Map and Mural anchor me...

When dealing with epicness one feels duty bound to provide a map...also I find it is absolutely necessary. Cultures hinge and shift upon trade which in turn is very much tied to the land, at least in early developmental stages and later with the rise and fall of exports and imports. These things, of course, not being merely a matter of wealth but also shaping identity.

Before, I had cobbled together sketches to keep my bearings. With OBR:2  the narrative is expanding further and I felt I needed something more cohesive. So I grabbed some brushes and had a go. It's not exactly, erm, professional...but certainly serviceable.

A Song of Sorrow is predominantly set in Danua and so 'tis is the most detailed aspect. This is a work in progress and as the other counties are explored more details will be added. The white space in the left bottom corner will be the Aza islands eventually...when I can find a reflective shape I am happy with! The narrow rocky strip of land between Danua and the Farrahnaan Mountains is Gommora. However I may change the name, so for now it is left unmarked.

Danuan Key: The initials mark the locations of the noble Houses, which are often also the locations of towns ect. (I'll Start with Rosalind, centred, the Royal House and travel deiseal.)

R: Rosalind
F: Foxglove
A:  Arabis
Y: Yarrow
TI: Twinning Ivy
WL: Water Lilly
H: Hellianthus
D: Dahlia
I: Iris
T: Thistle
SH: Sea Holly
G: Gentian
SS: Samphire Straits

To the North of Danua  is an island marked IoS, this is the Ilse of Sorrow. The island to the south east is tentatively titled the Ilse of Death.


Previously I have mentioned my mural, which sprawls above my desk and provides a visual link to moods. So I thought I'd pop up a pik in case anyone was curious.

(Oh I do love my wistful gargoyle...)

Muse me this...

    Everyone who writes has different methods, different sources of inspiration. For me I have two essentials; my notebook and my wall. When I first conceived the initial glimmering of my story I jotted down a few notes on a scrap of paper, soon I was scribbling furiously and upgraded to a notebook, wherein lies my world history, characters bios, lists of possible names, random images I find striking, sketches, the odd compelling sentence, social demographics for each country/culture. Now this is in whatever order its popped into my mind, so at the back are chapter breakdowns and story thread webs. The few people who have seen the webs say they make absolutely no sense, but for me it does; how each plot, character and event intertwines.

Now my wall is a much more visual reminder, in my dining room, which i have to walk past everyday. On it are image clippings from newspapers, magazines etc that remind me of my story or have inspired me. Its not uncommon to find me sneakily ripping out pages in the doctors waiting room...I get some odd, and disapproving looks. All in the name of Art, darling. And then there are my sketches, and doodles. When writing scenes like the description of the Rosalind Castle I have to have the image firmly in my mind, so its essential I draw it out first. And so with geographical bearings, I had to have maps. Now I'm no cartographer so, please, bear in mind that these are rough.

Azalai

Youthful Iona

Map; Sea of Sorrows & surrounding lands

Map of Danua

Rosalind Castle