Equipment:

The equipment required for this project is very minimal. All you need is a some blank paper and a pen or pencil. An eraser is also handy.

Getting Started

The first thing you need to do is to draw an outline of your island. Of course, it doesn’t actually have to be an island, there is nothing stopping you drawing a country bordered by other nations. The only limit is your imagination. 

Take into consideration what you want the geogrpahy of your island to look like. Think about climate, tectonic plates, volcanic activity etc. 

Your island might look something like this:

Next, think about the geography some more…

Start adding in some mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, swamps etc. Think about where these things would be in real life — for example, rivers flow from the mountains and hills to the ocean. Swamps might occur in a low lying piece of land. Your island will begin to look like this:

Add some forest if you want it

I decided to put in a few areas of large forest. Your island could be completely covered in forest or have none at all! It all depends what you want.

Add in some settlements

Think about what type of creatures inhabit your land. Are they human? Or are they a different species? For example, if your land is inhabited by elves, they might have cities in the forest. If by dwarves, there might be towns underneath mountains. There could be a mixture of different species. Think about how they relate to one another — if humans and dwarves don’t get along, there probably won’t be a human town right beside a dwarf town.

You can add in roads and shipping routes. Think about the best place to put these roads — rather than go through the mountains, a road might go around them for safety.

Now you get to name everything

If you have been thinking of great names as you go, you can start to put these in. Otherwise, get thinking! The names can be in English, or a completely different language. What language do the inhabitabants of your land speak? Do the elves have their own language? What about the humans? 

You don’t have to name everything — just the things you think are important.

Now, think about what other things live on your island…

What creatures can be found on your island? Are there any things that are special, only to be found there? How do they interact with the othe inhabitants?

Let your imagination run wild and try make up a completely new species! 

If you want…

You can invent the history of your island. When did people first arrive there? Who runs the country? Have there been any wars? These are the things that make your country unique. If you want to take it even further, you can write stories about the people who live on your island and their adventures. 

As an extra, invent the mythology of your country. The people living there probably have their own religion and a complex set of mythology to go along with it. Writing this can be fun and knows no bounds!