A Brief Vision of Verdigar

Verdigar, the world of Sentinel of Mirrors, contains quite a few geographic locations. I was a bit giddy today and wanted to share slice of my vision of Verdi, so I found some images around the web that somewhat resemble what I have in mind:

Verdigar, an archipelago, is composed of eight “main” islands, a cluster, and reef/sandbar sprinkles of islands, sort of like the Caribbean below.

Caribbean Map, geology.com

The eight main islands were formed from a hot spot known as “Deep Forge”, a volcanic region. Deep Forge is also considered “Hell” in Verdi folklore.

Underwater Volcano, dsc.discovery.com

Most islands contain lush beaches and mountains.

Island, le-caribbean-islands.com

The largest island contains both a swamp and a mountainous desert.

Swamp, Texas Parks and Wildlife

Mojave Desert, californianature.net

Other locations:

Grasslands, travelbyphotos.com

Rainforest, Illinois State School of Biological Sciences

***

These aren’t geographic, but I also wanted to share the idea I had for the rival States, inspired by Rome and Venice.

Rome, internationalliving.com

Venice, travelworldmap.com

Short Story in Action

As mentioned quite a few times before, I’m working East of West, a short story caught between science-fiction and fantasy. Yesterday, I had trashed all previous progress on the story due to issues with plot (worldbuilding and character actions not making sense), purpose (who would care?), and structure (how long should a short story be?). Today, I sat on a roadblock, not knowing what to do and where to go, and I paced around the kitchen trying to come up with some inkling of meaning for this story.

Thousands of articles popped up on the Google search, and I wasn’t planning on going through all of them (I mean, I want to write already!!), so I visited good ol’ WritersDigest.com’s Write Better section for a brief lesson. The articles refreshed my brain a bit, but I wanted to see a short story in action.

A few months ago, I had stumbled across a short story on Tor.com–Firstborn by none other than Brandon Sanderson. My sister had read Elantris and the Mistborn Trilogy and swore by them, so I had said “What the hey” and dug in. Long story short–I was impressed. And so, remembering my awe, I jumped to it again and analyzed its plot and characters (the main character’s purpose, the minor/major conflicts, and concepts). That jump-started some brainstorming, and I spent 45 min to an hour pacing around the kitchen and saying my thoughts out loud to keep the mind going. After jotting down a new “skeleton” for a previously fleshy tale, things started to shape up.

Afterwards, I took a break and skimmed through the comments to see what readers had to say about Firstborn. One reader suggested another story written by Sanderson, posted on the author’s website.

Have you read Defending Elysium? If you haven’t, you’re in for a ride …

The thickness of worldbuilding and uh–I don’t even know what to call it without giving spoilers (read the story and you’ll get what I’m talking about)–other concepts are personally surprising for a short story, since there seemed to be an unspoken rule or something that says you can only reveal so much about your world since there’s a short visit time for your reader. I’m glad that was proven wrong (there’s so much concept in East of West).

Not trying to be corny (hehe), but I found this whole experience of studying these short stories so ironic, because of the main character’s plight in Firstborn. Haha! I wouldn’t downplay myself and say that these are unbeatable, but there’s quite a lot to learn!

Dude. Where’s the Map?

A few days ago, I continued reading a book I hadn’t touched in a few months. I remembered crucial plot points in this book, but forgot locations where these points took place. And so, I flipped to the front for a fast, memory-jogger and some insight into the Otherworld’s design (you know, since I’m a worldbuilding freak).

Oh. I see. Ok. Yeah …

No map.

I’m not melting (melting!!) from the lack of a map … but I was rather disappointed. A few authors (including a recent favorite of mine) have decided not to include maps in their fantasy novels. To be honest, I can’t figure out why (well, I think I remember some saying that it makes the plot more predictable, and some writers tend to make characters visit every location on their world’s map. Diana Wynne Jones picks at them in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, hehe), but that’s their choice. It doesn’t really subtract much from the work.

