<@Jim> Hi Gayle! Welcome!
<gayle garrod> Hi. I guess even with all my fustrations of getting in I'm early
<@Jim> In past weeks there have been more people here. Do you have any worldbuilding questions?
<gayle garrod> Let me think a minute
<gayle garrod> Okay. I've got a planet that I've been writing about that I've done some mathematical calculations on but how did I actually set the (3)different continents on the planet
<gayle garrod> that should read 'do'
<@Jim> Hi Holly! Gayle, that's entirely up to you. Do you mean how should you arrange them or how the ecology should work?
<gayle garrod> both
<gayle garrod> espesically since the northern continent has a set of mountains almost down it's center that divid it completely into two different societies
<@Jim> How you should arrange them is up to you. In my newest work, I've based the land map on Pangaea, which is Earth 165 million years ago. You can arrange the continents however you like.
<@Jim> That works. Holly, how did you decide on your maps for Secret Texts?
<Holly> There wasn't really any decision involved. I sat down with pencils, compass, and the knowledge that I had to come up with a big book concept or my career was going to go down the toilet.
<Holly> I drew the maps, having absolutely no idea what those giant holes came from. I just trusted my gut that they were something important.
<@Jim> It seems to have worked out well.
<Holly> I didn't really even know for sure what they were, or how they'd been created, until I was well into book three of the series.
<gayle garrod> I haven't. The ancient manuscripts are in a language that anyone, if they want to, can learn
<@Jim> I guess what we're saying, Gayle, is that you can arrange it as you see fit, but the features of your map should have some bearing on the story.
<Holly> Or, if you do it the way I did, the telling of the story will have some relationship to the features on the map.
<@Jim> Your characters have to deal with or at least comment on the difficulties of traveling over or around those mountains.
<gayle garrod> Okay. Well the only two continents that are currently in my head are the northern and the souther
<gayle garrod> that should read southern
<Holly> Mountains like that will affect weather, trade, culture, language, . . . .pretty much everything.
<gayle garrod> How? The would be almost as tall as the sierra's
<@Jim> The rivers will flow mostly from the mountains, which will form a continental divide, much like the Rocky Mountains here in the US.
<@Jim> Mountains do tend to affect weather... one side will tend to get more rain than the other.
<gayle garrod> However the top is liveable because one of my character's lives on the top
<Holly> How thin is the air, what modifications has your character made to live there, where does he or she get food and what kind of food is it, who dose he associate with . . . ? I can think of a million questions.
<Holly> If you're going to stick someone at the top of high mountains, you're going to have to figure out how they manage to sustain life there.
<@Jim> People live in the mountains of Equador and Peru, but they have had long acclimation to the thin air and climate conditions.
<Holly> And, while the climate there are bad, those are green mountains. Stuff grows pretty much all the way to the top.
<Holly> Our rockies would be hellish to try to live on top of.
<@Jim> You could live on the sides, but still be well up the mountain. Gayle, you may want to get a book titled
World Building by Stephen L. Gillett... published by Writers Digest Books... it may help answer a lot of your questions.
<gayle garrod> okay...that's an easy change
<gayle garrod> hi Jim Mills
<@Jim Mills> I got punted... sorry about that. Did you get my last note about the World Building book?
<@Jim Mills> Hi
<gayle garrod> yes
Holly PRIVATE -- Apologize for leaving. I have a three-year-old who has to go to bed. He's undergone the nightly transformation and has turned into a Demon Childe.
>Holly< Ok... see you later Holly!
<@Jim Mills> If you can't find the book at the library or a bookstore, you could try the Writers Digest Book Club at WritersDigest.com.
<@Jim Mills> Hi Kaelle!
<gayle garrod> okay
<Kaelle> Hi, Jim!
<@Jim Mills> Gayle: How many moons does your world have?
<gayle garrod> one moon two suns
<@Jim Mills> Intresting... the two suns may affect tides, thought not as much as the moon.
<@Jim Mills> And two suns could affect seasonal changes as well, depending on the nature of the suns.
<gayle garrod> did the figuring back in '94 then put it all away. Picked it back up about 18 months ago.
<gayle garrod> one is a blue white and the other is a white yellow
<@Jim Mills> Are the paired suns of equal heat and brightness, or does one ... you answered my question. One will be cooler and dimmer, then.
<gayle garrod> yes
<gayle garrod> I did the calculation to come up with the amount of days I wanted in their 'cycle' (year)
<@Jim Mills> The inhabitants may have interesting names for seasons then... the bright season, the dim season, or something like that.
<@Jim Mills> Cool. What did you decide on?
<gayle garrod> Don't have all the papers right at hand ...but there are 15 rounds (months) in a cycle ...just a minute ...let me use the caluclator
<Kaelle> Quick question. I have a silver mine located in a mountain, and it occurred to me to check on that. Do you know if that would that be correct?
<gayle garrod> Well there was the silver mines in colorado
<@Jim Mills> My latest effort has 301 days in a year... I came up with names for the days and years, but don't have them in front of me. The ten months are called Marens.
<gayle garrod> It's approximently 465 days
<@Jim Mills> Sure, K, you can have mines just about anywhere there's rock.
<Kaelle> lol
<@Jim Mills> Long year, G... how does that affect their temperature and seasons?
<Kaelle> Thanks! Off to work, then. Bye!
<gayle garrod> What I had imagined back in '93 was they had one season (3 rounds) that was very hot and one that was wet/snow
<@Jim Mills> Bye, Kaelle!
<gayle garrod> a couple of the the others were like our spring and fall
<gayle garrod> I don't remember what I was going to do for the fifth season
<@Jim Mills> Okay... and that would vary by location, affected by ocean currents, the mountains, etc., as well as the latitude.
<gayle garrod> I think I need to get a hold of that book...want Tyrella to be as real to others as it is in my mind
<@Jim Mills> I saw a program earlier today in which they were talking about how global warming could alter the gulf stream and make England a much colder place to be in winter... more like Minnesota. If you get cable, you may want to check out the programs on the Discovery Science channel.
<gayle garrod> I don't ...but I can get a neighbor to record it for me so we can watch the video...the only thing our set is good for at this point in time
<@Jim Mills> That would work. The program I saw was Earth Below... I think...
<@Jim Mills> Are you a member of the Writers Digest Book Club? You can get the book from them at a discount.
<gayle garrod> Just looked in my book case ...I do own the world-building book.... must have been one of my last purchases before I left the bookstore
<@Jim Mills> lol... sounds like you have some reading to do.
<gayle garrod> yeah it does...
<gayle garrod>
<@Jim Mills> Any other questions I can try to help you with?
<gayle garrod> I think I'll wait until I attempt to read the book then maybe I'll have a list full of questions
<gayle garrod> thank you for the help
<@Jim Mills> Ok... you're welcome. See you next week. Good luck, and keep writing!
http://www.jameskmills.com
Some of my work may be read at my forum: http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/74198)
Mail to: Jim@HollyLisle.com