Star Spun Souls

This post is part of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore. Find more worldbuilding content in my Codex Directory . I love the world-building process. I love inventing something complex and rife with human disparity. I believe people deserve a well-crafted story and a well-defined setting for that story to unfold. But I also want to contribute to the entertainment paradigm. I believe the world needs more good stories, and I want my stories to matter. The world I've built allows me great freedom for storytelling. I explore different social structures and cultural models, experimenting with the human condition and examining how any society's practices influence its people. I question normativity, because every culture has its own normal. I experiment with differ...

In the novel Broken , there are 24 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga. Start with Portent I here . These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! Unearthing truth in timeless strands The bleeding gate aware Fulfills untiring fate's demands To harness Hells with seeping hands Of innocent in prayer Departed now for distant shore Relinquished friendless rose Imbues anew the land of yore From whence emboldened darkness tore To seed a tide of woes When slain embarks for Mother's womb Displaced the vanquished quail Amass for gate to reentomb Their weary ranks and reassume Their deaths to no avail Triumphant rose in wake of peace Redeemed with restless friend Would dearest dreams at last release For west and ancient battle cease With days that have no end. Can you de...

This post is part of a series to augment the Guest Resources available for free download. This and other guest-inspired content is gathered in my Guest Directory for you to explore. Find more world workshops in my Worldbuilding Directory . I first encountered Butch Curry's YouTube tutorials when working on an online role-playing game with a few friends of mine. I had no deftness in Photoshop then, so a more skilled friend searched for some tutorials on how to make digital fantasy maps. She discovered this wonderful series of video podcasts titled Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop. I watched a few tutorials to learn what sort of map was possible, and my friend started making the maps for our game. Much later, when I started revamping the first manuscript for my Tales of the Known World saga, I recalled those tutorials and the pretty maps my friend created. I grabbed a notebook and set t...

This post is Part 2 of a series to augment the Codex of the Known World available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other mapping resources are gathered in my Cartography Directory for you to explore. Find my maps and atlas content in the Map Directory . After planning out the maps for my first book in Part 1 of this series , I chose an old-world style of mapping that resembles antique watercolor. However, this style uses topography symbols for mountains and forests, and I had to plan for the limitations of this cartography style. On my maps, all mountain symbols are the same size, no matter the variations in altitude. In addition, the mountain symbols are roughly the same size as the treetop symbols for my forested areas. But I decided my audience would still read the landscape correctly, despite how the style compromised the literal accuracy of the maps. However, my mapping style is als...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment The Worldbuilder's Handbook available for free download. This and other world workshops are gathered in my Worldbuilding Directory for you to explore. Find more map-making content in my Cartography Directory . As a worldbuilder, you have ultimate control over how your rivers flow, where your towns spring up, and the way your roads connect. But to create a realistic world that immerses readers in your story, you must consider some basic concepts about how lands form and civilizations rise. This implicit dynamic between rivers, towns, and roads will either lend credibility to your world or detract from the story at hand. Rivers form when a region of land sheds water. Instead of fully absorbing into the soil, the water flows across the land, following the pull of gravity from highlands into lowlands. Small rivers tend to feed into larger rivers, and rivers...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment the Codex of the Known World available for free download. This and other mapping resources are gathered in my Cartography Directory for you to explore. Find my maps and atlas content in the Map Directory . Before I could make any maps of the Known World, I had to decide what to show and what to omit from each map. I took some time to reflect on each map's audience, the best boundaries for each map, and the best dimensions to depict those boundaries. This gave me a basic level of detail possible for each map scale. 1) Map Audience: My maps are mostly for readers and fans, but also for me to print at home and use for reference. Instead of revealing my entire world to readers, I decided to only depict the area of the world known to the characters in my first book. Still a large area, the Known World refers to the lands united by the Katei Ocean, but it does not dep...

This post is part of a series to augment The Worldbuilder's Handbook available for free download. This and other world workshops are gathered in my Worldbuilding Directory for you to explore. Find more content navigation in my Resource Directory . Hello, there! Thanks for your interest in my worldbuilding techniques. My name is D.N.Frost, and I'm a fantasy author, fictional cartographer, and extensive worldbuilder. After designing myriad cultures, constructing multiple languages, and producing numerous maps for my Tales of the Known World saga, I've developed a realistic approach to building a complex world. How exactly do you build a fictional world? I realized that a world's cultures, languages, and geography are connected, and that they influence each other through the course of history. To build more realism into your invented worlds, please enjoy this collection of short worldbuilding ti...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. This post is also Part 1 of a series about Annis Pratt. I first encountered professor-gone-author Annis Pratt when a previous map client recommended my services for Annis's series of published novels. Annis writes eco-fiction, promoting a sustainable and ecologically-friendly paradigm through the adventures of the Marshlanders in her invented world. I said hello and clicked eagerly around her website, absorbing a cool sense of the world Annis had created. Then I invited her to connect with me for a map estimate when the time was right. Check out this Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost for more maps! After a few months, Annis was ready...

