How Travel Makes Me a Better Writer
Bestselling author Madeline Martin shares why (and how) travel makes her a better writer, especially for writing historical fiction.
Walking through the streets of Bury St. Edmunds, still laid out in its square grid pattern with Tudor-era homes leaning heavily on their ancient frames, I immediately had a sense of what someone from 1645 would see. The steep hill toward Moyse’s Hall, which dates back to 1180, made my leg muscles burn. These details were precious to me as I wrote my upcoming novel, A Time of Witches.
I do a lot of research for every historical fiction I write, generally drawing on more than 100 nonfiction books.
Yet all the research cannot physically take me to the locations I’m writing about. Even travel articles, photos, and hours spent exploring Google Maps are not the same as being there. Research provides me with facts, while travel gives me experience. Nothing compares to standing in the very place my characters would be in my books. That unique experience transfers onto the page and makes the story more realistic.
I travel often, but the way I experience a location is entirely different when I’m there for research versus vacation or speaking engagements. Even a place I’ve been before. For example, part of A Time of Witches is set in Savannah, Georgia, which I have visited multiple times. Going on a research trip there, however, made me consider the city in a completely different light.
When I travel for research, I am attuned to everything around me. What do the native birds sound like? What does the breeze feel like? How does it smell? What are the native plants and flowers? Where do they grow, and what do they look like? What is the dialect of the people? Are there specific regional accents or sayings to keep in mind with my characters? What does the local food taste like? Is there a story behind why certain meals or drinks are so culturally important? Oftentimes in Europe, the cobblestones on the walkways are hundreds of years old—they could be from the time I’m writing in. If so, I'm looking at the cobblestones and testing how they feel under my feet.
This is only a fraction of the details I’m absorbing. These observations help structure my world-building with precise visuals and details, shape my characters with greater cultural authenticity, and bring the sensory details to life in a way my readers can experience through my writing.
Then there are the incredible tours. I’ve found so much value in hiring private tour guides and reaching out directly, which allows them to tailor the tour to my novel’s specific needs. Tour guides are passionate about the subjects they share and have an incredible wealth of knowledge. The more aware they are of what you need, the more you’ll take away to put into your book. Additionally, they are wonderful to brainstorm characters with due to their knowledge of the location and the culture.
Another unique aspect of traveling for research is the literature available on-site. Oftentimes, I find books that I didn’t know existed. Like a research trip I did to Nottingham, England, for The Booklover’s Library, where I found a secondhand bookshop with an entire shelf of local authors’ works. Many of them were self-published, about their lives in Nottingham during World War II, the time period I was researching. These books were invaluable to making the story realistic enough to result in multiple letters from readers who grew up in Nottingham commending me on getting everything just right. My usual book sources would likely never have carried these particular books. For this reason, I always travel with a duffel bag inside my suitcase. During my research trips, I buy books with abandon and pack them into the duffel. So I leave on my trip with one bag and return home with two. Totally worth it!
I think the most important part of traveling on-site for me is the sensation of being in places I’ve read about, of seeing the firsthand accounts come to life before my eyes. There was something haunting about being in Pawiak Prison in Warsaw, where Nazis held political prisoners during WWII. Likewise, I was inspired seeing the actual printing press used to create clandestine newspapers in Lyon, France, during the Nazi occupation. Places and artifacts bear an imprint of another time. The experiences witnessed there leave behind a haunted feeling, and I absorb all of that into my soul.
The impressions and experiences I bring home with me are long-lasting and carry me into the crafting phase of my book. This is where those little details shine, bringing another time and place vividly to life for readers. While research gives me a foundation for what I write, travel is what makes the story come alive.
Check out Madeline Martin's A Time of Witches here:
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