Writing and Location

Have you ever taken a walk and found yourself staring at beautiful scenery, thinking to yourself that you wanted to describe it in your book? If you answered yes, then you aren't alone, if you answered no, then I recommend you follow the advice I'm about to give.

Source: istockphoto

Beautiful isn't it? The frosted mountain side, adorned with rocks. The vast green wilderness of such grandeur, untouched by man. However, the unfortunate news is very few people live close to such magnificent sights. But that is not always a bad thing. It can be more realistic to write the simple beauty in the world, wildly describing massive woodland, giant mountains, titanic monuments can seem overdone and too fantastic to immerse the reader successfully.

Description

What is arguably more effective is say a simple stream, or river, maybe with a bridge, just like this:

Where did I find this lovely picture? Well, I took it in the woods next to my house.

Most people don't have the money to travel to distant locations for research, but I'm here to tell you that you do not need to. Simple things such as a stream, forest or pathway can be just as effective with some description and wordcraft. 'The stream flowed with the elegance of the natural world', 'The trees were the colour of emerald, all glistening with the sunlight', 'He strolled down the the trodden, dirt road. The colour matched his frayed jeans'. Did you imagine it? Was it there in your mind? Thus is the power of good description.

Explore

While most people do stick to the beaten track, it is not always the most traveled road that is the best, this is especially true for writers. Going to untouched and odd places can provide great inspiration; the lone stream, overgrown and longing for company; the great oak, overshadowing all within his gaze, the things he's seen, the stories he could tell; the rolling green hills, ever watching, a silent audience of stone. Any number of local places could become outstanding scenery within your book, the more unexplored, the better.

Hidden in Plain Sight

A monument in my nearby town

While it is true that a lot of places of great inspiration and amazing aesthetics is within nature and unexplored places, this is not always the case. This photo I took in the nearest town to my house. This monument could easily be used as a medium in my book to explain an important part of the history, perhaps it is engraved upon it for all to read, so they don't forget whatever that important event might be. Of course, going that route, keep in mind that the event needs to be fairly important to warrant a monument having been built for it.

Conclusion

Before I bore you all to tears, I'll wrap this up. When exploring for your book, keep in mind where your book is set. Fantasy? Go to a nearby forest. Victorian? Check out an industrial sector. Sci-fi? Go to a city centre. There is a place for everyone. Goodbye for now and good hunting!