World Building: Online Resources (Pt. 6)

Continued from Part 5

New to this Project? Start with Part ONE
There are some tools available online to help in the process of building a world. They include Map-making, Orbital Plotting, Weather Simulators*, even programs to generate names for your planet, continents and such.

Map Making
While I have yet to find a planet mapping application, there are apps out there that make designing parts of your world easier. I would suggest that you think about each locale for your story-lines before you start. Write out a description of the cities, towns, villages, forests, mountains, deserts or oceans you need, and use one of these small-scale map makers first. After you have worked out the details, and made a map, you can more readily envision how that part will fit in with the rest of your world.
- Microsoft Paint. This comes with every copy of Microsoft Windows, and is probably on more computers than most other drawing programs combined. While it is feature-poor, it is very simple to use. If you do not want or need high detail in your maps, this is a good tool to use.
- Autorealm was designed for D&D gamers, but works very well, giving you an MS-Paint like User Interface, while having considerably more flexibility.
- Lior’s Map Creator creates very simple looking maps, but it is easy to use, and quite flexible. Unless you’re creating maps for show, this is a good choice.
- FreeCAD is FREE but by far more complex, but this program does more than maps. You can design just about anything with it.
- CAD and 3D Freeware. These look interesting, but I haven’t had time to check them out.
Author Kate Evans spoke at my Writers Club meeting the other day, and peppered her talk with a number of excellent quotes. Among them was, “nothing happens nowhere”. The “nothing” includes your planet. In order for it all to work, you’ll want to look at how it exists in the Universe.
- Take a look at the Astronomy Freeware page. General Astronomy resources.
- If you have a lot of free time, check out this entire page of Astronomy freeware.

Whew! That’s a lot of homework. But if you want to start building a planetary home for the people in your next novel, it’s time to get moving.

I’ve pushed a lot of info your way today, but rest assured, starting tomorrow, when we get into the gears and wheels, it gets heavier. I trust is will also be as much fun for you as it is for me.

I love building worlds, people, creatures, their lives, their loves, their reason for being. It’s all a part of the big game.

Hope to see you next time!

* Weather simulators are available, but I was unable to locate any as Freeware.

Continued in Part 7