Building Nav

Creating the map of Nav was a little more difficult than I expected.

As clearly as I visualize the characters, castles, forests, and individual scenes within my stories, I had never imagined the world from a geographical perspective. I knew what each place looked and felt like, but I had never stopped to consider where everything existed in relation to one another.

When it came time to create the map, the process was incredibly fun, but also slightly overwhelming. How do you decide what shape an imaginary world should have? Where should the mountains rise? Which rivers connect to which kingdoms? How far would the characters realistically need to travel?

Every choice created another question.

I also had to think beyond the story I am currently writing. Nav belongs to an entire series, which meant the map needed to make sense for all the books I hope to write. I had to consider places that may only be mentioned now but will become important later, ensuring that the geography supports each character’s journey and the stories still to come.

Slowly, the scattered places I had carried in my imagination began to connect. The forests found their borders, the kingdoms claimed their lands, and the island of Buyan appeared beyond the mainland.

Watching Nav transform from separate images in my mind into a world I could finally see was one of the most rewarding parts of writing this series. It made the story feel more real, not only like a place I had imagined, but like a world my characters could truly inhabit.