Let Me Tell You About My Nerdy Little Hobby

Tell me, do you like maps?

All work and no play, blah, blah, blah.

Seriously, I’ve been working too hard lately. A forced vacation to Tennessee ended up reminding me I needed to remember the whole “self-care” thing when working from home. I can be a bit of a workaholic at times.

I needed to slow down.

I don’t have time for a lot of complicated hobbies, but I did need a distraction from work that I could pick up and put down at any time, didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and was fun.

I think I found it.

My Maps: A Brief Introduction

Okay, I did already have one hobby.

Once, every two weeks, I get together with friends on Zoom, and we play Dungeons & Dragons for two or three hours. It’s not a lot compared to the weekend-long marathon sessions of my youth, but it’s something.

Why only two or three hours?

Because we all have jobs and families and responsibilities — things we didn’t have to deal much with when we were thirteen. Just the same, every two weeks, I pretend to be a swashbuckling rogue who deals with dragons, vampires, frost giants, and the like.

A big part of games like Dungeons & Dragons (and similar tabletop roleplaying games like Tunnels & Trolls, Pathfinder, Traveller, etc.) is drawing maps. After all, you have to know out where you’re going when you’re battling evil and investigating mysteries.

While many types of maps are used in roleplaying games, I’ve always been a fan of a good dungeon-crawl map. These often lay out the underground environments players explore with their characters. The various rooms and halls of the dungeon or similarly underground structure are populated by monsters, traps, and enigma.

I’ve played in adventures where the underground map was only a few rooms and hallways. I’ve also played in adventures featuring subterranean labyrinths stretching for miles and delving deep into the earth.

The deeper you go, the bigger the challenges.

And the larger the rewards.

So I’ve taken to drawing maps of these places.

It’s a Different Kind of Creative Outlet

I write for a living. Yeah, I know. I’m surprised as well.

In any case, I could have turned to writing stories or fan fiction or something as a hobby, but I wanted something different.

There are quite a few people online who like to draw dungeon maps. There are a few online communities — usually on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram — where people share their maps, plus various techniques and styles.

It’s all very civilized, and it’s impressive to see what people come up with.

Right now, because I’m still relatively new to the hobby, my maps aren’t overly complex or even sophisticated.

But they’re fun.

And that’s what matters.

Instead of writing hundreds or thousands of words at a sitting about estate law, manufacturing, real estate, or cybersecurity, I’m creating rooms, passageways, secret doors, mysterious caves, underground rivers, and other fun things.

Sometimes I let a sense of aesthetic design guide me. Sometimes I make up a story or scenario in my head that explains the layout of the map.

Forced To Slow Down

One nice thing about drawing maps like this is that I’m forced to slow down. So much of life comes at lightning speed that it can be exhausting to keep up.

See all that stippling done around the edges of my maps?

That takes time.

I dare not rush it, or it loses the effect I’m going for.

One map might take me a couple of days to finish as I pick it up and put it down in between work and chores and the like.

But I’m in no rush. Nor should I be.

This helps me change my pace and slow down.

100% Digital-Free

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a totally plugged-in person living in the 21st century. I’ve been living in the future since the 80s.

That said, it’s good to have some hobbies that are 100% analog.

I draw by hand, in a little book of graph paper, using actual pens filled with ink.

No tablets. No scanners. No software.

The closest I get to digital with this hobby is occasionally taking a picture to share online. (Or writing about it here.)

My sketchbook is about half-filled with fun little maps. If you were to flip through it, you’d see how, over time, I improve my technique. And where I’ve tried to set up a story here or there.

Someday, I hope to have shelves filled with these sketchbooks.

To what end?

No particular end other than as a testimony to slowing down and enjoying something simply for the sake of enjoying something.

Hobbying For Fun and… well, just for fun

You don’t need to draw nerdy little maps of fantasy dungeons — although you could if you wanted.

You could collect stamps or records or Bavarian steins.

Whatever floats your boat.

So many of us get obsessed these days with the “hustle and grind” that we end up overworked and stressed.

Been there, done that. Hated it.

Instead, find a hobby that has nothing to do with your work, hustle, or career.

Just have some fun, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting your time.

And resist the temptation to monetize your hobby.

I know some fellow map makers who have turned the hobby into a bit of a side business.

No thanks.

Let me relax and enjoy my thing.

And you go relax and enjoy your thing.

Slow down, and enjoy.

Cheers!

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