Monday, February 7, 2022

The Power of Maps

By Mélina Mangal

 

As an author and school librarian, I love doing research.  I love poking into different sources to hunt for useful facts.  One of those sources that I come back to, no matter the project, is maps. 

I collect maps whenever I travel, as a souvenir, but also as a reference for future work.  I picked up such a map when I visited Plymouth, Massachusetts years ago, which later helped me as I wrote a story about cranberry bogs.  

I use a range of maps, starting with the basic street map, physical map, and topographical map.  Typically, I search Google, Apple, or Bing maps online first, getting a general idea of the area, then zooming in for greater details.

Not only do maps pinpoint a specific location and geography, they help inform a range of sensory details.  When I hone in on a location, I can zoom in on both the natural and human-made elements surrounding it. 

So much of what we might find out about a person or a place from secondary sources tends to be written for adults.  But children are often interested in more basic, day-to-day aspects of lives, like how did this person get to school?  Maps can help generate useful questions, but also provide the answers. Where was the school?  Was my subject affected by this factory nearby?  Did they hear the mining trucks on the road?  Did they worry about flooding?  

Maps put things into perspective.  Your subject may say they walked 5 miles each day.  Maybe they did, but maybe that’s exaggerated recollecting.  If you can pinpoint the exact locations, you can verify accuracy by selecting the walking directions feature. Is your subject’s neighborhood on the map?  Was it called something else in the past? 

Remember that locations change as well.  A school that was once located in a certain spot, may have relocated, or closed.  Factories and mines can be reclaimed by nature.  And, unfortunately, what we’re more used to: meadows and forests can be plowed over and built upon. 

While researching facts for my picture book biography The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, I wanted to find out more about Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding Low Country area of the late 1880s. 

Starting with digital maps helped me get a general sense of the terrain. I was immediately struck by the abundance of waterways. I’d learned that Ernest Everett Just’s family had moved back and forth from Charleston to the country, but seeing the maps opened up more questions for me.  How did his family travel?  What modes of transportation were available to them at that time?  Though I didn’t initially think such questions were directly tied to his life’s work as a scientist, they helped flesh out more sensory details that rounded out the story of Dr. Just’s childhood.

Getting my hands on historic maps really filled in the gaps.  When I traveled to Charleston and was able to look at maps of the 1880s from the Charleston Public Library’s historical maps collection, it became clear that during the time period I was researching, the bridges weren’t yet reconstructed (one had been destroyed by a hurricane).  This pointed to the need to travel by boat.  Further research verified that this was they way many people got around.  This detail helped bring the 1880s to life for me, imagining the sights and sounds and smells that young Ernest would likely have experienced. 

Using the map, I listed details that the surrounding physical elements could evoke: the rush of the river, pelicans flapping overhead, oars dipping into water, waves crashing against the beach, horses clip clopping on cobblestone, humidity hazing the woods…

By looking very closely at the historical maps, I was able to locate the area where his family moved and where Ernest’s mother had opened a school. Though completely different now, it was an area rich with wildlife and vegetation. Knowing that he was exposed to so much of the natural world as a child helped inform the choices I made as I wrote and rewrote the manuscript.

Charleston County GIS map taken by Mélina Mangal


In addition to maps of specific locales, I like to use sources like the Library of Congress Digital Maps Collection when looking for historical maps.  Perusing county maps, and the Historical Society of the locality you are researching can yield very detailed historical maps that help you pinpoint specific changes over time.  Local libraries often have historical maps in their collections as well. 

Exploring and free writing with maps provides useful background to inform editing and specific word choices, but it can also help if you are stuck.  Free writing with maps is a springboard for virtual travel, adding depth and sensory detail to your nonfiction writing, no matter what stage you are in.  Enjoy your journey!


Give it a Try

Pick a location from your manuscript, like a home, school, lake, or courthouse. If you have a physical map, open it up and examine it.  Linger over all place names and physical features.  Plot distances your subject might have frequented.

Do the same with Google Maps or any other map app you may use.  Zoom in as close as you can get.  Use street view, then aerial view.  What’s the terrain like?  Zoom out and examine a 2 mile radius.  What do you notice?  Are there roads?  If so, what are they like? Train tracks?  Power poles? Any bodies of water? 

Generate a list of questions.

Create a list of physical features like lakes, mountains, train tracks, woods, etc. Then, imagine what you can see, hear, smell and feel in or near each of these features, from the perspective of your subject.  Be as detailed as possible. Have fun roaming!  With your map, you won’t get lost.   

 

 

Meet the Author

Working at the intersection of nature, literature, and culture, Mélina Mangal’s writing highlights youth whose voices are rarely heard, and the people and places that inspire them to explore their world.  She is the author of biographies for youth, including The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award and named an NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. Her short stories have been published by Milkweed Editions, Carolina Wren Press/Blair Publishing, Spider magazine, and Bravery. Her latest book, Jayden’s Impossible Garden, won the first Strive/Free Spirit African American Voices in Children’s Literature contest. Mélina works as a school library media teacher in Minnesota and enjoys spending time outdoors with her family.  Visit her online at:  melinamangal.com

 


39 comments:

  1. This is so interesting! What a great way to dive into the setting. Thank you!

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  2. Oh, wow! I never thought about using maps to research. What a great tool, thank you!

