Mountains are usually present in Fantasy stories for two purposes.
Firstly, they act as borders. Often mountains will mark the edge of the portion of the world with which the characters are concerned, and no one knows (or cares) what lays beyond them. They also often act as hedges between diferent countries. For whatever reason, the actual mountains often do not seem to belong to either of the kindoms on either side, and are frequently the territory of monsters or mysterious peoples.
Seccondly they frequently act as trials for the characters on their journey. The most difficult portions of the story frequently take place in mountains. Either cossing them and fighting the forces of nature is the struggle, or (more likely) they must face an enemy within them before they are able to get to the other side. Dragons of course are the usual mountain dwelling foe. Usually mountains stand over caves, which can be another of their trials. Treasure, also, is frequently hidden in mountains, and searching them is usually difficult.
In either case, mountains nearly always represent mysterious, wild lands which contain many mysteries. Usually 'civilized' people are not pictured living in them.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A Flat World
Fantasy World Maps often depict the world as flat with definate edges either plunging into nothingness, or with walls you can't cross - at least not without going into a different world. Very frequently a Fantasy story will center around just one kingdom so that the edges of the world are not even a consideration, and the map simply fades away on the edges into unknown lands which don't come into play in the story. Either way, it seems to work well with the medieval flavor of most Fantasy Worlds, as sceintific and technological advancements which would enable a more complete and acurate observation of the world are not present. A sense of mysetery about the world is preferable in a Fantasy world, which may look relatively small to the reader on a map, yet due to the uncertainties of its borders and what it holds, may feel very large to it's inhabitants. The terrain usually varies, often including mountains and quite a few uninhabited wilderness/forrest areas.
The actual size of your world, as well as it's terrain, will make a big difference in your plot because your characters probably have to rely on their feet or riding animals to travel across it which will affect the length of time you give them to work with. A frequent blunder is creating a large, difficult world and giving your characters a very short time frame to accomplish their quest, which usually leaves the reader feeling like the distance you claim they have traveled each day is impossible. On the other hand, since most Fantasy plots are centered around a quest, it is important to include enough obstacles the characters must travel through to make it an interesting story and provide intermediate plotpoints. You may find that what you draw or picture in your head doesn't quite match up with your story - something which may or may not be evident to readers. The order of events and the arangement of different places on the map can be important. It's often better to be able to chart the characters' travels simply, rather than having them cross back and forth and seeming to be constantly going out of their way to reach different places (unless of course you intentionally make a point of that in your story).
Whether your story takes place within just one kingdom, or across several, Fantasy settings usually include many different 'realms' belonging to different magical races or groups of people. It is often a good idea to think about the relationship between the terrain and the culture or physical features of the peoples and creatures living there. Keep in mind that cities and castles are often built in relation to natrually occuring features of the land (hills, large rocks, rivers), and the materials they are made of will be dictated by what is close by on your map. The terrain is an important aspect in developing your people groups, so a good map can really be helpfull. You may want to consider charting out trade routes and historical migration patterns of people groups just for your own reference. Often additional ideas will come to you as you sketch out your map.
Plotting out constelations for your Fantasy world may come in handy, but there is usually no need to work out any kind of solar system. In fact it it probably best not to try, and just stick to the kind of understanding of the world your characters would be capable of discovering. There is no need to concern yourself with the more scientific questions of how the world works, especially how a flat world works in regards to gravity, the movement of sun, moon, and stars around it, or the question of atmosphere. In Fantasy, exactly how or why something works is less of an issue, and you can simply state that things are so and not worry about how they work in regards to the physical laws the rule Earth. Usually if any explaination is given for the natural state of things it takes the form of mythology.
The actual size of your world, as well as it's terrain, will make a big difference in your plot because your characters probably have to rely on their feet or riding animals to travel across it which will affect the length of time you give them to work with. A frequent blunder is creating a large, difficult world and giving your characters a very short time frame to accomplish their quest, which usually leaves the reader feeling like the distance you claim they have traveled each day is impossible. On the other hand, since most Fantasy plots are centered around a quest, it is important to include enough obstacles the characters must travel through to make it an interesting story and provide intermediate plotpoints. You may find that what you draw or picture in your head doesn't quite match up with your story - something which may or may not be evident to readers. The order of events and the arangement of different places on the map can be important. It's often better to be able to chart the characters' travels simply, rather than having them cross back and forth and seeming to be constantly going out of their way to reach different places (unless of course you intentionally make a point of that in your story).
Whether your story takes place within just one kingdom, or across several, Fantasy settings usually include many different 'realms' belonging to different magical races or groups of people. It is often a good idea to think about the relationship between the terrain and the culture or physical features of the peoples and creatures living there. Keep in mind that cities and castles are often built in relation to natrually occuring features of the land (hills, large rocks, rivers), and the materials they are made of will be dictated by what is close by on your map. The terrain is an important aspect in developing your people groups, so a good map can really be helpfull. You may want to consider charting out trade routes and historical migration patterns of people groups just for your own reference. Often additional ideas will come to you as you sketch out your map.
Plotting out constelations for your Fantasy world may come in handy, but there is usually no need to work out any kind of solar system. In fact it it probably best not to try, and just stick to the kind of understanding of the world your characters would be capable of discovering. There is no need to concern yourself with the more scientific questions of how the world works, especially how a flat world works in regards to gravity, the movement of sun, moon, and stars around it, or the question of atmosphere. In Fantasy, exactly how or why something works is less of an issue, and you can simply state that things are so and not worry about how they work in regards to the physical laws the rule Earth. Usually if any explaination is given for the natural state of things it takes the form of mythology.
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