Comments on: Maps and Fiction

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:53:42 +0000

@Karen LOL! I never got the folding thing down either. That’s why I switched to wadding them up and using them as table decorations. They look stunning arranged inside glass bowls in my luxurious foyer.

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:50:27 +0000

Jamie, as I read I realized that you are right but had never considered using maps as part of my own writing. Hmm, could it be because of that dreaded frustration with getting them to fold properly once you have used them? What a splendid idea. Thank you for sharing your writers wisdom. Maps! Never would have thought of it!

Karen Swim’s last blog post..3 Tips to Avoid the Money Trap

By: Deb

Deb — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:32:55 +0000

I had not thought about maps. I talk (write) about where the subject or characters are going and what’s along the way when it’s appropriate but a map might be useful for me and the reader.

I personally love maps. When I was overseas I was one of the few who could actually read, make sense of and fold a map. Of course it can squash the spontaneity of just exploring.

By: Jamie Grove

Jamie Grove — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:53:37 +0000

@WriterDad I started writing this post because I was playing around with an old story that takes place in a world where a few large cities are separated by vast stretches of forest. It occurred to me that this doesn’t really happen in real life and I wondered why I felt the need to “blank out” the map…

Then I realized I needed a map and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t drawn one already.

Best of luck with your map! Hope you find a few surprises there as you begin filling it in!

By: Writer Dad

Writer Dad — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:46:27 +0000

That's a great idea. The novel I'm writing takes place on a different map than our own, yet I'm dumfounded that it's never occurred to me to draft my own. Thank you for a great suggestion (sigh, now I have to learn to draw). Writer Dad's last blog post..Your Baby’s Born in the Rough Draft. You raise it in the Rewrite.