by Marguerite Martin Gray
Are you an avid traveler? I’m an avid traveler and reader. These activities easily go hand in hand in my life. If anyone says “Let’s go!” I’m there with my bags packed and full of enthusiasm. It really doesn’t matter the destination—local, state, national, or international. I’ll lead or follow as long as I’m going.
Traveling is more than the physical presence in a different place, although that is a major part of the definition. I believe reading can transport someone to another continent and another time. As writers we have the ability to move readers to exotic venues in dramatic eras.
Where do you find your details for your settings and backdrops? Do you rely on more than your own experience? Do you use your own travels as a resource?
As I hinted, I love to travel. I lived in England for a few years as a preteen which gave my family easy access to a continent full of history, culture, and beauty. A wonderland of ideas and plots. Once introduced to the benefits of travel, I expanded the activities to my adult life. Some might say I’m addicted to the pursuit of travel that hopefully leads to an actual trip.
What can an author gain from experiencing the setting of a story firsthand? When I travel, I collect information on a variety of categories. I want to see, taste, smell, hear, and touch what my characters will experience as I live as a local. This kind of travel research is a wonderful treat to me.
Traveling for research opens my imagination. I have a travel journal for any detail I might need: culture, food, weather, clothing, history, speech, vocabulary, language, animals, shopping, transportation.
Hop on a plane or a train, a covered wagon or a horse and become a world traveler with a good book. #MargueriteMartinGray #ACFW #writing #writingtips Share on XMy tendency to collect guidebooks, history resources, maps, etc. can be a problem. I usually send a box home with my findings. With my historical fiction that I write, I always make sure I have traveled to the setting: Italy, England, Switzerland, France, and the South Pacific. I have volumes of material to glean those little tidbits that make the story realistic, plausible, and interesting.
Do you ever pick out a book because of its setting? I confess that I do that often. Most of my reads are historical fiction where I can lose myself in the culture of any given era and destination. I’m all over the place. I do tend to gravitate to Europe especially Italy and France. Give me a book set in the UK and I can visualize much of the scenery, manor houses, castles, pubs, cottages. All my senses are ignited as I experience the mood, ambiance, and flavor of the setting. Could I stay for a while? Oh, yes, sometimes I don’t ever want the book to end.
My motto for writing is Entertain. Educate. Encourage. For my purpose here, I’ll concentrate on Educate. When I step into a book, I yearn to learn something about history, personalities, ways of life, food, floor plans, transportation. One of the first places I go in a book is to the back for the author’s thoughts and historical notes. Those lovely and inviting tidbits spark an interest and help me understand what is factual and what artistic license the author has used. Even with contemporary, the opportunity to gain knowledge is great as I sit with the characters in a modern café in a vibrant city or on the beach in the South Pacific.
If you have the travel bug, pick up a book and enjoy the journey! I’ll see you in the pages as we journey together.
~~~
Marguerite Martin Gray is an award-winning author of a dozen novels and novellas. She enjoys the study of history, especially when combined with fiction. An avid traveler and reader, she teaches French and Spanish online. She currently lives in North Louisiana with her husband and rescue pets. Her two adult children and two grandsons keep her young and up-to-date. Visit Marguerite on her website at https://www.margueritemartingray.com.
Comments 4
Wonderful post, Marguerite! I don’t have a real-life travel bug, but I do enjoy traveling to all the places I go when reading.
Great article. Thanks! I find the locations I’ve visited in the US, Europe, Asia, and Mexico popping up in everything I write. As you make so clear, doing makes the writing process that much more fun and my readers are forever recognizing the locations and asking me about them. One funny note: In my first Home Team novel, I placed a small church in northern Olympia, Washington. I’ve gotten request after request from people familiar with that area, asking for its location. I finally broke down and spilled the beans and they almost seemed disappointed that the mystery of its location was finally solved. Next time, I’ll just let them enjoy wondering. So much fun. Thanks, again.
I love learning about new places while reading or researching for a story, and occasionally while on vacation 😉. Such a great post.
I love to travel both in life and through a good book. This post was a lovely reminder that we are the vehicle transporting readers to our particular setting and/or time and how we need to take care that we provide them an exciting and invigorating ride. Thank you for posting.