Thank you for joining us in The Writer’s Playground series!
Here we run through writing games to spark imagination and sharpen your craft.
Today’s Exercise is
Atlas of the Imagination
- Objective: To create a map and the lore of a fictional place as a group.
- How to Play:
- Start with a blank sheet of paper or a whiteboard. One person draws a rough shape of a continent or landmass.
- Going around the group, each person adds one geographical feature (a river, a mountain range, a forest, a desert, an island) and gives it a name.
- In the next round, each person adds a man-made feature (a city, a ruin, a wall, a bridge, a trade route) and names it.
- In the final round, each person chooses one named location on the map and writes a one-paragraph “encyclopedia entry” about its history, culture, or a strange fact associated with it.
- Best for: Collaborative world-building, generating story settings, and establishing lore.
The Natural World
This list contains the natural landforms and biomes that will serve as the canvas for your world.
Mountain Range | Active Volcano |
Vast Plateau / Mesa | Archipelago (Chain of Islands) |
Deep Canyon or Gorge | Meteor Impact Crater |
Rolling Hills | Jagged Peninsula |
Sheer Cliffs | Winding River Delta |
Great Lake | Fetid Swamp or Marshland |
Field of Geysers and Hot Springs | Towering Waterfall |
Ocean Maelstrom or Whirlpool | Sunken Coral Reef |
Dense, Uncharted Jungle | Petrified Forest |
Whispering Plains (Vast Grassland) | Mangrove Swamp |
Shifting Sand Dunes / Desert | Glacial Ice Sheet |
Crystalline Cave System (Exposed to the surface) | Tar Pits |
A Cluster of Floating Islands |
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The Civilized World
This list contains the structures that inhabitants have built upon the natural landscape, giving the world a sense of history, culture, and conflict.
Capital City | Bustling Port Town |
Secluded Monastery or Temple | Fortified Mining Outpost |
Ancient, Overgrown Ruins | An Old, Paved Road |
A Great Bridge (Stone or Rope) | Canal System or Aqueduct |
A Lonely Lighthouse | A Massive Dam |
Imposing Fortress or Castle | A Great Wall Stretching Across the Land |
A Series of Watchtowers | An Ancient, Scarred Battlefield |
A Circle of Standing Stones | A Colossal Statue |
A Secluded Hermit’s Hut | A Sprawling Open-Air Market or Bazaar |
A Grand Observatory | A Deep Quarry or Open-Pit Mine |
A Crossroads Inn | Ferry Crossing Point |
A Sacred Burial Ground or Necropolis | An Airship Dock or Aerie |
A Farming Village |
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