Alex Davis
As an aspiring fantasy author you might be at the end of your epic trilogy, or perhaps you’re just setting out on establishing just where this book is set and what your fantasy world is going to be like. Many writers in the field spend an awful lot of time doing this – those immersive, sweeping locales certainly don’t happen by accident and, what’s more, the location can lead the story in new directions and become a key factor in your plotting.
We’ve explored some of the different aspects of worldbuilding in the written word, but one thing that is becoming increasingly common is the use of maps – in some cases more like atlases – to help guide the reader through the geography of your newly created setting. I’m sure any fantasy reader out there could easily pluck a handful of books from the shelf and find at least one or two with a lavishly presented, beautifully drawn map in the space of the front few pages.