshop.html
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Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:07 pm
zankoku_na_tenshi says...



Oh, I've got one!


(sorry the writing's not very clear... I had to shrink it down by a lot).
It's not perfect, obviously... I didn't even think of scale while I was laying it out, so that's definitely skewed a bit. XD Certainly needs some editing, but as I said, it's not a perfect copy. Makes a good reference for me, though. It makes things easier to plan. And the fact that I added of random, non-first-book-required cities in southern Sareil somehow gave me... pretty much the entire plot for book II.

As for tips... It helps me to draw the outlines of countries and th shapes of rivers with either a very loose grip on my pencil, or my non-dominant hand, because the edges of landmasses aren't usually perfect sharp corners and smooth curves, they're kind of ragged and messy.

Hope that helped at least a little bit. ^_^
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Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:37 pm
Monki says...



Wow, all of your maps are amazing! And thank you for the tips too. (Thanks for the thoughtful move, Sam.) Actually, I haven't started drawing mine yet. I'm too scared that I'll finish the map, come up with a new city or something that I want to add in, but then it'll be too late because I won't have any room left. (I believe one of you have already addressed this, but it's still nerve-wracking...)
Tom Riddle: "You read my diary?"
Harry Potter: "At first, I did not know it was your diary. I thought it was a very sad, handwritten book."
  





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Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:09 pm
Gladius says...



My best advice for that: Just draw it.

Make the landmass big enough to dot a couple random cities in each country, then (unless you've already got the history and stuff done?) you can come up with little quirks and specifics for each city based on the landscape around it. Is it a small village nestled in the mountains where the people are very quiet and apart, but together for protection? Is it a gigantic, bustling capital with a bunch of merchants from near and far? Do people in a northern town celebrate a peculiar holiday? Is there a city that has good relations/friendly rivalry with a city across the border? I don't know what you might have planned already, but I started my whole *big* novel/trilogy project with a map.

So...that's how I do it. ;)
When Heroes fall and the Sacred Blade is captured, can Evil be stopped?~The Wings of Darkness

I'm also ZeldaMoogle on Fanfiction.net!

"Funny is a formula for which there are a million variables, and it is impossible to backtrack unless, possibly, you make a living out of it."~Rosey Unicorn
  





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Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:16 am
Lilith says...



I've been peicing one together but it all takes place in this sort of underground city coined The Underground. Anyway, its all a system of tunnels that branch from this central point. What I've been doing is branching from the first, central piece and then working my way out.

If its a bigger world, definately just start with a basic outline of the place, pin point cities or important places, and then, if a large portion of the story occures in a specific local, work on a more detailed map of the city or district of the city and so forth.
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Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:55 pm
lyrical_sunshine says...



this might help:

http://hollylisle.com/fm/Workshops/maps-workshop.html
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