What really matters in a novel's map

[Elterio Delgard]

Heya! For those who write novels, how far do you wish to go in making a realistic map, how much effort are you willing to give?

I ask because people often tell me I tend to "couper les cheveux en quatre'', a french expression which simply means to make things even more complicated than needed to. However, my maps are not realistic, far from being as detailed as those you see in the contests. Granted, I draw on paper so I can't go in such depth and I am no specialist. Still, what cartographers want, is it what readers want?

[Azélor]

That depends on the kind of map.
In a book, the space is usually limited, paperback is small.
In order to fit in, the map needs to be clear and concentrate on the essential elements. You end up with a relatively simple map.
I believe the same is true with battlemaps for RPG. Complexity is good but only as long as it remains practical.

Also, it is black and white 99% of the time or so. It is worth considering since some styles are not viable in BW.

[Naen]

I think there are a couple aspects to this.
As a writer, I use maps for world building. In other words, as I am developing a world, storyline, names, etc, I like to make maps to stimulate my own imagination and process. These maps might end up different than what might be presented to a reader (I don’t think I’ve ever tried to publish a fantasy story so I haven’t thought hard about publication). As Azelor said, readers may need something simpler than what an author might employ in their own imaginative work.

[Elterio Delgard]

Thanks. Helps alot. Glad my maps are still black and white and not too full of details.

[selden]

Some authors create incredibly elaborate maps and make them available online instead of in their published books.

David Weber is one such. See, for example, his maps of Safehold. http://www.davidweber.net/downloads/index/maps

[Falconius]

I don't think most authors appreciate the value and depth a good map can make to the story, and complete them more as an after thought or at a publishers request. It's pretty obvious when a story takes place in an unmapped world vs a mapped one (depending on how important the setting is to the story, for most fantasy it's usually pretty highly dependent). Thank God for Tolkien and the fact that he established maps as a basic component of the fantasy novel.

[Straf]

I don't think authors draw the maps for their books. Publishers often have their own artists for things like this. The author would have to approve the map though. For example if someone had to cross a dangerous river while travelling west and the artist put that river to the east of their starting spot then that would grate on me to the extent that I may throw down the book and vow to refuse to read anything that author ever did.

[Elterio Delgard]

Mmmmm...
Selden, Falconius and Straf, thank you.

I have three pillars on which my novel project rests upon and cartography is one of them. For me it gives me so much freedom to delve in the past, to give lore and help me understand more what I am doing and what my characters are doing. Sure enough I doubt highly that my maps right now would make it into a book (too big and detailed for a small paper).

[waldronate]

Think about one possible definition of a map: It's an abstraction of reality done for a particular customer for a particular reason. If the purpose of the map is to provide a spatial context for understanding your story, then it will likely be quite a bit different from a map whose primary purpose is to set a mood or provide eye candy associated with the setting. If the purpose of the map is to provide you with a compact way to store notes, to help elaborate details of stories, or to just keep distances straight, then that map or maps would likely have a completely different level of abstraction and be rendered in a different way than a book endplate.

[Elterio Delgard]

Mmmmm... I suppose my style would enter your last definition then. Its more ''a compact way to store notes''. Would suit my drawings also, black and white, not overfilled with texture and yet detailed.