I cannot lie. I’m a worldbuilder at heart.
I think I enjoy it as much, if not more, than the actual writing process itself.
It all started with a love of maps. Even as a very young child, I enjoyed all the maps I would find in copies of National Geographic and my set of Worldbook Encyclopedias. And then there was the first fantasy map I ever encountered, that of Teddy’ Ruxpin’s Land of Grundo that was printed in the front and back of each book. I could spend hours staring at them, imagining all the people who lived and traveled there, all the battles that had happened, the discoveries. And so I started making my own maps.
I still have some of the maps I made from when I was a kid. Like this one, of the land of Amalur that I dreamed up when I was thirteen. (Side note to say I was absolutely CRUSHED when several years later a game came out called Kingdoms of Amalur. If you’ve ever had the name of an imaginary world that had been part of your life for a decade snatched out from under you, well, you’ll know how I felt.)
The years passed and I grew up and got distracted by all those typical grown up things like being married and owning a house and taking care of babies. But no matter what, the worldbuilding bug just couldn’t be squashed. Before I started writing any stories, I spent a few years filling notebook after notebook with maps and character sketches, and full fledged mytholgies and histories.
Those notebooks span a few different worlds and so many different stories that I am only just beginning to scratch out. But as I travel along further on this writing journey, I want to do my best to share with my readers everything that went into each story and book. I want to share the maps, character backstories, histories, and all the intricate details that have been floating about in my head and living in assorted notebooks. And one of the best ways I can do that is through a fantastic site called World Anvil.
So what exactly is World Anvil?
World Anvil is a set of worldbuilding tools that helps you create, organize and store your world setting. With wiki-like articles, interactive maps, historical timelines, an RPG Campaign Manager and a full novel-writing software, we have all the tools you’ll need to run your RPG Campaign or write your novel!
WorldAnvil.com
Basically, it’s a place for writers, worldbuilders, and game masters to create and share their imaginary worlds with others.
And I’d like to share mine with you!
Sognaland
While I have plans to write stories and books set in a few different worlds, the first one I’ve begun to build out on World Anvil is Sognaland. It’s the setting for my Tales from the Nightgate Inn stories, two of which have already been published. It is also a project I am working consistently on over the course of the remainder of 2023 and 2024.
So if you’ve read “The Road to Fjallmark” (Wyngraf, vol. 1) or “The Woodworker’s Guest” (Wyngraf, vool. 4), or the story “Homecoming” (which you can get by subscribing to my monthly newsletter), exploring Sognaland on World Anvil will really bring the setting to life!
You’ll get to explore an interactive map, learn about the various places, cultures, characters, creatures, and magic, as well as get a glimpse into my passion for this particular world and these stories. So please, come along and explore Sognaland with me. I’d love to get your feedback and know what caught your interest or what places or characters you’d love to see more of! As I continue to write more stories, I’ll be filling out more of the articles on World Anvil.
More to Follow
Of course, Sognaland is only one of the worlds I’ve dreamed up. In fact, it’s a world I know quite less about than my others, and I’m discovering it more as I write. Over time, and as I move on to different projects, I’ll be creating more worlds on World Anvil, and when they’re made, I’ll be sure to share them here!