When Do You Take the Trip?
April 14, 2014
Early in my writing career I realized how much fun it was to set my novels in places far from my home in Idaho. Readers often ask, “Do you visit the settings of your novels?”
“Yes!”
“Before you start writing or once you have an idea?”
I’ve found it best to visit after I have a good start on the story—a first draft is ideal—but sometimes circumstances don’t make that possible or sensible.
My first novel, The Seventh Unicorn, is set in Paris. I barely had the first draft of the first few chapters on paper when my husband said, “Let’s go to Paris!” Do you really think I said no?
A visit to do research for my second novel, set in Italy, coincided with a class reunion in Florence. When I set off for Munich, then Prague, for my third and fourth novels, the stories were well under way, though the visits helped me flesh out the details, add a few more, and clear up some confusion.
We’re headed to Florence again, once more for a reunion. I’ve got an idea for a novel set in Tuscany, but it’s little more than that. It involves a couple of characters from Lost and Found in Prague (a novel coming from Berkley/Penguin in January 2015), who have refused to let go. I haven’t worked out a plot yet, so this is a new adventure for me. I’m curious to see if I’ll find a story waiting there for me to tell.
Reader Comments:
Kelly-Have a wonderful time at the Florence reunion-iI wish I could be there again and relive our junior year exploring Florence and surrounding countries. I look forward to your Tuscany novel!
-Diane Kelly Hamm, April 14, 2014
Enjoy your trip to Italy and the reunion. I will be there in spirit. I have enjoyed reading all your books and passing them on to friends, proudly commenting that I went to school with the author. Can't wait for the next book! Buon viaggio!
Liz Feuersinger Templeton
-Liz Feuersinger Templeton, April 15, 2014
Thank you, Diane and Liz--wish you could join us! Will be thinking of you and all our wonderful GU-in-Florence classmates.
-Kelly Jones, April 15, 2014