 | 30 Days Of Writing Questions 14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us? |
Like written in my previous post WQ-12. World Building. most of my action takes place in the real world. So, Google Maps is one of my best friends to have a look at unfamiliar places. I sometimes only wished that there's a 'Time Machine Function', e.g. to see a harbor in South-East England around 1900!
Besides the public places there are some fictional private places, like the home of my heroine Cathryn. There I have a very clear picture in my head, how the garden looks like and where the rooms inside the house are located. That's by far enough!
But I've also learnt my lesson: My heroine strands on an unknown island, where the action takes place on different locations. First I thought: 'Well, it's just a simple island, what so difficult about that?' - Thought wrong! Sometimes it's really advantageous to create your own map, especially when you suddenly realize that your heroine stumbles in the wrong direction or visits a part of the island, where five chapters before the environment looked completely different! Then you simply need to map out locations!
Wouldn't that be great if there were a time machine function to google maps? Sometimes I'll base a story in a familiar city or town but I deliberately don't name it so I can make any changes to it I need.
I'm so in with the Google maps time machine function ... maybe we should suggest that?!?! *g*
Not naming the place is for sure a good alternative - I should remember that! Thanks, Carol! :-)