Alright so I have a world (from hence forth I shall refer to as Chevl'Set) and it only has one continent along with a few islands. I find this is easier for me to map and for me to write since I'm not hopping from one continent to the other while explaining the history of my world (and it works best with the storyline), but I am having second doubts about what the reader might think. Would you be fine with a world that only has one continent and a few islands or do you think it is a bad idea? Why?

All right, thanks!

Bethany Faith

For me it's not so much what the land is like but the size. So far I only operate one continent and a few islands but it's not the whole planet. How you build your world is totally up to you but I tend to think a world that is very very small and is fully traveled in one story (or trilogy) doesn't have the full potential as a world. Don't be afraid to add things that may have no relevance to your tales.

I agree with Inesdar. I personally have a rather small world, I think, but I have no problem with it. (It must have a higher density than earth, to make up for what it lacks in size. )

I think I would work better with a small world. It's all about what you work with best.

Yeah, and you don't actually have to show the reader the whole world; that leaves room to add continents later if you so please.

Blatant attack on LotR?

In my world I have several continents, but most of the action takes place on one half of one of them. Now, I could have made that the only continent in the whole world, but that does mess some things up. For one thing, in our world you see very different cultures that developed very differently over the course of many years. So you have very intriguing events such as the journeys of Marco Polo and the discovery of the new world and such that you can't have in a 1 continent planet. But that's not necessarily bad. You could work very interestingly with 1 main culture group that grows and develops as a whole, and it could have some vital missing parts because of it, such as the invention of paper or the printing press.

I'd say to do what seems the most interesting to you, because if you find it interesting, so will someone else. If you find it boring and un-original, no-one will like it.

Hope that helped!
-Caleb

"That's right Chief, we couldn't have said it better! Keep it up, Chief, keep it up!"

Dufflepud!



Actually there are many areas in LotR that are barely touched on. I've always wanted to know more about the areas northeast of the shire, the land of Angmar, the Corsairs from the south, and the whole eastern half of Middle-Earth.

Ah, I see...but still, they do travel the whole length of Middle Earth in a trilogy...just sayin'...

That's right! I love the Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

On the former subject, however, I think it's good to pique people's interest in lands not touched on, especially if you bring them into the book later, or into another book.

They never traveled to the lands where the snow men once lived, and we never did see what was beyond the sea.

Also, I've always really wondered what was west of Narnia...

Woh! No bash on Narnia in this thread!!! Nuh-uh!

None of this is bashing! The land obviously continued but had no story so it's exactly as my world is! I like to wonder.

Yah, was just saying...I defend Narnia with my life... And the small vocabulary I have.

Didn't he mention west of Narnia in The Horse In His Boy? Or am I thinking of another book?

I think the journey with Fledge in The Magician's Nephew went west. But other than that all that is mentioned are the Western Wilds and that Telmarines originally came from past the Western Wilds.

I've always wanted to know more about the Ash tree mentioned in passing in.... *thinks hard* The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (I think ).

Wasn't that south??

I'm not sure, that's why I was asking. It's been awhile since I read that book.

Methinks there needs to be a Narnia thread somewhere. I'm not even sure if there is one. (There probably is, come to think of it)

Back to Bethany's world: I'm with what everyone else has said; your world depends on what you feel most comfortable with. If you feel like having a small world with a single continent and multiple islands, that's great. And if you feel the need to expand that world, you can always make different nearby planets of fantasy nature. Anything is possible!

As always, looking forward to learning more!

"Narnia and the North!"

Further in and further up!

Sorry for going off topic but I love that quote!

Haha, that's okay.

On topic, though, it doesn't really matter if you don't map out your whole world. I just did it because I found it a bit needful for a future book and figured I might as well do it early. I think it's completely up to you how many continents you create.