After a week of outlining, I’m not satisfied. That’s a good place to be.

I started collecting fun ideas for my story, amazing adventures for the setting, and challenges the protagonist could face. This locale I’ve used before, so I’m updating rather than inventing. When I indulge in cartography I use a Map Editor tool from my youth, from a game called Heroes of Might and Magic III. It allows me to place representative structures and add notes with text.

When brainstorming I do my fair share of...