I just finished an incredible book, Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer. The book draws some interested parallels between writing and map making by describing stories as journeys the author embarks. He also explores the creation process for each; both highlight elements and omit others based on the author's preference. There are different scales used in each craft, different legends or rules, and different purposes. He asks the reader to imagine a map of a town drawn by a 13 year-old vs. one drawn by a architect, a teacher, a black person, a white person. The analogy makes me reconsider the perspective from which I write and the goals I have in mind as I continue the journey of my story.
A particularly fascinating analogy is calling maps representations of physical terrain while books are representations of mental terrain. I love this idea. Certain passages in book point to memories, feelings, and desires, all of which guide the reader and help him/her understand the orientation of the terrain.
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