Author Journey: October 22, 2021 - Mapi'i Island

 I'd like to show one of Y'Dahnndrya's islands to you today. I've been so slow to put these settings together but Scrivener's setting sheets have helped by narrowing the focus down a bit. Mapi'i Island will probably be the easiest place I've created since no one lives there. Since there isn't a government or culture to craft for it, that really narrows the focus to what it looks like, smells like, feels like, etc. So here we go...

The Crash of Waves: Setting: Mapi'i Island - The Place of the Great Gathering

I'm going to share the raw sketch with you which I created using Scrivener's setting template. I hope you'll get a good idea of what it might be like to visit this island from the inspiration board I made above, as well as what I've cobbled together in the sketch. 

Mapi’I Island

        Role in Story:    The island of the Great Gathering. Though no one lives there, caretakers come and go, making certain all is well on the island and no one is desecrating the space or trying to squat there.

        Related Characters:    All the characters are linked in some way to the island. It is, after all, the place where all inhabitants of Y’Dahnndrya are encouraged to join together to celebrate their world in a manner pleasing to Creator, thanking Creator for delivering them from the Great Cataclysm

        Season:    It’s tropical…so always summerish.

        Unique Features:    There are a couple of giant, snow-capped peaks, a beautiful and huge lake fed by a waterfall which comes from the tallest peak, and the beaches are black sand beaches.

        Description:    It’s your typical tropical island with lots of sandy beaches, tons of tropical trees, flowers and fruits aplenty, and self-sustaining. It has everything one would need to survive, though it is forbidden for anyone to live on this neutral ground which doesn’t belong to any one clan.

        Sights:    The two mountain peaks, the lovely waterfall and lake, the black sand beaches, and the brilliant flora and fauna draw the eye.
        Sounds:    cacophonous birdsong, splashing/roaring waterfall, waves lapping at the shore, breezes rustling through the leaves of trees, buzzing of insects,
        Smells:    heady perfume of the flowers, perhaps rotting fruit and dung, salty tang of sea, fresh clean air, the scent of rain, perhaps a fishy scent

        Notes:    This island won’t play a huge role in the story. Our MCs may make a stop there on their way to Atali’s home island.

I don't want to spend a ton of time on this blog post today. I have a week and a day before Nano begins and I confess to being ill prepared. I'm going to try to nail down some more island sketches as I will need at least three besides this one. 

I need to flesh out my characters some more, too. I haven't even started sketches for Atali's best friend and the warrior who protects them. None of my characters have a solid backstory I can build on. I feel like I'm trying to function in zero-G, trying to grasp tiny things with those massive gloves an astronaut wears -- and if I make the wrong move, I'll just spin off into oblivion. ...No pressure... *nervous laugh*

Also of note, I do not proofread my sketches as I know what I meant...most of the time. Hopefully, they'll be clear enough for you to get the idea. :) I'd love to hear what you think if you care to share in the comments. 

Until next time...