Maps: The Galaxy Edition

So when I first started writing, I had no desire to place my stories on earth. So I would create maps (See previous posts) of places, and then make a planet for that map. And then came the big question;
Where is this planet?
That was when I decided that all of the planets that are home to all of my stories were in a Galaxy together, The Galaxy of Wonders.
Very cliche, very predictable, but still it sticks. It is a galaxy teeming with life and marvels. And then I mapped it out. It was a simple process.
All I did was take a piece of paper, gel pens, a pencil (outline everything so I could organize it), and a little bit of time.
Add a few special things, notable stars or what-have-you and you have a galaxy.
So, if you find yourself in the same boat as me, try it out. Map out a galaxy and remember, you make the rules for this.
In one of the galaxies I made their sun is a blue star!
There is no sky to limit you. Just the endlessness of space.
You aren't held back by science, or history, or even math! You get to create whatever you want.

Also, you can totally rewrite what science says. Don't be daunted by it! Put life on Mars! Or Uranus! Say that Pluto isn't nearly as cold as what scientists believe! Say there's a planet that nobody has ever seen because it is always exactly opposite of Earth!
Have fun.
Be Creative.
Let me know what you think!
A bientot!

Opinions

So, today we are going to talk about opinions in characters. But first, the definition as known by Merriam-Webster:

opin·ion

 noun \ə-ˈpin-yən\

: a belief, judgment, or way of thinking about something : what someone thinks about a particular thing

: advice from someone with special knowledge : advice from an expert

: a formal statement by a judge, court, etc., explaining the reasons a decision was made according to laws or rules

There are billions of opinions in the world, and your fantasy world is no different. But sometimes things seem easier if everyone is of the same mindset as you main character.
But this presents a different problem.
The Clone Complex. Every character is similar to the last, because all of the opinions are the same. This makes things seem unreal and can pull a reader out of the story.

There is also the problem of having too many conflicting opinions that everyone must be right about. If you have this, you better hope you wrote in a neutral character to break up the fight.

But we can't disregard opinions. They are a part of each beings personality.

So I challenge you to write about two characters fighting over their different opinions.
Have fun, don't be too hard on yourself, and let me know how it goes.
Until next time!

Details, Details

So, it's been about three years since the last post and honestly I don't know what to say as an excuse other than...I forgot.
But anyway, today, I want to talk about DETAILS.
You never realize how important even the littlest details can be until suddenly they aren't there.
Like appearance. I hate when the appearances of characters change from book to book, even if it is normally side characters. The number one way of annoying me, is telling me something about their appearance and then changing it later. If you're going to change it, don't mention it at all.
Ok, you can change it, I suppose. But never do it in the same story without explanation for the change.
For example, Hair color change can be simply explained away by two words: Hair dye.
Eye color is a little trickier, and I suggest you be very careful not to fall off the eye color cliff.

Why did this topic even come to mind?
I was brainstorming for one of my stories during my first semester of college when I suddenly realized that I had generalized her life far too much. I knew practically nothing about my character. I knew more about her family tree and her future than I did about her.
I didn't even know what her locker looked like, how she had managed to hide her genius for somewhere close to eight years, and the list goes on.
It's the littlest details that can do the most damage. A glance, a look, tapping fingers, rolling your eyes; these things convey so much with so little. Clothing, colors, decorations, accessories, things that we see everyday sometimes can convey so much depth to characters that we sometimes overlook. I mean, a character who wears tennis shoes to a dance is much different from a character who wears dress shoes to a dance. And these are the kinds of things that make the differences.

So, what could be said about someone who wears tennis shoes to the dance?
He could be a jock. Or, he could be a kid who didn't want to dress up too much and so wore his tennis shoes. Or he just might not have a pair of dress shoes. The possibilities are literally endless.
But then let's say that the tennis shoes are beat up, worn, but freshly scrubbed for that night.
My immediate thought is to say that he doesn't own dress shoes and he can't really afford them. Besides, his feet would just grow out of them. And it was just a school dance, it's not like he even had a date.

A whole story can develop from the smallest of details.

Then there is the Over-Detailing pitfall. This is just as dangerous as under detailing.
Readers don't need to know when exactly you went to bed unless this is key to the character. If your character goes to bed at ten every night, but suddenly they went to bed at one AM, then you have the readers interest. But only if you got the details in there enough to make this change seem relevant to your readers.

One of the things I am horrible about is skimming over a space of time such as...six months? I don't do it often, but every once in a while I just get bored and want time to go forward. So I skim over until it seems like their life has become monotonous and then I make stuff happen.
And it's a delusion. Because I just skimmed from something happening to something happening with maybe a paragraph in between. And I'm not saying you can't skim through time, you can. But if you do it too much then you're going to be in trouble. Best way to skip a couple days; start a new chapter.

So, have fun. Go into detail. Examine shoes. Tell me how it goes!

Maps Part 2

This is the map that I posted last time. I have been working on it quite a bit as you can see, adding rivers and lakes, and castles (pardon the drawing skills). This is about the time when I would start giving the map a story, this one just hasn't gotten one yet because my mind is a little blocked.

In any case it will probably get one...eventually. In any other case...I usually have a story for it by now.

But right now I am just contenting myself with adding to this map.

Maps are nothing so hard to do unless you are a Perfectionist. The only thing that is ever perfect is Christ.

Hils are just curves, and if you want to make hill homes just connect the two ends of a hill and put a door there.

Lakes can be whatever shape you choose. I made a lake look like a duck once.

Rivers tend to be connected to some larger body of water, like an ocean or lake.

Mountains are traingles, to save time. cause otherwise... well, look at the finished map below.

What do you notice?

There are many things going on on this map.





Now look at this cropped closeup.


Mountains, and little huts are all over the place. These mountains took an hour to do.




So a peice of advice.

Don't get crazy with you maps, or your hand will have more pencil on it than the paper will.

On Maps

   The Start of a new map is like the start of a new story. And Every Map has a story in it, it's just up to the map maker to find it. But, the best part about a map that you make, is it can hold whatever you want it to.
   The map above is one I started a while ago and have yet to work on some more. Below is a labeled version (many thanks to the Paint Program) so that you know what is what. Also I will be adding a list of my favorite information gathering sites and some links to photos that I think you followers will enjoy.

As you can see, it is much more informative.

Maps are special to the maker because they are the only ones who truly know what is really going on as they draw those maps.

So, I challenge you, make your own map, put whatever you want on it color it with colored pencils, have fun, and don't get discouraged if something doesn't look right. Nobody is perfect, and you would beleive how many times I erased when making this map.