Krista Mathews's Blog: Making It Up Along The Way - Posts Tagged "the-names-they-were-given"
Writing a new world
The best things that I did when writing The Names They Were Given was draw a map on the back of my notes in a spiral notebook. I had realized that while I aware of the shape of the Consortium in theory and in my head, the actual distance between places, the travel time, and size of the islands really mattered to the plot. A lot.
So I sat in the corner of the coffee shop, pulled out a pencil and started making circle-like island shapes. I recalled my ancient Greek from college and starting naming the islands, thinking of their government types, and designating their seasonal patterns. I remembered one greek island that had a hole in the middle and mimicked that. I remembered an old man I'd worked with at a state retirement hole describing growing up in Micronesiasn and learning to sail from the bowels of the ship, with the movement under his feet, and drew something similar.
All just in my head, sitting, again, in this super dark coffee shop.
The next day at work, I pulled up PowerPoint and drew the islands in that, used it as a constant reference point. Circled things, but never changed the islands from that first moment. It made the world real in a way it never had been before.
And then I went to elance.com and found the amazing, amazing illustrator who made it look like it does now in the book. So happy. So proud.
So I sat in the corner of the coffee shop, pulled out a pencil and started making circle-like island shapes. I recalled my ancient Greek from college and starting naming the islands, thinking of their government types, and designating their seasonal patterns. I remembered one greek island that had a hole in the middle and mimicked that. I remembered an old man I'd worked with at a state retirement hole describing growing up in Micronesiasn and learning to sail from the bowels of the ship, with the movement under his feet, and drew something similar.
All just in my head, sitting, again, in this super dark coffee shop.
The next day at work, I pulled up PowerPoint and drew the islands in that, used it as a constant reference point. Circled things, but never changed the islands from that first moment. It made the world real in a way it never had been before.
And then I went to elance.com and found the amazing, amazing illustrator who made it look like it does now in the book. So happy. So proud.
Making It Up Along The Way
A blog from an adult who still reads young adult books without shame, standing in the aisle of Barnes and Noble's beside teenagers and explaining why exactly THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER is so good, but wi
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