First Page Maps are warm, fuzzy privileges I do enjoy. I think the inclusion of maps is an asset to fantasy novels since they give the reader a general design (geographic details and whatnot) of the Otherworld. Personally, maps connect me to that world on a slightly deeper level. That’s probably not the same for everyone. I guess my love for physical geography is a heavy factor.

I’ve already designed a rough-sketch of Verdigar, the world (well, “mainworld”) of Sentinel of Mirrors. As old-fashioned as this is, it’s been a minor aid in plot so far, and it helps me remember geographic details (one influencing how Verdi even came to exist), and why certain peoples live and certain industries thrive in those regions (weather, agriculture, and religion are also taken into account). The map is done by island, so cities and villages aren’t outlined.

I heart maps, hehe.

Fueling Up

As obvious as this is, I constantly rediscover the magic of reading (DUH!). It soothes some paranoia with my writing style and juices up the inspiration sponge.

Right now, I’m kind of in a book jam since I’m catching up on reading (this semester, every time I geared myself up for some leisure reading, I passed out from exhaustion. Revenge of the Late-Nighters).

Here’s what’s on the list so-far. I think I have to restrain myself from getting more books:

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Got this for Christmas. Didn’t get past Chapter 4, since I kept passing out from academic exhaustion. The concepts and magical system are quite interesting so far. Allomancy!)
• Racing the Dark by Alaya Dawn Johnson (From the library. As mentioned before, I was hooked to the sample she provided on her website. Love the worldbuilding so far–on some summaries, it seems like there’s a whole lot more to discover. Something about bound-spirits in the center of the world coming loose. Ooh)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Quite a few people are highly recommending the trilogy. Judging by the wait–I was Hold No. 5 of 15 in the library system–the content must be on fire.)

I was also going to order Clash of Kings, second book of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (that, too, I tried to read this semester with the same result), but I need to clear my list first. I read Game of Thrones last summer and gaped at the worldbuilding. (I’m also watching the show on HBO, hehe! Cheering for Arya Stark! She and Tyrion seem to be the only people keeping it real in that hellhole. But more on that later.)

Pressure of Perfection

I’ve read some amazing speculative fiction since I first realized I had a preference. Most of them contained high-class, mapped-out, thick, juicy worldbuilding of which a worldbuilding fanatic (as myself) could envy. These authors also possessed distinct styles, chose just the right words for descriptions, designed astounding, engaging characters, and have been recognized by dozens upon dozens of awards.

The stakes are high out there (thankfully), and that’s a bit overwhelming for a newbie.

Obviously, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

At the end of my fall semester last year, I was at a somewhat-not-all “ok” point in my writing, at the completion of a creative writing course. Due to the rigor of the next semester (had to change gears since I was testing the waters of a totally different major–computer engineering), I had to put aside my writing for a while. As a result, my literary creative muscles contracted. I regret not giving some time to write little 50 word flash-fiction snippets to give them a boost now and then. That definitely would have made the situation I’m in a little more lighter.

Fortunately, things are picking up! In the last few days, I’ve had to switch from novel to short-story to novel to another short-story to adapt with the shifting creative brainstorm (thank God that there IS a creative brainstorm!). Even though it slows down the process of getting one of these done, I don’t think that it’s always possible for a person to complete a short-story in one sitting. Well, let me speak for myself–that’s the condition for me, but perhaps one could if they’re entirely satisfied with everything, including editing (but I don’t think so).

I can only shrug.

Anywhoo, I’m on Short-Story 1, whose title changed once again. I prefer East of West to Tempest and Marquess. The former has more of a memorable tang, in my opinion. I can’t really label this short story science-fiction or fantasy. Perhaps “science-fantasy” … Don’t know how anyone feels about that label. Purists may protest, but I think it suits my story just fine. A zest of my old major is involved in the science realm (more like scientific ideas–don’t know if these are even executable). Can’t wait to see how it turns out, since I’m in the midst of an idea explosion … and dilemma, since I have two conflicting versions of this story. Perhaps I’ll mush them together, hehe.