Scribes & Archers

Some of you may remember the “Deep Worldbuild Project” that I did in January and February 2017, a blog post series which continues to consistently get traffic to this day. I thought it was time to revisit that series and update it with some of what I’ve learned in the past two years. I’m going to cover most of the same things I covered in the original series (map-making, how landscape affects culture, wildlife, technology and magic, religion, and history) but with some new additions. Instead of seven installments, the new series is going to have nine, including a guest post near the end by Kate Flournoy. And, obviously, I’m starting with fantasy map-making!

Before we get started, I feel obliged to mention that I’ll almost certainly be referencing World Anvil* a lot in this series. At the time of writing this series I was not paid to promote the tool; I’ve since become a part of their affiliate program, but I promote it because I truly appreciate it and think it’s super helpful and recommend that y’all try it out for yourselves as well. (Also, there’s a free version that includes the core features and then some, so you can learn how it works, experience it in almost its full functionality, and fall in love with it before committing to pay for extra features.)

Additionally, I may include affiliate links for other products/sites. These (and updated World Anvil links) will always be marked with an asterisk, and a little note at the beginning or end of the post will give a brief explanation that purchases made through affiliate links earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

With all the technicalities and explanations out of the way, let’s get into the good stuff!

I usually like to start my worlds with a map, or at least Continue reading “Discovering Your World: Fantasy Map-Making” →