Comments on: Vacation, a great generator of book ideas

By: Herbert Therien

Herbert Therien — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:29:40 +0000

Glad to be one of the visitors on this amazing website : D.

By: Ellis Shuman

Ellis Shuman — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:04:25 +0000

I’m glad you enjoyed your trip to Israel! (My home) I have also traveled in Jordan and Petra is absolutely amazing.

I lived for two years in Bulgaria on a work contract, and that extended stay in an unusual culture has provided the background and inspiration for my work in progress, a novel set in Bulgaria.

By: Jacoba Urist

Jacoba Urist — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:04:14 +0000

Just had to chime in Jane. When I returned from a summer in Israel, age 14, I wrote a “novella” about Masada. After my climb and for about four months into the school year, I was obsessed with plotting and characters, all loosely based on the historical narrative…My parents kept it and I have to say, 20 years later, it’s still inspiring to go back and see what inspired me.

By: D. A. Hosek

D. A. Hosek — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:03:10 +0000

I try to take notes on places that I go for future reference. I’m actually using notes from a Christmas visit to Mexico to visit the in-laws in fleshing out details in my current novel. I also work on getting notes from my more quotidian experiences as well.

By: Gilbert J. Avila

Gilbert J. Avila — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:42:12 +0000

Erm…Petra was the setting for the final scenes in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

By: Roxanne Skelly

Roxanne Skelly — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:11:31 +0000

Ugh, We were supposed to go back to Egypt, with a side-trip to Jordan in early Spring, but things got a bit shaky there. Hopefully thinks will be ok next spring.

I rather like travel. Been all over Europe, to Thailand, and so on. I’ve chosen James Bond as my tour guide, in fact. http://www.roxanneskelly.com/2011/08/im-followin-james-bond.html

Each place I travel gives me a new perspective on the places I’ve been before, and bit by bit, I’m coming to know the world. All this travel really helps generate ideas for stories, as well. Only problem, when I’m out and about, I want to explore, not sit down and write…oh well.

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:30:21 +0000

Not on vacation, since it’s been so long I hardly remember what one is, but definitely from pictures of places, or documentaries, or whatever. Landscapes do a lot for me, whether they are sparse and open or crowded with ancient ruins.

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:36:06 +0000

This is a great question, and I thought it was ‘no,’ until I remembered a future project, a novel set in the archipelago of Chiloe in Chile, a very beautiful but unusual place with its own folklore that you find evidence of throughout the islands. I’m looking forward to starting it soon.

By: Kerry Gans

Kerry Gans — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:28:40 +0000

On my honeymoon in England, we were in Salisbury. As we walked past the ancient city wall, I noticed windows indicating that there was housing inside the wall – or at least attached to it in some way. I got to wondering what it would be like to live INSIDE a thick city wall, and slowly came up with THE GATEKEEPER’S DAUGHTER, which is still in outline form, but features not only a fortified city but a Stonehenge-like rock circle that used to protect the town but is now just a ruin.

Going places is a great way to stir creativity, since it exposes you to settings and ideas outside your normal comfort zone.

Kerry