Does Your Story Have A Map?

Don’t sneer. Maybe it should.

When I was researching maps of literary fiction for a recent post, the hook was obvious: fantasy map aesthetics would seem absurd on fancier books. And it did, at first. After all, who really needs a map of Maycomb when the names are so easily remembered?

But as I began to pore through these literary worlds, mapped as intricately as Tolkien or Martin’s kingdoms, I started to wonder if the snobbery of literary fiction was holding writers back from creating more immersive worlds.

Occasionally, literary fiction operates on the pretense that characters, prose, and deeper meaning are more important than the trappings of genre (like plot and setting). But some of the maps I saw proved that rather than detracting from character and prose, a vivid setting could enhance them. Literary fiction that built a world went from good to great, partly because the characters had a map to their movements.

Fantasy maps can help clarify a world and define it. Literary maps usually don’t have to clear up confusion (small town Winesburg, Ohio is pretty simple), but they can help make a world seem more real, both to the reader and the author. A map shows a clear choice of setting and a vision for the world. It makes writing richer and better.

Does your world have a map? If it doesn’t, maybe it should.