What Would You Use the Cardinal Directions For?

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Four Beasts from Yu Yu Hakusho

I probably messed up my general plan here.  Thought doing a Questions 3 would work, but then I thought otherwise.  Then, I thought about talking about how the words ‘north, south, east, and west’ are used in non-Earth worlds.  That just brings up how Earth languages are being used at all.  Makes things easier for the reader to understand and immerse themselves.  Finally, I thought about letting people make their own cardinal symbology in the comments. Can’t really force that, so that’s just optional.  All I can do is ask the question above once more:

What would you use the cardinal directions for in a fictional story?

Not sure for a character to give directions or what they’re typically used for.  What do you think they can be used for on top of their normal usage?  Enjoy.

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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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12 Responses to What Would You Use the Cardinal Directions For?

  1. L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:
    February 23, 2024 at 10:06 am

    So far, I’ve only used them for direction, particularly in maps and dialogue. But now I want to do something more thematic to bring in aspects that describe a region and its people.

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  2. John W. Howell's avatar John W. Howell says:
    February 23, 2024 at 5:47 pm

    I feel a little bit out of it. I don’t normally have the need for compass directions and, therefore, symbols. I think it might be fun to somehow create a story where symbols like Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water take the place of the normal directions. I can see one of the lines now. “Head water young man, head water.”

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  4. coldhandboyack's avatar coldhandboyack says:
    February 24, 2024 at 9:56 am

    It’s early here, so all I’ve got is a loose idea of where to go during some kind of apocalypse. Kind of like Zombieland and several other have done.

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  5. V.M.Sang's avatar V.M.Sang says:
    February 24, 2024 at 10:09 am

    I’ve only used them for directions. “They travelled west for three days,” or the Western Mountains.

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  6. DebyFredericks's avatar DebyFredericks says:
    February 24, 2024 at 11:00 am

    Ooh, this is challenging to go beyond the obvious. I might have a character travel/quest to the cardinal directions to recruit companions or learn new powers. Sort of like in Last Airbender where Aang had to learn all the elements to fulfill his role as Avatar.

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