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  3. Mélina, thank you for sharing your insight on a topic I haven't thought much about in regards to my writing. I love your biography of Ernest Everett Just, and now I appreciate it even more.

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  4. Maps are fascinating! I dove into historic maps of Lower Manhattan for my bio of Henry Bergh, Mercy, and included them in the book. Looking forward to reading your Ernest Everett bio.

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  5. Thank you for sharing this Melina! I love the idea of collecting maps. I've had a story in my head for quite a while that needs to get on paper. Thanks for the nudge:)

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  6. Yes to maps! My husband (a geographer) is fascinated by maps and I used maps I bought for a trip to China for my picture book Two Bicycles in Beijing. I couldn't have written that book properly without the maps. :) Thanks for the resource link for historical maps!

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  7. This is so helpful. I also use floor plans of buildings in my wok if I can find them. They are maps of the inside.

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  8. I'm a nut for all kinds of maps! For me the key of this post is to ask myself questions and see what answers the maps can give me. Thanks, Melina!

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  9. I love exploring maps! Thanks for the link to the LOC Digital Map Collection.

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  10. Such a great reminder. I use maps for much of my research. And not only can you find historic maps online through the Library of Congress, but many historic societies have their local maps digitized. One I found recently was a residence map from c.1900 that indicated what family lived in each house, so I could figure out how close all the relatives were of the MC.

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  11. I love maps - they contain so much information in such a compact format. I actually used a digital map (and the satellite view feature) to gather details for an interview I was writing when I couldn't travel to the location - then I double-checked with the person I was interviewing. Great list of questions to ask. And thank you for justifying my ever-expanding collection of maps!

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  12. Fascinating post. Thank you! I can see the value in using maps to find out more about a location.

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  13. Wow Melina! You took map resources to a whole new level, thank you!

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  14. Thank you for a very informative post. I now know what a GIS map is and how they are used!

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  15. Maps! I love maps. I use them for writing and for myself. When I'm planning a trip, the maps come out. I like to know everything about where I'm going. Melina, thank you for this informative post which gives credence to maps and their bird's-eye-view of now and the past.

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  16. I too love to look at maps, especially while on vacation. Most of my friends don't get it but I like to know how far I've gone and how far I'm going. Can use maps in my stories. Thanks!

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  17. I appreciate your comments, and the map love! It's great to hear how maps have benefitted your writing as well.

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  18. Such a fun exercise! Never thought of doing this.

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  19. Mélina: I never thought of using maps to literally guide me into the world of my characters. What a WONDERFUL way to travel for our characters--as well as we writers in our own little sometimes cloistered worlds (especially during these pandemic times). I CAN'T WAIT to pull out maps to chart my characters' routes to discover their more in-depth stories. THANK YOU for the INSPIRATION to roam on ADVENTURES with our characters!

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  20. Thank you for these excellent ideas! So many holes in one of my current NF WIPs, especially setting-wise, and I think zooming-in map-wise may be a big help! Thanks for sharing this enlightening post!

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  21. Thank you for your great ideas. I'm writing a bio from the 18th C. and I am sure the children will enjoy pouring over the maps of the countryside 10 miles away from the nearest town. Yoiu are an inspirtion!

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  22. Thanks for this fascinating post. I love maps but never considered how they could contribute so much to my writing. Will definitely be using in the future, especially the Library of Congress Digital collection.

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  23. Very inspiring! Thank you Melina!

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  24. Thank you, Mélina, for sharing the tool of exploring maps to support writing.
    Suzy Leopold

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  25. I'm a big fan of maps and have also found them helpful in my writing, though have used them more to understand time and distance. I love your suggestion to create a list of physical features and then imagine what you can see, hear, smell and feel - will definitely be trying that out! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  26. Thank you, Mélina. Very excellent advice and questions to ask about location. It's not just important in real estate! I'll be looking for your books.

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  27. What a great idea to use maps for researching & verifying information. It is a great way to provide corraboration and sensory detail. Great post, thanks!

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  28. This is something I have never thought of before--thank you!

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  29. Melina, this was wonderful. At first, I thought -- "What about maps will I need?" It did not take me long to realize that you have a lot of important information to share with us. Thank you so much!!

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  30. So informative! What a great tool a map can be. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  31. Maps are so valuable - thanks for this post!

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    Replies
    1. Wonderful ideas I will apply to both fiction and NF I am working on. Thanks for sharing!

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  33. Thank you. I really liked how you allowed the maps to provide sensory details.

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  34. Thank you for this interesting post. I used to pull out and save all the maps from National Geographic magazine. Now I wish I had a map to show where I stored this treasure.

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  35. At the huntington.org today i saw an exhibit MAPPING FICTION of the 18th and 19th centuries
    and now reading your fascinating post, I'm sold on what a great resource maps are.

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  36. Thanks for these research tips and inspiration!

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  37. Love how the maps let you dig deeper into the setting and the story.

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