Few things are more glorious than opening up a fantasy book and seeing a gorgeously detailed map right up front. So what goes into making that masterpiece for you to feast your eyes and imagination upon? In this episode, we discuss our love of maps, some of the ways we make maps, and the relationship between the map and the text. We also share some of our favorite maps, as well as exploring some non-traditional types that we'd love to see more of in fantasy and sci-fi novels.

Creating a solid map for your world is something that might seem basic at first, but doing it well involves a lot of different skills and knowledge bases: everything from geology and plate tectonics to linguistics and political science. A map really can be a microcosm of your world and its story. How are you going to create yours?

And, as promised, here are some of the links we said we'd drop in the show notes!

• Inkarnate (a classic fantasy map generator)
• Watabou City Generator (make a town or city)
• Azgaar (spin up some worlds!)
• Tectonic Explorer (lets you play with crashing continents into each other)
• The enormous maps of our co-created world
• Time lapse video of border changes in Western Europe (ie, smash the HRE with a hammer)
• The Holy Roman Empire
• Germany in the 18th century
• Cross-section of life in a medieval castle
• Official Star Wars galaxy map
• Less official but more granular Star Wars galaxy map
• The medieval-style Star Wars map
• Star Trek galaxy map

[Transcript for Episode 169]

So: Whether it was always intended and contracted, you told the “standalone with series potential” fib, or the public has simply demanded more, you now have to write a second book in the same world. How do you expand the world while maintaining the throughline of your story? And how might you know when you've over-extended? Guest Aparna Verma joins us to discuss the perils and potential of broadening those horizons.

One of the most frequent ways to grow the world you show the readers is to literally expand the setting and follow characters to new locations, encountering new cultures, learning new things. But that's not the only option: Your characters also might be staying in the same place but uncovering secret societies, joining a new economic class, discovering magic, or otherwise encountering an aspect of their own environment they didn't previously have familiarity with. And either way, how can growing the world also spur character growth?

[Transcript TK]

Our Guest:

Aparna Verma was born in Rajasthan, India, and grew up in the United States. She graduated from Stanford University with Honors in the Arts and a B.A. in English. In 2021, she self-published The Boy with Fire, which quickly went viral on TikTok, and was later republished by Orbit Books as The Phoenix King in 2023.

When she is not writing, Aparna likes to lift heavy (arm days are her favorite), dance to Bollywood music, and find cozy cafes to read myths from ancient worlds. You can connect with Aparna on TikTok at @aparnawrites, and Twitter and Instagram at @spirited_gal.

So, you've decided it's time to turn up the heat on your worldbuilding. Maybe you're writing a full-on romantasy, or maybe it's a smaller component of your overall plot, but if your characters are getting down and dirty, how do you make sure they're getting their freak on in a way that reflects the culture they exist in? Guest Nia Davenport joins us to explore all the angles -- and positions.

When we're thinking about the culture of sex (and sexy cultures), there's a lot to unpack, particularly because of our own society's various hang-ups, preconceptions, and puritanical history. So how have social forces exerted pressure on ideas about the expression (and perhaps exhibition) of desire within your invented world? How can you use your characters to challenge or subvert conceptions of promiscuity, chastity, gender roles, and power dynamics?

[Transcript for Episode 167]

Our Guest: Nia "N.E." Davenport is an award-winning Science Fiction/Fantasy author who writes stories that blend magic, mayhem, and deadly heroines. She attended the University of Southern California and studied Biological Sciences and Theatre Arts. She also has an M.A. in Secondary Education. She teaches English and Biology to amazing students. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. She’s an advocate for diverse perspectives and protagonists in literature. You can find her on Twitter @nia_davenport, or on Instagram @nia.davenport, where she talks about binge-worthy TV, killer movies, and great books. She lives in Texas with her husband and kids.