Writing 101, Day Seventeen, A map as your muse

“I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book” Roald Dahl,

Writing 101, Day Seventeen, A map as your muse

But the truth of the matter is, there are more maps in the world than anyone can count. Every person draws a map that shows themselves at the center.

— By Catherynne M. Valente, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland

With maps, we tell tales about ourselves and the places we come from, that we miss, that we’ve reshaped in our minds. We use maps to identify and explore locations and points in between, to track movements, and to make sense of our lives — past and present.

Today, let a map be your muse. Select an area anywhere in the world on Google Maps (or your preferred online map tool), or a section on a paper map, and use this as inspiration for your post.

Some ideas:

* Tell us about your connection to a place.
* Pen a poem inspired by the area’s topography.
* Write a piece of memoir in the form of directions from point A to point B, in which each item reveals something about you or the area, like in Anna Fonte’s “How to Get There.”
* Use this geographic map as a model for a mental and more imaginary map, like this map of the lyrical essay from Nina Gaby.
* Switch to Street View and write a story based on what you see.
* Write an essay set in this location, like Dinty Moore’s Google Maps piece, “Mr. Plimpton’s Revenge.”
* If you don’t want to include a map, you can approach the assignment without one, like this personal essay by Maggie Messitt.
* If possible, include a photograph of your paper map, a screenshot of the online map, or an embedded Google Map in your post

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