So, I’m going to take a bit of a break today from talking about world building for an update. I’m planning on renovating the site a bit. Don’t worry, the blog is staying. I’m just going to be adding a few things. We’re going old school 90s style web design. Frames! Garish gif animations of cartoonish clipart! Midi files you can’t turn off!

Uh, no. I hated that web design even in the 90s. I hope it dies.

Seriously, though, I’ll be trying to streamline the look a bit while adding some static pages (read: not blog posts). First of all, there’s going to be a bestiary, a list of the different mythical and legendary creatures out there, including the modern fantasy creatures, each with suggestions on how to incorporate them. They’ll basically be set up like my blog posts, only likely a bit shorter. Yes, I know that other sites have bestiaries and mythical encyclopedias, but they’re all just dry, rote descriptions. What I’m planning is to actually talk about how they might work in your own worlds.

At the same time, I’ll be doing a small encyclopedia of pantheons. It won’t be as extensive as I’d like, simply because there are other sites that do just that, like Encyclopedia Mythica or Godchecker. The first is great for a more scholarly, but often basic, description of myths, legends, gods, and heroes (and a bestiary of its own), whereas the second is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek role call of the different gods throughout world religions. That said, I’ll be expanding the list of links to resources as I go and find more sites that could do better.

Another thing I’m planning is to do reviews, both of the resource sites like I mentioned above and of fantasy and science fiction books. I will look at the aspects of the world of the book, but also the story itself. So, if you have a book coming out that you want me to review, send me a message at @Thomas_B_Austin on Twitter. I’ll just say upfront: I can’t afford to buy the book. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it goes.

Also, if you have fantasy or science fiction artwork for your own world that you want me to display, send me a link. Points go to artistic quality as well as to originality and, you guessed it, interesting world building.

So, here’s a list of the things I plan on having once Cartography of Dreams is updated:

1. Blog about world building topics and advice. (Same as it is.)
2. Bestiary of legendary creatures as well as modern fantasy and science fiction.
3. Pantheon list with articles on deity domains and attributes.
4. Book reviews with emphasis on world building. (If I can.)
5. Expanded list of internet resources.
6. Fantasy and science fiction artwork from around the internet.
7. A more professional appearance. (Unless you like it as it is.)

Eventually, once I can get some better recording equipment, I’d like to start up a Youtube channel or podcast. All I have right now is the microphone and camera on my laptop. Do you have any suggestions, things I should add in the meantime?