ABSTRACT
When he was a child, David Mitchell drew maps. Now he creates worlds. (Wagner 2014)
The author, David Mitchell, looked back on what he called his first ‘novelistic activities’ as a child, which involved building worlds by making maps. He recalled ‘the pleasure of large sheets of A1 cartridge paper, thick, lovely paper, mounted up on a big echoey mounting board with masking tape so it won’t wobble. And I’d cover it with maps.’ A different child might have become a cartographer, a travel writer or a geologist. Mitchell was able to combine his early experiences with his unique interests, drive and talents to use his ‘world-building’ to write novels (Wagner 2014).
