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The Elven map of everything

WooHooMan

Auror
The thing is... I'm thinking a reader would (like me) feel an actual map that doesn't tell them pertinent information about where the landmarks from the novel are in relation to each other, might feel a touch useless.

I think you're assuming that the characters actually travel in my story. They don't. The reader doesn't need to know where any landmarks are because there are no landmarks in the story.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
Actually, the only part of my post that had anything to do specifically with your map was this:
Of course, that's just me musing about maps. I like the symbolism of your map and I think it feels reminiscent of the Norse worlds maps I've seen.

If you read the previous parts of my post, I was actually talking about maps in general and it was in no way reflecting my view of your specific map. More of a general comment on how maps can be used and whether I would ever include a stylized map (like the one of Jerusalem) in a novel. But that's okay, you can read it any way you choose. I don't think anything I said could possibly point to my insinuating that your map was useless, just that some authors include a map that's of little use to those readers who wish to see the area traveled. A stylized map showing unicorns in North Africa might be in interesting addition as a curiosity, but be of little use to a reader wanting to gain an understanding of actual distances.
 

WooHooMan

Auror
Actually, the only part of my post that had anything to do specifically with your map.

I assumed that you wouldn't have posted a comment unless were saying something about what the thread was about. I thought were you saying all that stuff as a critique of my map thing. that would explain my confusion.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
yeah, but after reading the other postings in this thread, I was joining the conversation about maps in general. I did, however give my small opinion on your specific map, being that I enjoyed how it reflected how the Norse viewed the world, like Ireth said. Obviously, such a map as this:
map_nineworlds_02.jpg


doesn't help us know where anything is... but is speaks to how the general worlds system is set up and it also (like your map) gives us clues as to the importance of those realms. We don't really believe the tree is that big in the real world, but we can see how important it is to the people who believe in it. I'd be proud to put a map like this in my book if it wasn't intended to serve as a measure of distances. The thing about maps though, is that for most authors, they serve to show a reader exactly where characters have gone, how close the bad guy is, where the kingdom lies in relation to the sea, whatever. So, I think it's perfectly reasonable to include a stylized map if it's for the purpose of greater insight into the religion/ society. But, for me... including a stylized map might not have that great a symbolism because my characters generally don't have that sort of connection. In fact, in most of my books, a map is unnecessary and the only reason I have one painted up at all, is because I need to keep consistency between books, which happen to not include a lot of travel, but take place all over my main continent of the world I created. I found places changed from the first book to the last and I needed to put it all down on paper for those stories that included a sea voyage or land trek. It's less for the reader's use than my own, because I figured I was dealing with an area about the size of Western Europe, but I needed my sea voyage to take a certain amount of time. Then I had to research how fast certain ships traveled... and then how long it took to get to say, Southern France, to Ireland on a ship, and whether my time frame and the distance with which I was working were similar. When I found out they were not, I had to rethink one or the other. I went with the time because I'd already written too much to establish another scale for the continent.

However, I really enjoy the Medieval maps I've studied and have several history books with bookmarks on those maps, should I ever include a stylized map in my own writing. The thing is, I make scrolls as awards. They're hand-painted and given to people for services performed, and I always thought map ones could be really beautiful... an added element instead of just a scroll with a pretty border or whatever. It's hard to imagine what use this map served:
crusader-b.JPG
but it's a beautiful scroll and I'd think it would be an authentic feel to a book (or in my case, scroll) whether it's of any real use or not.
 

Pythagoras

Troubadour
I would love to see what you've come-up with. I don't suppose you could post it?

Well, I do my drawings in a notebook and lack the technology to put it online. However, I just responded to a thread about nations, and my response contains a description of one such map:

I focus on realms located within separate planes of existence rather than nations. Although they are not connected in the physical world, I have them mapped as concentric circles to illustrate how they are connected. In the center is the Realm of the First Tree, the Tree of Life. Around the Tree is the Realm of the Dead. Around the Dead are the Realms of the Living: the Faerie Realm on the inside, in which resides everything thought by humans to be imaginary, and outside is the Mortal Realm, in which reside the humans. Surrounding the Living is the Great Ocean, and around that, on the edges of the World, live the dragons in their exile. The Realm of the Gods is located on a hidden mountain that straddles the border of Mortal and Faerie. The plots center around wizards called Dimension Traversers, who can travel from one realm to another as if they were not on separate planes of existence. The Dimension Traversers, having named themselves "the Council", possess an ever-expanding understanding of the Universe as a result of their travels, and are viewed as deities in the Realms of the Living. They reside on the hidden mountain, which is why it is called the Realm of the Gods.
 
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