Building a Fantasy World

     The Chronicles of Odde takes place on a fictional world, on a continent called Odde. Building a fantasy world sounds easy, right? That's not really the case, at least not for me. It takes a lot of work, research, and rearranging to get the detail just right.

     As a writer, my characters are already inhabiting their fantasy world and often I can literally see it in my minds eye, in rich and vivid detail. Problem is, my mental images, while colorful, aren't exactly architectural blueprints. That is to say, when I look at them logically, the don't always make sense.  

     Have you ever been in a dream, and walked through a house where the rooms switched on you, or entered some random room that didn't belong there. My ideas work something like that. When building a place, such as a castle, I have a general idea of its layout, the style in which it was built, the lives of its occupants, but the specifics are harder to iron out. That's why I draw a blueprint or a map. 

    Even a rough sketch can be helpful in figuring out the details of a setting. For example, I often find that I have a room that couldn't exist. While I know that one room is connected to another, when I get it on paper I sometimes find that floors don't match up, or there's an extra door down the hall that shouldn't be there. Most people might think, "why would that matter? The reader will never know." And perhaps they would be right, but as a proclaimed 'perfectionist' it comes down to a simple fact: I would know. And it drives me crazy!

     I have spent hours researching castle designs, looking up map making tips, random images and names of places, both real and fictional. All in the hopes that something will trigger some creative spark to bend the piece of information to my purpose. I put my personal stamp on what I find and add it to my collection to be used at just the right spot in my story. 

     Unfortunately, I amass ideas quicker than I use them. Being a 'perfectionist' also means that I won't settle for something that is 'okay,' I need just the right one. Like there is such a thing... and yet I sometimes find it. Truly, the 'Aha! Perfect!' moments make the endless hours worth it.

While many readers overlook the maps and appendices authors often insert into their works, you should know that a lot of time and effort go into their creation. You don't know just how much. So next time, take a moment to appreciate that map and enjoy the world they've built for you. I know I will!