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Welcome to my blog about life as a writer and the craziness it involves with struggles of daily life. Make yourself at home but only if you don't mind a little messiness from time to time. This isn't the Home and Garden blog or Martha Stewart so don't expect cute little crafts with homemade goodies. That's not happening in the world of vamps, weres, and other things that go bump in the night...well...maybe homemade blood cakes topped with 'scream a la cream' sweetness along with the sexy alpha males who serve it up.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Traveling stimulates the mind's questions

One of my favorite things to do besides reading and writing fiction is traveling.  It doesn't matter if I'm on a road trip to BFE (bum f*** Egypt, exact translation from southern terminology) or on a jet airplane across the ocean blue.  I love to explore places where I've never been and absorb the beauty of it. 

History has always intrigued me and the thought of walking on the same ground, which others from centuries past have tread, is surreal.  It definitely leaves me in awe and wonder.  The idea that another human being has traveled on the exact same area which I am treading on is humbling and beyond mesmerizing to me.

Castle ruin in Flossenburg, Germany
Usually when I'm standing in the midst of an ancient castle, building structure, or landscape, my mind plays out different scenarios and aspects of the people's lives during their time on earth.  I start asking myself questions about what the people may have faced.  I'm especially interested in the lives of the women.  Not that I'm not interested in the man because I definitely am.  I just start with the female first and then eventually my thoughts will go off on rabbit trails to the male's perspective and what his life may have been like as well. 

Venezuela Andes Mountains and farmland country side.
Some questions I ask may be: What hardships did they face?  What was it like to be a woman during that time?  Did she love a man and did he return her love?  Was she forced to marry when she didn't want to and if so, did she have the same fears as women of today face in regards to being the perfect bride?  What would happen if the man she was forced to marry was actually an evil lord practicing in dark magic?  Would he force her to participate in his twisted rituals?  Or was she the ritual?  Why does he see a need to practice the dark magic to fulfill his needs? How does the young bride's religious or moral values influence the husband's darker side?  How would she overcome her strict and conservative up bringing to become the wife he needs without giving up her true self?

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany
See how my mind wanders...and it tends to go on and on.  Questions will also arise about the structure of the building and the landscape of the land as well.  Such as:  How did they maneuver the stones in order to build the castle?  How many people died while building the structure?  Were the people forced to build it?  What roles did each person play in the daily routines of running the castle?  How did the landscape's past appearance differ from today's current conditions; such as modern asphalt or buildings built over creeks, less/more trees, etc.?  How often was religious rituals or blood shed in order to protect the land and it's occupants?  Were there monthly or yearly rituals to sacrifice animals/humans? 

See, again the mind goes off on it's many rabbit trails.  The point I like to make is that traveling for me opens up my mind to different possibilities for characters and their circumstances.  I can take my hero and heroine anywhere my mind wants to go but traveling to an actual location does peak the interest and intrigue me even further.  I encourage you to explore and investigate new and wondrous places for yourself.  Ask yourself about the past inhabitants and their lives.  Who knows...maybe they'll help you open your mind to the mysteries of the past and reexamine your very presence in the world.   Happy traveling!
California Pacific Coastline

2 comments:

  1. I love traveling too, especially to Europe. Everything is so much older there than here, and I love standing in a place and wondering what may have taken place there hundereds of years ago. I remember being in a garden in Florence, Italy and I could imagine it dark with only torches for light and couples sneaking off to hide down darken pathways. That is just one example, but I tend to think like that too.

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  2. I love your thought process, Kasey. Thanks for sharing your experience in Florence. Isn't is awesome to conjure up these scenes from places which we visit? These majestic and historical settings definitely provide ample inspirations for us writers. :)

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