Building Raine's world
Today I'm answering another one of your questions. You all have emailed me some great ones -- keep 'em coming. Backstory & world-building for my books -- How did I develop Raine's world? How did I come up with my characters' backstories? Was all this fleshed out before I started writing, or is it an ongoing process?
And last but definitely not least -- Do I have enough for prequels? ; ) The answer to that one might have to wait for another day.
The pic above is the map of Raine's world. I've made modifications in my head since then, but this is the most recent rendering of The Map. It was probably done about 12 years ago. My first scribbles were done while I was in college. Since I'm cleaning out my office in preparation for starting the next book, I found the notebook last night. I wrote everything out by hand back then -- I'll have to post a pic one of these days. The map was drawn by me and an artist coworker. I drew it, and then Sherry added embellishments, like making larger mountain ranges and forests stand out from smaller ones. (Click on the photo for a larger view.) She drew the sword in the lower left corner, and the sea monsters -- swords and sea monsters are beyond my artistic skills. ; )
It's always been in my mind to base Mermeia on Venice. I've never been to Venice, but one of these days I will go. I based Mermeia on Venice as it was in the Renaissance -- a hub of commerce and shipping. And I used Venice's islands for the Districts in Mermeia. It seemed only natural that the races would separate themselves in some way -- especially since goblins and elves are notorious for not getting along. And with Mermeia's proximity to the Isle of Mid, it seemed to be a natural for mages and mere magic users to set up businesses of their own -- apothecaries, alchemists, fortune tellers, magical instrument makers, robe designers, etc.
I had the core of Raine's world in my head, but as I write, more details come to light. The same is true of my characters. Before I started the books, I had the basis of each of my main characters in my head, but as I write, they reveal more of themselves to me. And when they're put into certain situations, they react in ways that contstantly gives me new insight into their personalities. Just like real people, as time passes, they change and grow. And that's just not a good thing, it's a great thing. And not only do I learn more about the characters themselves, I start getting peeks into their pasts -- and the people in their pasts. Some characters are more forthcoming with their pasts than others. Heck, I even found out that Phaelan has an older brother. You'll be meeting Mago Benares in Bewitched & Betrayed.
Coming up tomorrow in the Saturday Fun Pic: A photo of a really cool present some friends gave me -- the cover of MLTF as postage stamps. A link to a fabulous double review of both MLTF and A&M. And my website reaches a big milestone. Pop by tomorrow and check them all out.
Coming up next week: Doing rewrites, how to push through and complete a novel, my favorite writing books, and more.
It's Friday folks; we make it!
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:41 AM
6 Comments:
Hmmm
So where -is- Mermeia on that map?! And, have the changes made the sea that Mid is in larger (also, I was thinking that Mid would not be a large island... thinking more of e.g. the island that the wizard school is on on in the Cheryl Franklin books Fire Get and Fire Lord etc. than something country-sized) since removed that land bridge (I don;'t know the map scale, but it seems small to be infested with Benares family pirates sailing all around it--I would expect them to have their ships on a more unbounded oceanic venue! For that matter, on this world, the Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean, and the Med to the Atlantic Ocean....
I immediately thought of Venice with the descriptions of Mermeia and its canals and general sogginess.... For Mid I was thinking something of Murano, though Murano is quite close to Venice.
Sharp eye. ; )
I've had people tell me they love that map and that I should use it, but as you saw, Raine's world has changed since that map was drawn. The islands that make up Mermeia aren't there; the "Sea of Stillness" shouldn't be still, it should be connected to the Sea of Omeg; the Isle of Mid is definitely smaller; and that's just the beginning of the list. So while it's a pretty map, it's no longer accurate -- at least as far as the locations of the first two books is concerned. The rest of the map still works. If I ever had the time, I'd love to re-draw it.
A map, a map! My kingdom for a map! :)
I definitely got the feel that Mermeia was based on Venice (even the cover art for A&M looks very Venetian in the background)--excellent stuff.
This really is a beautiful map, I vote for having it redrawn and updated (and hopefully included in the next Raine book!)
Hi Thea, and welcome! : )
Hmmm, come to think of it, my editor has never seen The Map. Since I've had quite a few requests for a map over the past year -- MLTF came out a year ago yesterday : ) -- I think I'll send it to her right now, and see what she thinks.
Thanks for the detailed reply.
Maps - I love maps and I can't believe you haven't shown it to your editor yet! My map is still changing, as I tinker with my world.
Venice - beautiful architecture, but it lacks character. The problem is that the city has few inhabitants left willing to live among hordes of tourists. So the tourists set the atmosphere, and that's a pity. Still worth going, though!
Process - I realized I'm still in the process of building my world and characters. before I'll rewrite my first book, I'm going to write the second book, so I can further develop my characters and world. That should help my rewrite of the first WIP.
Thanks again for sharing.
You're most welcome, Luc!
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