~Insert Awkward Title Here~

[Mia]

So, uh.... Aloha.....? *shuffles feet*

I'm never really good at introductions. It's hard to figure out exactly what to say without rambling. So, I'll just throw caution to the wind, and ramble on. *shameless zeppelin reference*

My name is Mia, and I am a greenhorn cartographer from Kauai, Hawaii. The Garden Isle. Never made a map in my life. Well, with the exception of a hasty paper bag drawing to help the occasional wayward tourist.....
The fact that I am here is no small miracle. Doctors discovered a left temporal lobe tumor in my brain about 3 years ago. When I realized that I was in need of a craniotomy that could hinder, or completely eliminate, my left brain abilities such as speech, I was encouraged to start doing a bit of creative writing.
Creative writing has long been a love of mine since grade school, but with life, family, and a career, I'd not written anything in over 20 years. Thanks to one of my daughters who was into forum roleplaying, she encouraged me to give it a try. As, writing with a partner helps to keep a plot or story moving when writer's block might normally like to set in.
With such a simple, yet unconventional, suggestion, my clever genetic replicant opened my eyes to a whole new world of creative writing!
Since then, not only have I created my own site dedicated to writing and roleplaying, I have, also, created an amazing anime story with an incredibly talented artist. Which is in production on Webtoons!

Due to the success of the fledgling graphic novel as a webtoon, and on my website, I have now entered the world of cartography. Because, what great story doesn't need a map!? Or, dungeons!? Or, a complete RPG!?!?!?!
As you can see, my ambitions are limitless......

All that said, I look forward to learning from everyone. As, I haven't the foggiest idea about cartography. But, what I do have is a very active imagination. And, from what I've learned from fantasy writing, that's half the battle.

Looking forward to making some friends.....

Aloha.

[Kellerica]

Howdy there! I don't think I've ever crossed paths with a Hawaiian (is that the right word?) before, so that's kind of cool.

That's quite an impressive background you have there! Kudos to you for being able to make it through the health issues you mentioned... Are you doing better now?

I'd love to take a loot at your previous work, is there any way you could post a link to the website you mentioned? And I definitely do agree - every fantasy story worth its salt needs a map as far as I'm concerned. I look forward to seeing the kind of things you can create.

And don't worry, most people here have stumbled into cartography in the same way you have, as a sidetrack for their storytelling endeavors. Take a look at the Tutorials section if you haven't already - you should find plenty to get you started. You'll be happily mapping in no time If you need anything, just ask. Everyone here is super friendly and helpful, and always willing to offer advice.

Welcome to the Guild!

[Mia]

Howdy there! I don't think I've ever crossed paths with a Hawaiian (is that the right word?) before, so that's kind of cool.

That's quite an impressive background you have there! Kudos to you for being able to make it through the health issues you mentioned... Are you doing better now?

I'd love to take a loot at your previous work, is there any way you could post a link to the website you mentioned? And I definitely do agree - every fantasy story worth its salt needs a map as far as I'm concerned. I look forward to seeing the kind of things you can create.

And don't worry, most people here have stumbled into cartography in the same way you have, as a sidetrack for their storytelling endeavors. Take a look at the Tutorials section if you haven't already - you should find plenty to get you started. You'll be happily mapping in no time If you need anything, just ask. Everyone here is super friendly and helpful, and always willing to offer advice.

Welcome to the Guild!

Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm excited to enter the arena of cartography and dungeon design! I'm amazed by how many tools there are tool the trade! I will certainly read through the tutorials, as I navigate my way through the boards. (Someone should create a map for that )

My health has improved substantially, since I had my surgery. I'm still working through a few post operative issues, but I'm alive and kicking! That's all that matters! My love for writing and world building has been better than any sort of physical therapy.

As long as sharing outside links is allowed here, I would love to invite you to take a look around my site! It's called "The Inner Sanctum". We're a hideout for writers of all skill levels and genres. We've also just started to explore real time ttrpg in our chatrooms!
Feel free to drop by some time! https://writerssanctum.com/
And, here's a link to my obsession....err....webtoon! https://www.webtoons.com/en/challeng...itle_no=190869
This project has completely taken over my life..... Though it is very much still a work in progress!

Thanks again for the welcome! Aloha!

[Kellerica]

I'll be sure to stop by and check those out! Thanks for sharing!

[Mia]

I actually took a look around YOUR webpage. OMG!!! You are incredibly talented! I wish so much that I had an ounce of artistic talent beyond writing and making food look good. (I'm actually a professional Chef for a living) But, drawing was never my gift. Unless you're looking to commission an army of totally badass stick figures..... (^o^)
My gift lies with weaving a good tale, and my level of ocd lends itself well to world building and map planning. I'm a true believers that, "The Devil is in the details". As much as I love fantasy, realism is what makes a good fantasy an epic. Luckily for me, my illustrator is a real masterful artist. Because, I love being able to give my stories images that make the readers feel like they're actually a part of the story, and the characters are old friends. ......or enemies.... (^o^)

Wow... I can't wait to really get working on my first maps! (I'll be using cc3+) And, I really hope you and I will get to be good friends here!
Once again, much Aloha to you!

[Kellerica]

Wow, thanks a lot for the nice words! I'm so glad you like my works!

I'm bit of storyteller myself, and I used to write some stories when I was younger, but it was never really my main passion. When I started getting more seriously into the fantasy genre and the culture surrounding it, I discovered what the term 'worldbuilding' actually means and soon found out that THAT was the thing I actually really enjoyed. I also love creating characters! That is a big part of my projects as well.

I couldn't agree with you more on the details and realism of fantasy. A good fantasy world must find that sweet spot between being familiar enough that it's relatable, and alien enough to make it a fascinating place to explore. It's a tough line to walk at times, and it can obviously be pushed a bit depending on the type of thing you're creating, but the works that find it are the best ones. That is why I think it's important to get the certain realistic parameters of your world and thus your maps down, even if I don't think you need to be a geology expert in order to make a good map (heaven knows I'm not!), so the place feels believable. Your rivers need to follow the basic rules of the real world, coastlines need to look semi-realistic, your cities and other settlements placed where they logically have reason to be, and so on and so forth. A fantasy world obviously can break some of these rules, but you have to actually have a reason why it does so. After all, there is a big difference between a well-thought out magical anomaly with relevance to the story, and just plain lazy worldbuilding explained with "eh, it's magic" when questioned.

Sorry, I'm rambling

Be sure to post a WIP thread to the corresponding section if you feel like it, I'd love to see what you come up with! Should you need anything, just ask.