front matter maps: yay or nay?

Mr Flibble · Oct 25, 2010

defyalllogic said:
i like the maps but i have it when i need to reference them to keep up...
having=good
needing=bad

This.

Smae with family trees/who's who etc. as mentioned upthread. I've read books where the writer seems to have thought 'Well, they've got the names, they can look up who is who, so I don't need to give them any clue at all in the book'.

Which just leads to me having a confuddlement before I put the book down. In one extreme case, confused as to who the feck was who before the end of the prologue. because instead of giving any contextual grounding, all they did was name the person/god/thing, and it appeared I should know who/what that is.

I hate that.

Nivarion · Oct 25, 2010

I enjoy having a map if the characters are going to be traveling anywhere.

I just like to draw where they go on the map. It helps me personally to keep the picture in my head.

But boy, that didn't work so well in WoT. What with them teleporting everywhere and splitting the party. I gave up, cause the map would have been all pencil.

Anyways, a well drawn map gives the world another level of detail that I find very nice. A lot of them go into the front cover of a hard back that normally just seems to be white blank space.

Debbie V · Oct 25, 2010

What I'm getting is: Make the map so you don't forget where you are in the fictional world but keep it to yourself unless the editor or agent brings up the idea. If you aren't a professional, they won' use yours anyway.

Stlight · Oct 25, 2010

I love maps. I have since I saw the one of the hundred acre wood. I find them helpful, even comforting. But then I get lost fairly easily in RL so there maybe a connection.

I also love a list of characters with short bios (Agatha Christie style) particularly if there are a number of them.

Family trees if many of the characters are related, or if we are talking several generations.

I would also like floor plans of major buildings particularly if there is action in them.

Er…maybe I just miss books with illustrations.

ETA Posting ate my paragraphs again.

billyshake · Oct 26, 2010

Filigree said:
It really depends on the setting's scope. Does your character cross a lot of political borders or different geographic features, during the story? You'll need a map to keep things straight, just for yourself.

The map I've been drawing and referring to has, thus far, been for my own reference (it takes up much less of my wall than the monstrous Gestalt view of my story...I've taken to calling that bit of my office "Sir Effing Intimidatio"). I'm fairly in love with my setting and the immense geological scope of the thing, so I spend a considerable amount of time staring at the map and refining it -- but only as the story warrants. As I mentioned earlier, though, I'd never considered including it in the book itself. Perhaps I will. I would, of course, never presume that my own drawing would be published. In fact, I'd have a meltdown if it weren't redone by a professional. Ten stoned monkeys with pencils for tails would, purely by accident, draw better than I could ever hope to.

I've quite appreciated the comments in this thread. Yays and nays, pros and cons, all well-taken. Thank you.

WriteMinded · Oct 30, 2010

Aye vote on the map.

front matter maps: yay or nay?

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

Nivarion

Brony level >9000

Debbie V

Mentoring Myself and Others

Stlight

ideas are floating where they will

billyshake

Recovering TV Writer

WriteMinded

Derailed