Bestiary

I occasionally get harebrained schemes.  I had one a couple years ago that was very time-consuming. I bought a dictionary of mythical creatures long ago. It's pretty hefty too. Though it does neglect some parts of the world (and the book itself was badly made - a bunch of the pages started falling out of the binding. I tried to glue a few back in, but that went badly). 

Anyway, I went through this dictionary of magic beasts and started taking notes of anything that might appear in my worlds. I kept wondering if I was completely wasting my time. And I was so relieved to finish and put that huge book away. Though I do add to that list when I find a good source of information. And I definitely need to fill out some parts of the list - I have very few from Africa, for example. And I definitely need more from North America, since that's where many of my stories are set.

And my crazy list has actually been helpful. I have used my "bestiary" a few times to look of creatures from certain parts of the world. The recent post about the monster that's like the Nowhere King was a result of that search. It's helped give more depth to the lands, and even add some plot.

I have written a couple guide books - one for each of my worlds. These are where I took notes of the mythical creatures and spirits. I often update the guide books. But most of it was written long ago. I really need to reread them, because I've forgotten a lot of the details. Especially since I sometimes change things.