David Mitchell’s “Start with the Map”

From The New Yorker's archive: an absorbing essay about how he creates his multilayered fictional worlds.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌   View in browser | Update your preferences     Personal History Losing Religion and Finding Ecstasy in Houston Christianity formed my deepest instincts, and I have been walking away from it for half my life. By Jia Tolentino The English novelist David Mitchell is known for his experimental, inventive literary style. The author of nine novels, including "The Bone Clocks" and "Cloud Atlas"—the latter was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize—Mitchell appears to leap effortlessly from one fantastical terrain to the next. He is also one of the co-writers, along with Aleksandar Hemon and the director Lana Wachowski, of the screenplay for "The Matrix Resurrections," the latest installment of the sci-fi film franchise, which opens this week. In 2018, Mitchell published "Start with the Map," an absorbing essay about how he creates his multilayered fictional worlds. (The piece is an excerpt from the book "The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands.") The novelist describes his childhood literary inspirations and writes about how he has used cartography to help him envision his characters and narratives. "While none of the novels I've published as a writer contain maps, my notebooks are littered with them. Scenes (or suites of scenes) need spaces to happen in. What those spaces look like, and what is in them, can determine how the action unfolds. They can even give you ideas for what unfolds," he observes. As Mitchell evolved as a writer, maps not only revealed storylines but became an integral tool for building on his own genre-bending ideas. You can lose yourself in a map, he observes, and upon losing yourself discover new possibilities. The essay is a fascinating look at how one novelist crafts vivid panoramas of prose, imperceptibly molding his compositions into rich, distinctive domains. With a keen eye, Mitchell offers uncommon insight into the rigorous act of creation. He renders worlds within worlds like a master artisan—elevating us out of our own subdued realities and galvanizing the imagination with his ambitious, visionary chronicles.   —Erin Overbey, archive editor More from the Archive     Profiles Why Marlon James Decided to Write an African "Game of Thrones" The Booker Prize-winning novelist on fantasy, reality, and a religious crisis that has never ended. By Jia Tolentino     Rabbit Holes The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" Wilbert Awdry, who created Thomas the Tank Engine, disliked change, venerated order, and craved the administration of punishment. By Jia Tolentino You're receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the New Yorker Classics newsletter. Was this e-mail forwarded to you? Sign up.   Unsubscribe | Manage your e-mail preferences | Send newsletter feedback | View our privacy policy    The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products and services that are purchased through links in our newsletters as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers.    Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.