[Shane]

Who of you out there have made maps for your works? When popping open some SFF books I've come across some that have been really spectacular, some have been polished and professional, and a whole lot that made me think the author was having a seizure during the drawing, with permanent marker no less.

I'll admit I haven't seen a lot of maps associated with works of fiction, but I'd say that Scott Lynch's maps, and Matthew Stover's Heroes Die maps are definitely at the top of the list in terms of being both functional, clear, useful and even pretty. SM Stirling's Dies the Fire map is one of the worst I've seen. It looks like Stirling just threw something together in about five minutes because his editor made him. It looks like crap, basically.

What lengths do some of you go to when you make maps for your work, if you even bother?

I just spent the whole weekend, about 20 hours in all working on a map for my project. The sad thing is, I'm only about 5% done, I think. I really want to make it extremely detailed while also being clear and easy to use, but have a lot of useful information on it.

The idea behind the map isn't even something to put inside a novel should it get published. Really this is just for my own uses, as I need something to help me keep track of everything.

[silverraven]

I've made maps. And yes, they're hard work but worth it if you want to keep track of things. But you don't have to try and produce a high quality one that appears in the books. Just try for a rough copy first, then if you screw up it doesn't matter. No-one's going to judge you for having a bad one, honestly. Just keep cool about it. And you really don't need to spend that amount of time on it. Most authors don't. Even they know that its not worth spending that much time on it. So, do a rough, screw it up and then work on a draft and then the final one. That way, your times not wasted.

[Bethelamon]

I've got a map. It started off neat, but as things changed and stuff it looks really scruffy, but is still practical and clear. Its a working document. Its pretty detailed... I'll try and scan it and get a pic up of it. Id be interested in seeing other people's maps too.

[Abby]

I made a map!

If you want to see it, click here (http://abbygoldsmith.com/art/yeresunsa.html#copy), and click on Umdalkdul map.

I'd like to make more in the future.

[James Carmack]

I make cheap little bitmap cartographs (as it feels odd saying "bitmap maps") for personal reference. (For the sake of my readers, I've put those maps for the stories I'm serializing on my site until I can make something better.) If I ultimately prove to be unable to draw a map of adequate quality in the event that a story comes up for publishing, I'll probably just commission someone who can do it well.

Even if it isn't the most well-drawn piece of work in the world, a map tends to come in handy, particularly if your protagonist is going to be roving around a bit.

[kater]

We had a really good map thread a while back that I'll find - two years ago damn that's a shock - here it is: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12099&highlight=Maps some interesting suggestions. I like maps, without the traditional visuals of comics or movies a map helps give a story form some times.

[JWREmmett]

I devoted 2 years.

See 14 of my maps at deviantART (http://jwremmett.deviantart.com/gallery/)

[JamesL]

I've always drawn maps for whatever project I've been working on. I have a folder full of them, many from some years ago.

I find it helps to have a physical reminder of the world you are writing about. Plus I just find it a lot of fun. :)

As for maps in published books, I've read books that were crying out for a map and others that had a map and really didn't need one. I guess it really depends on the book and the editor.

[Jamza1986]

Making maps is a lot of fun, I've made lots now but I try not to let it get in the way of actually writing stories.

[Wyrd]

I draw maps all the time, even when I don't have a story in which to use them all... :D Yep. I love making maps, but I try not to make them too detailed. I'm not that good with drawing, so if I put too much detail on the paper, it becomes a bit... messy. And complicated.