In the novel Broken , there are 24 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga. Start with Portent I here . These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! The prince is born on builder's reef To father's word and mother's grief In duty shunted to the shore To sighted land for coming war (I) His advent clears the palace house Who dynasty and truth espouse While prophesy of import lost Defies the dead at deadly cost Across the waves the daemons sail Beneath the waves a bloody trail As rushes prince to father's side To sacred truth of time abide. (II) Can you decode the future Tales of the Known World ? Share your interpretation! Comment below with your take on this portent. This prophesy was said 32 years before Broken takes place, and it is referenced within the story as Tirrok expl...

This post is Part 2 of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore. Find more map-making content in my Cartography Directory . In Part 1 of this series , I shared some of the reasons I love making maps. Fun and games aside, I've come to see maps as powerful tools that enhance the stories they accompany. Most authors commission their maps during publication, and the resulting artwork is great for readers. But the mapping process impacts the storyteller , and that world-building juice is best unleashed while the manuscript is young. Whether invented or historical, the setting of a fictional story is only as real as the writer's imagination. Mapping that setting immerses writers in their worlds, solidifying the core geography and bringing hazy zones...

This post is part of a series to augment the Tips for Writing Fiction available for free download. This and other writing workshops are gathered in my Workshops Directory for you to explore. Find my world workshops in the Worldbuilding Directory . Readers anticipate a story as it unfolds, but the best stories delight them anyway. Their expectations are right, but delight and surprise unfold along with their predictions. They are wowed by the tale they were expecting all along. Good storycraft embraces this tendency for readers to predict outcomes, leveraging it as a foreshadowing tool to enhance intrigue and suspense. Foreshadow different details of your events in separate places, and you give your readers the satisfaction of putting the clues together. But to keep your readers interested, also plant vague or misleading details to influence their conclusions. As storytellers, let's c...

This post is Part 5 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. Find more guest-inspired content in my Guest Directory . Thanks to the collaboration we started in Part 1 of this series , Zach and Christian are delighted with their new map: Through the entire process, D.N. was wonderful to work with! As world-builders without cartographical experience, this allowed us to maintain complete creative control of our world, but also drastically improved the "real-ness" of the geography. Our world was greatly improved by her input. We absolutely recommend D.N. to anyone with a fantasy world! – Christian Madera, co-creator of The Once and Future Nerd ...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore. Find more map-making content in my Cartography Directory . I create maps as part of my writing process. While planning a new book, I map the whole of the Known World and percolate ideas for the upcoming story. Before drafting each section of the book, I also map an important or conceptually relevant area of my world. And before I revise each chapter of the book, I map an area featured within that chapter. This mapping serves as an inspiration tool, allowing me to ruminate over the upcoming content in a fun and productive way. During the long and arduous revision stage, mapping also provides a much-needed respite from my intense editing frenzy. And in many ways, creating a new map is my reward for completing edi...

In the novel Broken , there are 24 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga. Start with Portent I here . These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! The prince from hall renowned Departs the weary sage Comrade forgoes for lurid sight And surface trades for water mage Whom timeless would impound Bereft of coral stage The timeless few invite Advent of royal grace uncrowned And dread incur with prince's blight To end a dying age Awash in wisdom's bite The prince of laws unbound Broken by sea in timeless cage For wending voice and gateway drowned In time becomes the light. Can you decode the future Tales of the Known World ? Share your interpretation! Comment below with your take on this portent. Part 3 of Broken is titled "By Sea", and this portent deals with Tirrok...

This post is Part 4 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. Find more guest-inspired content in my Guest Directory . Well into our project from Part 1 of this series , I worked with TOAFN creators Zach Glass and Christian Madera to finish off their map by adding the towns and rivers of Iorden. I placed all the towns using stamps that best matched their old map of Iorden. Then I labeled everything given a name. Check out this Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost for more maps! Zach and Christian raised some questions about the black cacti from their previous render, and I revisited the cacti after placing all the towns. I was hoping the black town symbols would balance out the black cacti, but the effect ...

