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How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

atlasobscura.com

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Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#3
Okay, here's my excuse to vent a personal pet peeves. :-)

If you're going to publish a map of your imaginary land, map out the watersheds and make sure they make sense. You don't have to include those details in the final map, but they should inform the final map.

Real rivers go somewhere. They don't just stop in the middle of nowhere.

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#4
post #3

Okay, here's my excuse to vent a personal pet peeves. :-) If you're going to publish a map of your imaginary land, map out the watersheds and make sure they make sense. You don't have to include those details in the final map, but they should inform the final map. Real rivers go somewhere. They don't just stop in the middle of nowhere.

Then you'll enjoy this "guide" from /r/imaginarymaps: https://i.imgur.com/Vy0FS8F.png

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#5
post #3

Okay, here's my excuse to vent a personal pet peeves. :-) If you're going to publish a map of your imaginary land, map out the watersheds and make sure they make sense. You don't have to include those details in the final map, but they should inform the final map. Real rivers go somewhere. They don't just stop in the middle of nowhere.

ahem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_streams_of_Idaho

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#6
post #4
post #3

Okay, here's my excuse to vent a personal pet peeves. :-) If you're going to publish a map of your imaginary land, map out the watersheds and make sure they make sense. You don't have to include those details in the final map, but they should inform the final map. Real rivers go somewhere. They don't just stop in the middle of nowhere.

Then you'll enjoy this "guide" from /r/imaginarymaps: https://i.imgur.com/Vy0FS8F.png

The "rivers never split" rule is BS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_bifurcation

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#7
> Philip Pullman (author of the His Dark Materials books): “Writing is a matter of sullen toil. Drawing is pure joy. Drawing a map to go with a story is messing around, with the added fun of coloring in.”

It's the other way for me - in writing I can invent nonsense, and call it reality, and that's just how it is.

However, the moment I start to create a map, I need to either consider the environmental factors of mountain and river placement on local geology, or invent an entire weather system that explains why it's acceptable for the forest to live where it does, because it'd be a desert in our world.

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#8
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you'll enjoy this "guide" from /r/imaginarymaps: https://i.imgur.com/Vy0FS8F.png

The "rivers never split" rule is BS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_bifurcation

Yeah, that's a weird thing to be wrong about. There's an abundance of cities built on where multiple rivers meet.

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#9
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "rivers never split" rule is BS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_bifurcation

Yeah, that's a weird thing to be wrong about. There's an abundance of cities built on where multiple rivers meet.

That's two rivers merging, not splitting.

Re: How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds

#10
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "rivers never split" rule is BS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_bifurcation

Yeah, that's a weird thing to be wrong about. There's an abundance of cities built on where multiple rivers meet.

Plenty cities are located where rivers meet, however I'm struggling to think of any where a major river splits?
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