Map progress
Back in 2018 or so, I started an epic fantasy trilogy in a world that houses three primary continents and a large island (as well as assorted smaller, inconsequential islands). I created complete maps for two of these continents and the island, but the third continent map was nothing more than an outline with a couple of core cities and a small forest marked out. I had lots of white space left behind, mocking me every time I referenced the map. 🤨
A week or two ago, I finally filled in the rest of that continent! (Or at least most of it. The southeast corner is still a bit empty.) In a bit of writing outside of the main story, I'd mentioned an "ever-burning forest" near the center of the continent that hadn't been added to the map yet, so I started there, and beyond that I worked off of the established fact that this kingdom places a heavy emphasis on gardening and plant life to ensure that there was plenty of water in key locations.
Fleshing out the map also helped make that cultural priority more tangible, as I envisioned the specific locales, and now I'm really excited to build up some of these areas in more detail on the page!
How do you feel about map-making? Do you tackle it all at once, add to maps as you go, or just plain procrastinate on the cartography? What's your favorite map-making method?
