Do novel authors need a map?

So yeah, today’s question may be an unexpected one: Do novel authors need a map? And the quick answer is: Not necessarily, but we are offering one anyway. Because we can. And because we feel it can be as inspiring as… well, wandering through the streets of any great place on this earth. And with Untold Novel you can do exactly that from any place in the world. Virtually. 

But let’s start at the beginning. So first of all, during the development of Untold Novel we figured that it would just be nice to have a map showing all the crucial settings of your novel. We did so in a way that let’s you spot how far they are apart from each other at a glance. Cool. 

This alone can be really helpful for you as an author. While that’s nothing you couldn’t do using any maps app, there is nothing compared to being able to store everything in one place. First of all, all your locations’ data is persisted as well. A name, an icon, special features, notes and much more. But we didn’t stop there. 

Instead, we tried to really drive the maps feature home by implementing the Look Around feature (or StreetView as a certain non-fruit company calls it). Using this, you, the author, can really wander around in the city of your choice. Find yourself tinkering through the neighborhood of your crime scene. Decide at a glance whether a nice, high-class bar really does make sense in that particular street. Because, well, don’t underestimate the common sense of your readers. They will not only notice, but they will point out any mistake you make in that regard. And, to be honest, no one likes unhappy readers. We want them having a great time reading our book – not by arguing about the bad research we did. 

So yes, adding maps to your toolchain does make a lot of sense to craft the perfect novel for your readers. 

But again, that’s only a fraction of what Untold Novel has to offer. Keen to learn more?

Thanks for reading, stay focused and happy plotting!