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| Image: courtesy of wertandart.wordpress.com |
Research reveals it's good writing that places readers into stories but it's when writers use their own life experiences to describe their fictional worlds that readers can immerse themselves in the plots and care for what happens to the characters.
Life experiences--events like the birth of a child or scoring your team's winning goal in the Grand Final or hiding in the forest as enemy soldiers advance, and the emotions that come with them, the awe, joy and fear--add an extra level of depth to the writer's vision that allows readers to get involved in the story. The reader experiencing the story for themselves is what makes a book unforgettable.
What if I want to write a story set in the wilds of the jungle in Brazil about an archaeologist searching for a lost city, or one set in Regency England where a Duke must find himself a wife or risk losing his inheritance? I'm not an archaeologist. I'm not acquainted with a Duke. I've never visited Brazil or travelled back in time. How do I write the stories I want to write?
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| Image: courtesy of: nicolaskey.net |
Via travel I exposed myself to places previously unfamiliar. Immersed in other cultures, I saw the different landscapes, heard how the locals spoke. I stepped outside my comfort zone and tasted food I'd never known about. I pushed aside my fear of dark, enclosed spaces and explored ancient catacombs, feeling the uneven ground beneath my feet and smelling the musty air.
Travel can be easy or it can just as easily be stressful. I drive slowly through the English countryside enjoying the scenery. Great. I arrive in a country where the locals speak a language I don't understand and I don't know my way around. A challenging time, perhaps fearful. However the travel turns out, in the end I have life experiences. Details invaluable to me as a writer that give me a new perspective, details that when included in my stories lets me live them and, in turn, lets readers live them too.
Have you travelled? Has travel inspired your writing?
Love to love - Filling my gaze with beautiful sights.
Love to laugh - at my ungrammatical attempts at speaking another language!
Love to learn - working out things for myself gives me added confidence.
Thanks for an interesting post, Enisa. I LOVE to travel, and broadening my life experiences by doing so has definitely added authenticity to my writing. My debut novel (Harlequin Mira early 2016) is set on a pearl farm in the Kimberley region. Even with thorough research, there is no way I could have got a feel for this beautiful place if I hadn't spent time up there and actually visited a pearl farm. Hopefully that shows in my writing :)
ReplyDeleteHi Marilyn. You are so right about the added authenticity! Being in a place just makes your writing so much more real. And congratulations once again. Looking forward to reading your debut novel very much!
DeleteThanks Enisa!
DeleteI meant to add that it wasn't only a feeling for the setting that I absorbed. Things like actually observing the seeded oyster shells in situ, and watching someone demonstrate how to clean an oyster shell, all helped when it came to incorporating those little details into my story.
Yes. Physically being somewhere and seeing things for yourself does help with descriptive details. And many times you don't have to travel far to get thosr details.
DeleteHi, Breathless bloggers! I write medieval Welsh romances. I've not travelled back in time but I have visited quite a few museums. I've also never been to Wales. For that I have the reminiscences of a dementia affected grandfather. His mind may have been deteriorating but his love of the Welsh countryside never waned. I see the landscape and the people through his eyes. Someday I'll get to Wales but until then I'll have to stick to Google and my Grampa's memories. Hopefully I'll still impart authenticity into my books...even though borrowed as it may be!
ReplyDeleteHi Dee. Hearing about Wales via your Grampa's memories is a wonderful way to visualise and experience a country. You have all his reminiscences and through those you can experience the country. And I do hope you get to see Wales for yourself one day. You can then say 'I'm seeing what Grampa saw!'
DeleteWales is on my TBV (to be visited) list, too, Dee. Had a small taste with a couple of days spent at Hay-on-Wye (just on the Welsh border) and definitely want to see more.
DeleteGreat post Enisa. I traveled to the UK and Ireland a few years back and it really gave me a sense of the places my characters would have lived (I write Regency Historicals). I went to Bath and visited the Assembly rooms and the Jane Austen Museum just to name just a few places I went. I would love to go back again and do more research.
ReplyDeleteHi Cassandra Samuels. The experiences you gained via your travels showed in your debut novel 'A Scandalous Wager'. Your writing pulled me right into the story and I experienced it along with Lisbet and Oliver.
DeleteThe whole Regency world you created in that book was very visual, Cassandra.
DeleteLove your post, Enisa! I agree, it's lovely to travel and get a real feel for a place. But aren't we lucky in this day and age, to have the internet to help with our research, YouTube, and people like you sharing your holiday experiences. We can go places we never dreamed of! We are lucky armchair travellers as well as sometimes setting foot on foreign land. I think the most amazing 'moment' for me came last year, the day I landed in Paris for the first time. I was in a café next to the Seine River, eating French Onion soup and bread, and loving it. When I looked up I could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I felt so lucky to be there, listening to the others in the café, and soaking up the atmosphere. Vive les differences!
ReplyDeleteI also love reading books set in foreign locales. There is a book called 'Everything I Know I Learned From A Romance Novel' - and in some part, that's true! You learn so much when writers such as yourself put something wonderful into a book and suddenly you're not only reading a romance but also becoming the armchair traveller again. Thanks!
I love that book. Everything I Know I Learned From A Romance Novel by Sarah Wendell is a fabulous read and amusing too.
DeleteI do believe that Sarah Wendell has been out to Australia a few times and is a great traveler. I am sure she too has been inspired by her travels. She is such a great supporter of the Romance genre.
DeleteHi Malvina. Yes, the people of today are very lucky indeed to have so many ways available to experience another country. And if you can't physically visit a place then armchair travel is a great way. My most amazing experience was the High Tea at the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai. Oh my my! The luxury. The beauty. The decadent decor. If I ever wanted to know how the upper classes relax I do know it now! And a wonderful experience it was, too!
DeleteI haven't read that book, Malvina, but it sounds like something I'd enjoy.
DeleteA great post, Enisa. I too enjoy reading books set in "intriguing settings. Over the years I have been so blessed to have travelled with my husband to America, Africa and Britain. Unfortunately we missed Ireland and Europe. Despite this I have only set one manuscript, Delayed Dreams, in England. Although we lived for two years in that area, because it is now some years since we left I decided to send the manuscript to a friend there to check. And yes, there has been a few changes there which meant I did have to revise. So, thought might just mention a warning here. If you are using a setting you have only visited briefly or years ago, you would be wise to make sure there have not been changes in this fast-changing world we live in. Has anyone else read books set in Australia by a writer overseas who simply has stuff so wrong it made you feel they must have only been here very briefly to get things so wrong you cringe? This is probably why I have been too scared of doing that to readers in other countries and haven't attempted to use overseas settings before. It is not only the scenery settings but the people and culture we have to get right.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary. Great to see you here. Thanks for the tip about being aware of things changing over time and tp make sure to get things right. Readers are astute and can pick errors easily. But the wonderful thing about travel is the opportunity to experience the place for yourself and then be able to really use the senses when writing about the places.
DeleteGreat post Enisa and I really enjoyed the photos you posted on FB. I've travelled a bit and was lucky enough to live in the UK for a year. I think I dragged my poor husband to every castle, forest, stone circle, church and historic place I could find. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole. Thanks for dropping by. I've toured England before. Loved visiting all the historical places. This trip was a combined family reunion and sightseeing venture. I did a lot of walking to really experience the forests, the sea and the towns and so always remember them. I spoke with locals a lot to get a feel of who they are. That's a real help in my writing.
DeleteGreat post Enisa and a great reason for a holiday... Thanks for getting me thinking.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Karen. Actually visiting a place and discovering all the facets of it gives your writing that 'real' feel that readers love. And it makes for a truly enjoyable holiday. :)
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