This post is part of a series to augment the Tips for Writing Fiction available for free download. This and other writing workshops are gathered in my Workshops Directory for you to explore. Find my world workshops in the Worldbuilding Directory . Stories never end, and they never begin. Most adventures start in the general vicinity of danger and daring endeavor. But while we don't hear about the boring parts, they are still part of the story. Characters experience the mundane as well as the tragic, but your narrative doesn't have to start at birth and end at death. First off, let's concede that you can't fit it all into one story. A comprehensive lifetime of moments is too much to divulge through the course of one tale. But stories never start or stop, so you can pick up the story where it gets interesting and weave in the specific details that feel necessary. If some of your favor...

This post is Part 3 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. Find more guest-inspired content in my Guest Directory . With the project in full swing after Part 1 of this series , I encouraged Zach and Christian to be as picky and opinionated as possible. That's the best way to get a great map that really represents the spirit of an invented world. After we finalized the topography, I perused the TOAFN font set they'd sent me and selected a legible italic font with some cool distress around the letters. The next challenge loomed. It was time to tackle the White Forest. Check out this Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost for more maps! Zach and Christian envisioned huge trees for their home of the elves...

This post is part of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore. Find more content navigation in my Resource Directory . Hello, there! Thanks for your interest in my work. My name is D.N.Frost, and I'm an author, cartographer, and world-builder. I'm also a linguist and poet, a maker and artist, a creative mentor, a gamer, a tarot reader, spiritualist, and probably a bunch of other things too. Why do I wear so many hats? I get to know people by the stories they tell about themselves and the way they view the world. So to help you get to know me, please enjoy this collection of short tales about who I am, what I do, and why I do it. Download my personal inspirations in the Author's Manifesto here. All authors have reasons for writing what they write, ...

In the novel Broken , there are 24 portents fortelling the events of the unfolding saga. Start with Portent I here . These and other riddles in rhyme are gathered in the Portents Directory for you to explore. Enjoy! Token in hand, the wayward son In riddled fog of past laid waste Returns to masters wrong in haste Broken by night, the golem dead Arises live in life untraced Spoken in fright, the homeward bound Entreats the aid of sea defaced Woken by sand, the keening kin In wake of master's men disgraced Assumes the torch for land unlaced. Can you decode the future Tales of the Known World ? Share your interpretation! Comment below with your take on this portent. This prophesy for Part 4 of Broken is titled "By Night" and foretells the events of Varyan's story. Who is Varyan? Find out in the free ebook from Broken ! You meet him in Chapter 1, tho...

This post is Part 2 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. Start with Part 1 here . This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. Find more guest-inspired content in my Guest Directory . After getting the go-ahead in Part 1 of this series , I worked with TOAFN creators Zach Glass and Christian Madera to start mapping their Realms of Iorden. They provided me with a thumbnail map of Iorden they'd made some time earlier. I magnified the 300 pixel image to sculpt their coastline and apply rough topography swatches to their regions. Then I applied some quick color to differentiate all the areas of the map, and I added some basic text. Check out this Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost for more maps! For working off a tiny image, I feel like I did a great job! The...

This post is part of a series to augment the Author's Manifesto available for free download. This and other inspirations of mine are gathered in the Spark Directory for you to explore. Find more consciousness content in my Cosmic Directory . I am profoundly inspired by the great humanity of the world. I love that thrill in your heart when the good guy wins. People differ in how they rise to challenges and integrate past experiences. But though the content of each personality varies widely, there is a similar structure for all personalities . I love exploring this profound diversity that arises out of a remarkable uniformity. I want to kindle that inborn sense of glory within our human condition. To delve through the wonders of our psyche, I push my characters to their very limits, and their stories evoke the triumph of human endeavor. I want to trigger your inner grandness through my charac...

This post is Part 1 of a series to augment the Fictional Cartography by D.N.Frost available for free download. This and other map commissions are gathered in my Portfolio Directory for you to explore. This post is also Part 1 of a series about David Glenn. I first met David when my repeat client Stephen Everett introduced us on Facebook. In a writer's group, David shared a rough sketch of his world, and Steve suggested he collaborate with me to take his map to the next level. I gave David my email address and he sought me out. We discussed his northern isles, then called Sodow, a world still taking form. I used maps to develop the Known World , so I knew the mapping process would provide a fantastic world-building tool for David. I also remembered how daunted I felt about mapping my world before knowing where all the pieces fit. Check out this Fictional Cartography by D.N.Fros...