Much of this week’s writing time was consumed with research. For the current WIP novel, I needed certain physical locations for key parts of the action. For example: a summer house on a lake in northern New England with undeveloped forest on one side of the lake.

Two years ago, I went hunting on Google Maps to find a place that would inspire me. By chance (with a lot of zooming in), I found a small lake in southern New Hampshire dotted with houses along the shore. The road that skirts the lake to the north and connects with the roads that run along the lakeshore is called Wolfeboro Road. This seemed like a sign to me that I’d found the right spot for a book about werewolves.

Last month I had the opportunity to visit the little lake and drive along Wolfeboro Road. I took pictures and wandered in the woods near the lake, taking in the sights and sounds. What a wonderful opportunity.

It’s taken me some time to process the pictures and scribbled notes and sensory impressions. This week I finished organizing media and making notes. Then I set out to tweak the chapters that take place in these hybrid (part imagination-part reality) locales. Now I know what the main character sees and feels when he paces in a clearing in the woods. