Research, research is such a vital part of writing. I love reading old
maps, looking into customs and phrases of another time period. But then there
comes that point in researching when you are looking for a specific fact. Maybe
the terrain of the area you are writing about. Or the distance one would have
to travel on horseback
How I wish I knew someone from the time I am writing about so that
I could just ask these questions. I would take great notes. Then I could get
back to writing.
Instead I am still researching. I need my heroine to ride from her
home somewhere outside of London to London. So on horseback, I’ve found she
could ride about 48 miles in a day. But I want her to arrive in London in 3-4
hours. Oh and the hero is with her—two people only one horse. So the horse
although quite large would take approximately will take more time to get to
London. So now I am looking for a town 25 miles outside of London.
Once I find the town, then I have to see what the terrain is like.
What types of vegetation grow there. After that I need to decide if they took
the main road or the side roads or if they traveled through a forest.
Above is a forest that I know well. I could write about this forest. But it is on the wrong continent. I know the wildlife that lives in this forest. I know what the weather is like. The chill on an October afternoon. But I'm unsure of the temperatures of the place I am writing.
So that is where today October 10th finds me . . .
deeply embroiled in research.
Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be
counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the
Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:20-21
