Got stuck for a week trying to make a fantasy city map feel real

I was writing a story set in a made-up city called Veridia and the plot just kept stalling. The problem was I hadn't figured out how the city actually worked, like where the water came from or how people got food. I spent seven full days just drawing maps and writing notes about trade routes before I could get back to the story. Has anyone else gotten stuck worldbuilding a simple detail that stopped everything?

3 comments

3 Comments

karenm491mo agoMost Upvoted

My first city had no toilets.

wyatt7711mo ago

No toilets? That's wild. How did people even live there?

reese_bell1mo ago

My first book draft had a capital city with no docks or farmland on the map. I used to think readers wouldn't care about logistics, but getting those basics wrong makes the whole story feel fake. Now I sketch the sewers and markets first, because if I don't know how the trash gets out, my characters have nothing real to walk on. That week you spent was probably the most important work for your plot.