The Tao of Writing #1: Why No Map?

"A map would have been nice."

One week into the release of The Prisoner and The Assassin and that's probably the most common complaint I've heard.  Why no map?  The short answer is that I didn't want to put one in.  Aesthetically, no map I could produce in Google Maps or elsewhere would live up to what I consider to be the gold standard of cartography:  National Geographic.

Back in the day, The Cigar Parentals had a subscription to National Geographic and I was the one that would always gank the map (if there was one in there) out of the issue before anyone else got to read it*- the walls of my bedroom were covered with a variety of different, random maps and I would pour over the details of each and every one.  I used to imagine how cool it would be to work for the National Geographic Society and be the one of the cool people (because such people would automatically be cool) who got to make the maps.  Articles like this excite me.  I am almost physically unable to pick up a globe without examining it to see if it's out of date or not. 

So if I'm going to put a map in this book or another book I write, it's going to have to be awesome or it's not going in there.  Period.

The longer and more complicated answer is that I didn't want to tie my writing down to anything.  I wanted to avoid having to have a long, Star Wars like introduction or a list of characters at the beginning of the book.  Is it a risk to just drop the reader into a story and have them discover the world the characters live in for themselves?  Probably.  Some readers might like to know what they're getting into before they start reading while others might enjoy the slow unveiling of the world the characters are living in.  Above all when writing this, I was paralyzed by that one awful fear that people would read this and then give the feedback that I'm sure all writers love:  "I don't get it."

So I compromised.  I set the stage and then let the reader plunge in and discover for themselves.   You won't find specific years or dates in the book because there are people probably counting down until 2015 so they can ask "Where's my hoverboard?"   Dates tie you to things- I wanted to leave the reader with the nagging idea that the chain of events that lead to the future I'm describing in The Prisoner and The Assassin might be plausible and could happen at any time.

I like the idea of readers looking up some of these places on their own to find out that yes, they actually do exist.   I like the idea of readers drawing their own sense of geography about the world I wrote about.   In my experience, that usually happens anyway:  my childhood was dotted with several trips through the worlds of Anne McCaffery and David Eddings and depending on which parent was on reading duties that night (it tended to be Mother Cigar more than Father Cigar) the pronunciation would always change somehow. 

So no maps, ever?  I can't rule out putting in a map at some point-- if I feel the story demands it and/or the readers want it, I'd certainly consider it but again, it would have to be a really, really good map for me to get it in there.   The Prisoner and The Assassin has the luxury of being grounded in real-world geography as well.   You, the reader can find pretty much everything on a map if you really, really want too.   But even if you're looking at fantasy novels or other genre classics that come with a map- not all of them measure up to me either.   To me, a well-made map can make or break a book almost as much a cover can.  I spent more hours that I can count pouring over the maps of the worlds of David Eddings and Anne McCaffery (the ones drawn by Shelly Shapiro) and by the time I was in junior high, I could probably draw them all blindfolded in my sleep.  They were beautifully drawn and helped bring the reader into the worlds in the pages beyond better than any written prologue ever could.

So I'm open to the idea of a map but I know that my own high standards would mean that it would have to be an amazing one.

*Much to Father Cigar's delight, I was also known to grab Newsweek (back when it was good) and sneak off to read it- especially the end of the year Political Cartoon issue.  He was, however, quick to hide the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition when it showed up.