“Think of a memory in a beautiful landscape—maybe from a family vacation, or your favorite childhood destination. Now think of a scene from a story, novel, or movie that describes a landscape, and that has stuck with you. What makes these moments special? So many of the memories and stories we share are connected to place—to the landscapes of the Earth and the landscapes of our own imaginations.” – “Carving Stories from Trees” in Poets & Writers
Poets & Writers Magazine has a daily online writing prompt or “Craft Capsule.” I enjoy reading these even if I don’t follow up and write something based on the prompt.
For those who grew up in a wonderful place and enjoyed day trips, or went on yearly summer vacations, or traveled after graduating from high school or college, the landscapes we saw in the past are a gold mine of writing prompts and potential short story or novel location settings.
Our family traveled every summer. This meant many long days in a car, most before air conditioning. We saw sites from Fort Ticonderoga and Niagara Falls to Key West, Mammoth Cave and the Smoky Mountains. Even though I didn’t keep a diary, my memories–incomplete as they may be–make a wonderful starting point when I’m thinking up a new story.
Since I’ve been to these places, it’s less difficult to find a book, magazine or a website to help me fill in the details. I came away from those vacations with a strong sense of each place. And, that’s almost more valuable than a guidebook.
Perhaps you have memories of long-ago trips that might serve as writing prompts and short story locales.
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We traveled a lot when I was a kid. Mostly road trips (like yours, usually in hot vehicles) with a few overseas vacations in the mix. Some of what I took with me from those trips was about the locations (the marketplace in Africa is still vivid and there were two places on road trips–northern California and Vermont–that so spoke to me that I begged my folks to sell our house and move there), but mostly, I remember and was fascinated by the people. Then and now, what interests me most are how people move through life experiences and how their struggles and triumphs shape them. Sometimes the locations can be part of the challenges or joy, but if not, they don’t hold my interest much.
We could probably write entire posts about the people we met/observed and how they play into our thinking now when we write about the places we visited.