SANJIESAN LORE / PRACTICAL GUIDE
Read the map as a traveller
A map can look complete while a journey through it still makes no sense. Pick two places and follow somebody between them. You do not need elaborate terrain to find useful questions: where do they leave, what can they see, why take this route and what changes along the way?
Start with a rough route
Draw the starting point, destination and the places the scene actually mentions. Connect them with a plain line and add the reason for each stop. A market visited to find a guide has a role in the journey; an unnamed town added only to fill the page may not need detail yet.
Decide which kind of map you are making. A private continuity sketch, a character's incomplete map and a reader-facing overview can contain different information. Label the viewpoint so a deliberate omission is not mistaken for a contradiction in the setting.
Make the travel assumptions explicit
Record the means of travel, the relevant conditions and the scale you are assuming. If the route is still schematic, say so. Avoid assigning precise distances simply because a drawing has space for a number. A rough map can be useful as long as the story does not treat its proportions as measured facts.
Compare the route with the time stated in the draft. Include the stops, waits and changes of direction that the scene requires. You are checking internal agreement, not establishing a real-world travel estimate. When the two disagree, revise the timeline or the route deliberately rather than hiding the mismatch.
Check boundaries and access
For every crossing that matters, ask who can pass and under what conditions. A river, district line or city gate may affect the route differently for different characters. Record the access rule beside the place rather than assuming the line on the map explains it by itself.
Read a short passage from the traveller's position. What is visible before arrival, and what requires local knowledge? If the narrator describes a landmark beyond the established view, decide whether the narration has that knowledge or whether the description needs adjustment. Small viewpoint checks can prevent large inconsistencies later.
Keep names and revisions connected
Maintain a short place list with one preferred name, any aliases and the draft passages where each appears. Different names may be intentional, but the note should explain who uses which. If you rename a place, check the map label, dialogue and timeline together instead of updating only the newest drawing.
For an established IP, keep official geography and your working proposals separate. Cite the official page or document in your notes and do not infer a new city or faction from an illustration alone. A visually suggestive background is not automatically a geographic record.