Chicago Travel

I’m late with posts because my travel to Chicago has gotten me busy. Jet lag and settling in the Windy City has taken much of my time. But today I want to tell you how travel can spark new writing ideas.

New Landscape

Every time you start a new book, you need a new landscape. You need a fresh picture on the canvas of  your page. It provides the flora, architecture, roads and landmarks you wouldn’t get from a picture or from using Google.  Travel can give you the backdrop, the kind of trees that grow there, the style of home you will find, the network of roads, etc.

New People

It provides new characters. Let’s face it, if you don’t meet people, you can still watch and hear them. You hear their conversations, the way they pronounce their words or say things. It can add another dimension to you characters.

Activities 

You can’t possibly know what the locals enjoy doing unless you travel to that place. Just to explain, I for one would never peg Chicago as a cyclist’s dream. But it is. Here in my neighborhood alone, I’ve seen more than a dozen people cycling and it’s amazing because I’d never pick this up from google.

Cuisine

Food is an integral part of a story. No matter what you write I bet there must be mention of food in your book. In the book, In search of Lost time, Proust uses Madeleines which made the biscuit popular. Similarly in your book, food and cuisine can play a major role in adding a layer to the story. On a separate note, I haven’t sampled the deep dish pizza yet, but I’m dying to try. 🙂

Does travel spark new ideas for you? If so how? We’d like to know.