Travel + Research = The Perfect Combination for Writers

This is Why I Visit the Places I Want to Write About

Every afternoon the people one knows can be found at the café.

“Montparnasse” by Ernest Hemingway

I’ve just returned from a 15-day trip to Europe and the UK. It was a whirlwind of experiences, and it will take me a few weeks to analyze and sift through the memories, the photos, the inside jokes.

But one thing is certain. What I saw, what I felt, what I smelled and tasted and heard, will make it into several books and stories. Ireland especially was fruitful: Westport House in Westport, Ireland goes into a holiday-themed short story. The empty Trinity Library goes into Jayne Thorne #5. The Croaghaun Cliffs of Achill Island will be in my next standalone, albeit transplanted into a fictional town. I was playing Tetris with the memories I was making, slotting experiences into different stories as they came. It was delightful, invigorating, and overwhelming.