The map

Before there was Bilbo Baggins, orcs and elves, wizards and dwarves, Mordor and Mt. Doom, Frodo or the One Ring - there was a blank page sitting in front of J.R.R. Tolkien.?

He had a funny idea he couldn’t get out of his head.?

A hobbit.?

What was a hobbit??

Where does a hobbit live??

In a hobbit hole, he thought.?

But where is the hobbit hole? In a town? Where is the town? What is around the town? Mountains? Forests? Rivers??

What world does a hobbit live in??

A place called Middle Earth, perhaps.?

That is the place where this “hobbit” would live.?

And this hobbit would go on an unexpected journey.?

Tolkien didn’t know where the hobbit would go.?

He needed a map.?

~

“I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit (generally with meticulous care for distances). The other way about lands one in confusions and impossibilities, and in any case it is weary work to compose a map from a story.” - J.R.R. Tolkien?

The map is the most important item in the book.?

It comes before any text.?

It is a reference point. A guide. The only place where the reader can turn and find answers in an unfamiliar world.

His characters have the same map that you, the reader, have in your hands.?

It is hand drawn. Imperfect. As if it was created by a hobbit who knows much of Middle Earth - but not all.?

The characters use a map to plot their journey.

You follow along.?

Flipping back every chapter to see the progress.?

The map is essential to the journey.?

But creating the map.. well…

“The map is hell!” - J.R.R. Tolkien?

Tolkien spent countless hours drawing, redrawing, and redrawing the maps in The Lord of the Rings.?

The distances had to be accurate.?

He spent so much time it nearly delayed the book release.?

He and his son pulled an all nighter to finish the maps in time for the publisher.?

But he knew it was necessary.??

To get it right.?

~

The Customer Journey?

How many journeys would be better if they started with a map?

We encourage prospects to start a journey with us.?

The customer journey.?

Buy our stuff.?

Believe our story.?

Maybe instead we should start with a map.?

Show them the road we are going to take.?

Detail the mountains and forests, dangers and pitfalls.?

And take our time to be accurate with the distances.?

To avoid confusions.?

To avoid impossibilities.?

A map will make your story that much more believable.?

And it’s weary work creating a map from a story, anyway.

- Ian