Tag: London

Writing Research Trip of a Lifetime

In May this year, I had the opportunity to take a writing research trip of a lifetime. Not only did I take so many notes in the genre I like to write in, I also was able to visit so many places I’ve read about.

Meaning, I stood in the spot many of my favorite literary characters have stood. I could even imagine favorite scenes of carriage rides in Hyde Park, a stroll across Grosvenor Square, or sitting at a show performed at the Royal Albert Hall with royalty in the box down the aisle.

I thought it would be fun to share some of these photos with all of you. Which also helps me preserve the memories from my writing research trip.

Visiting Places I’ve Read About

In London alone, we were able to visit Grosvener Square, where the elite once lived and is now home to several embassies. We got here on our last night and I was so happy. It was on my bucket list for this writing research trip.

We also were able to drop by and see two Palaces, and go inside Windsor Castle (the state rooms are amazing. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, unfortunately. But I did take notes on some things I saw. Never know when those notes can be used for writing research.

Several books have taken me to a variety of London neighborhoods including Bow Street, Drury Lane, and Trafalgar Square. I had hoped to get to 7 dials, and a few others, but boy is it all a lot of walking. Even Hyde Park is huge, we had to break it up into two days. But just walking around gave me such great insight into the lay of the land. Perfect information for my next read or writing project. I kept finding every thing we saw as a research opportunity.

Hyde park was so fun to walk through. We walked one side on one day, and the other side another day. The main area where many carriages would parade to be seen was so big and open. The Serpentine was too. So many people were enjoying the park for the day having a picnic or renting paddleboats on the river. I could imagine scenes with the hero rowing a sweetheart and wooing her at the same time. I’ve read many scenes like this.

The London Zoo is where AA Milne would visit Winnipeg the bear that inspired the Winnie the Pooh Stories. This was a fun thing for me. Everything has a rich history in London. With many research points to capture.

I was so excited to go Bath and see the Roman Baths. I’ve read many stories with this setting in it. To see it in person was amazing. So much history it was overwhelming. We also walked through several churches including Notre Dame in Paris. In Scotland, visiting Edinburgh Castle gave me several ideas for a new series, where I also could possibly include the history of golf at St. Andrews Golf Course. Again, I found myself continuously taking writing notes on my phone.

There’s so much more I haven’t shared, I think I need to do it in another post. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in more from my writing research trip.

All in all I feel beyond blessed to be able to have seen all that we did. And look forward to adding these pieces to future stories. I’m so thankful our son decided to study abroad. Which got us planning this trip in the first place!!

Last month I shared about how I managed my book launch while on this trip. Take a look at all the pics I took with my book cover at these historical sights.

Or visit my website to read more on my blog.