Thread: Book Maps.

Originally Posted by delgondahntelius

My wife and I are writers, and its our book... and so close to completion we can taste it! And then its off to the printers. We run our own publishing company, and this will be our first fantasy novel.... the first run is only going to be 500-1000 copies so its nothing huge... but hopefully it will be after it comes out!

The compass is actually the weapon the heroine uses in the book, which I drew in color and then converted to greyscale... A long hafted falchion named Leafgârd. Thanks for the compliment and the rep!

Can you give short description what the book is about? I am writing a fantasy novel myself so I am very interested. And no, not to steal your ideas
(finishing book 2 right now of the first trilogy - my book is in Dutch as that is my native language)

Also, how do you write a book with two people? I want to write a fantasy story with my fiancee as well, but I am not sure how to make it work. Do you both write different chapters or characters?

Oh, and congrats on your soon to make 1000th post

I'm doing this one as a wip, its taking a little bit to get done. This is digital and I decided to work on it at 300% of the size it will have to be... so its 13.875x22.875 inches @ 300dpi. The wips I'll show will be at 33% of that.

I can't/don't want to get into too many specifics (that would give stuff away!) but you should know that this these two worlds are actually separate. (one way is to see it as a before and after picture)... the other major point is that they are disc worlds. (more like a saucer) with a ring of mountains encircling the edges. So the oceans don't connect or wrap around to the other side.

I laid down the edges, and the oceans, gave those water ripples along the coasts. Put in all the mountains and mountain ranges. They still need to be fleshed out and cropped, so that will be what comes next.

The good thing is that there won't be hardly any labels on it, there won't be a need for much detail on the map. That makes me grateful .. and keeps the work down. No scale either, but to give you an idea... its about 23000 miles along the diameter of the circle...


WOOOT! ... 1000 posts!!!

Originally Posted by Gandwarf

Can you give short description what the book is about? I am writing a fantasy novel myself so I am very interested. And no, not to steal your ideas
(finishing book 2 right now of the first trilogy - my book is in Dutch as that is my native language)

Also, how do you write a book with two people? I want to write a fantasy story with my fiancee as well, but I am not sure how to make it work. Do you both write different chapters or characters?

Oh, and congrats on your soon to make 1000th post

Let's see.... I've been sitting here for longer than I need to, trying to write a short summary. BUT I CAN'T!!! ... there is just so much I want to go into. SOOO, I will get my wife to write one up, she's the one in charge of writing a summary anyway for the back cover, this will give her a reason to get motivated about it. Fair enough? I think I'd just muck it up and give away too much.

As for writing together. The world was my little brain child... the gods, the places, the races. My campaign world for the last 23 years with enough history and color to choke a bull wyvern. She wrote a fantasy romance novel based on this world. When it was evident that we were going to be able to publish a book, this is the story we chose. Originally it was just going to be her name on the book, but after the process of editing and rewriting, I had put so much of my style in it as well, it became a joint effort.

Funny thing is, I never thought I would be able to write with someone else, but the more we worked together, the better it got. I pretty much write all the scenes that involve battle and action, she writes the rest. For this book, I've written the prologue and several chapters involving side characters.

It's kinda hard to explain how we do it. We work best though in the editing process... I read the story and she edits as I prattle on.

?? make any sense at all?

Writing a good, short summary for a back cover takes skill, so I am very interested to see the result

So your stories are taking place in a campaign world you have been adding to for 23 years. That's certainly going to add depth to the stories. Sometimes I read a novel and can't get rid of the feeling the world seems slapped together. With a world you have been working on for so long this shouldn't be a problem. The actual problem might be you have some much information you want to share with your reader the story gets bogged down

As for writing the book together: yes, your way makes sense. What I have discussed with my fiancee is something similar. But with me doing the editing as my grasp of (the Dutch) language is superior to hers (not to mention I have been an editor for a couple of years

I am interested to see where you are going with those new WIP.

Aye... time and again I've had to stop and make sure things make sense, because i'm so familiar with the world, I write sometimes as if the reader should already know what/who I'm talking about... many times I have had to cut chunks out of the story because the history and flavor just don't move the plot... colorful, yes... but not good for story development...

Originally Posted by delgondahntelius

Aye... time and again I've had to stop and make sure things make sense, because i'm so familiar with the world, I write sometimes as if the reader should already know what/who I'm talking about... many times I have had to cut chunks out of the story because the history and flavor just don't move the plot... colorful, yes... but not good for story development...

The double-edged sword of not wanting to confuse your reader, but not wanting to give away too much either. As you want to keep them hooked and coming back for more

@Delgo & Gandwarf - I envy you both at even attempting to write a novel (with or without someone else). Ever more so if you're anywhere close to publishing. I've been told many times that I have some talent as a writer, but I just can't imagine trying to write a novel. I get bogged down after 4 or 5 pages

SG ... Ya quit too soon. That's the hardest part.... the rest is all downhill from there... just get through that first chapter of the story and the rest will just fall into place

Here's what she sent me:

Existence is a fragile concept. One twist of fate can end it for anyone of us or even alter it beyond recognition. So why do some dream of dragons and elves or battles fought with sword and spear, while others hold on to the existence around them; the reality they can see, feel, and touch? Was it a twist of fate? Did we once belong to a world that some only dream of? Annapernalia lives in a world where humans are the ones dreamed of and elves, gnomes, dwarves and the like all wake to an existence without them. But she remembers more than most. She knows this reality is not as it should be, and she must find a way to bring the humans back to where they belong; before existence becomes the dream.

So maybe that gives you an idea...
(In a world.... I keep thinking of that movie announcer guy... lol)