Years ago, I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Boston. While there, I was able to see a good portion of the sights and I took a bunch of pictures. However, if I were to try and set a book in Boston these days, I would still need to do a great deal of research about the city and its history, even though I’ve already been there. Why? Because too much time has passed since that trip and because I didn’t vacation there with a researcher’s eye for a potential book setting.
Since then, I’ve taken trips that were solely for research, where most of my time is spent collecting information for a planned story. But what about those regular, just-for-fun vacations with family or friends? Can those be turned into possible research gold-mines, even without a potential story idea in your head before you go? Absolutely!
Last month my family and I took a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan—purely to see what we’d been told was gorgeous countryside. And it is! This trip wasn’t for a planned book of mine, but I came home with a wealth of information and pictures that may very well find their way into a future story.
If you’re planning an upcoming trip or vacation that’s just for fun, here are some tips for approaching your time away as a book researcher.
Know Before You Go
Before our trip, I came up with a list of places and attractions I wanted to see while we were there. Being a historical writer, there were several museums on my list, but there were also places that are iconic to the area that I didn’t want to miss like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. For my kids, there were things like a shipwreck boat tour on Lake Superior and a visit to a family-owned zoo. Nowadays, you can find lots of “Top Ten” lists of things to see and do as well as other travel blog posts on just about any place in the world. These can help you compile a list of things you want to see and experience on your trip. Ditch the Guidebook for the Camera
Several of the historical museums we visited in the UP had lots of valuable information posted on signs or plaques. So rather than purchasing a book from the gift shop about everything in the museum or on one central topic, I opted to take pictures of all the informational plaques I found interesting or I thought I might want to reference later. With a smart phone or tablet – or even a regular camera – you can photograph any pertinent information for free. And the more pictures you take of your surroundings, the more likely you’ll be able to call to mind the details of what a place looked and felt like.
Check out the Local Flavor
I’m talking about more than food here—although, sampling the local fare is also a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the place you’re visiting. What better way to know what your potential characters might eat, then to try the food yourself? The UP is known for its pasties (which we learned is NOT pronounced paste-ee. It’s called a past-ee). So we had them for dinner one night. I recommend the chicken ones. We also had fantastic fish and chips in a small town on the eastern side of the UP.In addition to food, though, be sure to check out the haunts and hangouts of the locals. I’d read online about a café and bookstore in Munising, Michigan that had great ice cream. While the ice cream certainly turned out to be yummy, it was the ambiance of the café that proved to be the coolest thing about the place. Regular kitchen tables are set up around the room, which has walls lined with books. Patrons can eat at the tables or play one of the supplied board games or do both. At the far side of the room, a band was playing music. And nearly everyone sang along when they played “Sweet Caroline.” Having been there and experienced the local flavor of the place, I could easily recreate a similar café and bookstore in a future story.
Allow for Spontaneity
While it’s helpful to make a list of things you don’t want to miss on a trip or vacation, there is something to be said for having days or hours of flexibility. Time to make unscheduled stops and simply enjoy the beauty of the moment. It’s often in those moments that you can really connect with a place.
One such moment for me was looking for agates along the south shore of Lake Superior. It was equally as fun to read an account, after coming home from our trip, about a woman in 1881 who also had a collection of agates from along the south shore. If I had to write about someone agate hunting on Lake Superior in early August, I could do it now. I could describe the gray day, the cold water, the smooth rocks, and the lake stretching out to the horizon.
It’s these details, these in-person experiences, these pictures that can enhance a story—even if it’s one we haven’t yet created.
Writers, have you taken a non-research trip or vacation that you later used as the setting for a story? Readers, do you like to plan out your vacation itineraries or do you like get to where you’re going and decide then?
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A Girl on the Brink of Womanhood, a Country on the Brink of War
Even at a young age, Ada Thorne knew that she would marry only for love, never money. So when she finds herself irrevocably drawn to Ned Henley, the lowly gamekeeper on a neighboring estate, she defies her parents and society by eloping with him to London to build a new life.
Without her family’s support, life in the city is far more difficult than the one of ease and privilege Ada has always known. She’ll find herself relentlessly tested in ways she never imagined—especially when Ned, answering the call of duty, enlists to serve his country in World War One.
Alone and near poverty with a child to raise, Ada’s resolve will be strained at every turn. And as she struggles to remain true to her convictions and live life on her own terms, Ada will embark on a journey of courage, faith, and love that will surpass even her own humble dreams . . .
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