Being There

Susanna here, with what may be a shorter post this time, thanks to the fact that my trusty travelling computer is being obstinate this evening so I'm writing this on my cellphone instead (a Decidedly Slow Process for someone not used to typing with her thumbs :-)

But since I'm in Scotland at the moment doing research for my current book, and since I know that many of you like to know what we get up to when we're working, I thought I'd share some of what I did today.

Today the sun was shining, so I went to Leith. Of all the locations I need to scout here for the book, Leith's are almost entirely outdoors, and much as I do enjoy walking in rain, even Scottish rain gets a bit soggy at times. Besides which, when I'm scribbling things in my notebook and trying to take photos, sunshine's a definite plus.

Anyone watching me walking around during one of my on-location visits must think I'm a little peculiar. I walk a few paces. I stop. I stand and look intently at...something. The water, or a building just across the water, or a clump of grass beside the water, or the shadow of a cloud. And then I take my notebook from my pocket, scribble madly in it, snap a picture, and move on.

Today I did a lot of that, but I also wandered. 

Before going on location, I've already got a sense of what I'm looking for, and where I think I'll find it, but I've also learned to leave space for discovery.

I used to, years ago, think I was making these trips just to get my details right; to know the way the air smelled and the way things looked and felt, and where the sun set in the evenings. It was actually my mother who first pointed out that being on location is a key part of my process, because while I walk the same ground that my characters will walk (or have already walked, if they're real people from history) I'm absorbing not only the atmosphere but their whole world, and very often this is when they'll start to take shape in my mind and move and speak to me.

So I ended up here, at the corner of Giles Street and Spier's Place, surrounded by buildings that were entirely the wrong age for my book, and yet feeling myself compelled to stop, and scribble in my notebook, and take photos. 

Because my heroine was standing right beside me. 

I'm back in my little Edinburgh flat now, sorting through the day's notes and the photographs I took of views and buildings I specifically intended to. I've also learned Spier's Place didn't exist until 1875, when it came into being as part of an improvement scheme that saw eighteen old closes demolished.

All I need to do tomorrow is find a map that will show me those eighteen lost closes, and maybe then I'll know in which one my heroine lives...

Have you ever wandered off the beaten path, and found something wonderful?

Comments

[Mary Jo Putney]

Forget the fact that this is how you get your great research and sense of atmosphere, Susanna--what REALLY impresses me is that you were able to write this lovely blog on your cellphone! I can't even manage a three word text without typos. *G*

How lovely Leith looks. I trust you and your heroine enjoyed your day there together.

[Grace Burrowes]

Every time I go to Scotland, there's something wonderful waiting to surprise me. Thanks for the reminder, and safe journey home. Watch out for those standing stones though...

[Beth Anne Miller]

I love Leith! I have friends that live there, and it makes me happy to walk along the water. Also, yay for another Scotland-set book!

[Alison Y]

On one of my trips to Dublin, I went down a side street and found a wonderful building that held flats. It was relatively new and the facade was mostly of wood in a very modern artistic design. The wood was a medium brown shade and in contrast with the much darker stone buildings in the city; it was strikingly beautiful.

[Shannon Arthur]

I love when I have the time to go off the path I've planned. My dentist is on Harley Street, and I come in by train early in case they're cancelled, eat breakfast, and then fast 2-3 hours. I was heading without any firm route in mind to the Wallace Collection. I came across the Marylebone Library in amidst the posh shops. London seemed so ordinary at that moment.

Another time, I was headed to Queenhithe to see the Anglo-Saxon dock remains, and there was a Georgian House that was open for Open Cities. So I wandered in to see modern office spaces with lots of plugs in what had been a four story, four room per floor, Georgian home of a silk merchant. The closet door was a treat, bent and slanted. In that room they had made a platform so that the desks were level.

[Sue McCormick]

I love posts like this. I understand the feeling you get that your heroine was there. When we took the often mentioned 12-day tour, we all three felt we didn't get enough time if Scotland.

But it wasn't planned as an in-depth tour and we all felt it was good value. We've wanted to go back on our own; but I believe that aging has blocked our plans .Thank you, Susanna for taking me along.

[Quantum]

As a working scientist I traveled widely to attend conferences. The conferences were important for keeping up with the latest results but I also regarded the travel as a perk of the job, allowing me to visit fascinating locations ... I remember exploring the bronze age Minoan antiquities on Crete for example.

However I wonder whether researching locations for a new novel by actually living there for a while is essential or is it an enjoyable perk of the job, remembering that few readers are likely to be familiar with location details and 3D video imaging is readily available now.

I guess that feeling Scottish rain on your face or sensing the unique atmosphere of a place has to be experienced in order to achieve authenticity .... or can it be imagined. 😊

[Blythe Gifford]

Because I write books set almost 700 years and 4,000 miles away from where I live, I have never visited any of the sites personally. I'm working on a new project, however, set on this side of the pond and have made two trips in person so far. I have mixed feelings. There are some things I did sense, or learn, from actually being there. But you can't travel in time. And I had such a clear picture of the historic site before I went. Now, I can't seem to see it without the skyscrapers and parking lots!

[Cynthia Rinear Bethune]

I traveled to Bermuda to research my novel and was walking around St George's looking at the oldest buildings, some that were used during the American Civil War for blockade running. One old empty warehouse was painted aquamarine with white limestone pillars (they don't make warehouses in Fairbanks, Alaska like that!) It was cordoned off and there were two guys working on another warehouse nearby and they moved the blockade so I could go up onto the upper balcony, investigate and take pictures of the building and the view of St. George's Harbor... it was great, and I named two of my characters after those guys!

[Susanna Kearsley]

I am nothing if not stubborn, Mary Jo, and when I realized the computer wasnt going to let me connect to the Internet, I was determined not to let that stop me :-)

Yes, Leith was indeed lovely. And Lily and I (and some other stray characters) did have a wonderful day there. Thanks!

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[Susanna Kearsley]

Hi Grace! Fortunately, there are no standing stones near where Im going...although I will be going somewhere rather special this coming weekend, and will try not to get lost in the woods there.

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[Susanna Kearsley]

Lucky you, Beth Anne, to have friends in such a pretty place. And yes, this new novel, The Vanished Days, is a sort-of-prequel to The Winter Sea...

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[Susanna Kearsley]

What a lovely discovery, Alison. The most unexpected treasures can be found tucked away down little side streets.

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[Susanna Kearsley]

Thanks for sharing these, Shannon. Now I think I should have called my post Off the Path because thats such a nice way of describing it!

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[Susanna Kearsley]

Sue, you are most welcome. But I do hope you get a chance to come back in person. Scotland is the sort of place that lets you be--you can travel at your own pace, and there are even slower paced coach tours. In the meantime, though, Ill do my best to help you travel vicariously :-)

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[Susanna Kearsley]

Quantum, I think every writers process is different. As with everything about writing, there is no one hard and fast rule when it comes to location research. For me, I have to be there--but it doesnt have to be for long. Sometimes I can gather the details Ill need for a place in a matter of hours. Other times, Ill need to return to the same location at different times, in different seasons.

Interestingly, the one time I did take the giant step of moving house to the location I was writing about--in Wales, where I actually lived in the house where I was setting my story--was the only time my editor handed me back my manuscript and complained he couldnt see the landscape. I was too close to my subject--I had lost the outsiders eye.

I had to regain it, and notice what it was about that part of Wales that made it special. Easier to do when youre a stranger, not a resident.

Of course, when Im dealing with historical landscapes that have long since disappeared, I have to rely on travel diaries or paintings, but for the most part, nothing replaces the value of actually being there, walking the path of my characters.

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