Fantasy Pet Peeves

So I was scrolling on tiktok this morning when I stumbled across a live where someone was creating a fantasy map. It was another author. I was intrigued as I too am working on my own map.

I stayed only for a moment when the person running the live started advertising his book and where viewers could buy it. The book he was actively making a map for on live, is already published.

Now, I know I’m probably the one being judgmental here. But I think one of the things that can give fantasy a bad wrap in the eyes of the consumer is that sometimes it seems like an author is writing backwards. Like they create some sort of concept, idea, or relationship in their story that they then go backwards in justifying or fitting it into their world later on.

As an author myself, I can understand the natural process of creation. You create interconnectedness in your story as it progresses. That random house your side character lives in suddenly is down the street from a character introduced later on where they realized they were actually neighbors as children and that’s why that stranger is so familiar.

Worlds take time to build and add layers. But when something like your world map, or magic system, or religious lore, or societal culture, or language, isn’t fleshed out well, prior to releasing it for others to read. It ends up stealing from the depth of the story and the immersion and leaves the readers who love to point out “Convenient plot points,” with ammunition.

It also just feels disingenuous and lazy. Like an author is pushing out works for profit rather than for the love of creation. Which is where I think the heart of my pet peeve lies.

I know not every book or world is created to be massive. It’s often used simply to tell the story of people. But what I love most about fantasy is its escapism. I want to get lost in someone else’s world. Something so different from my own I feel entranced to stay in it.

But if you are creating a map, after a books release it feels like an after thought.

-K.M.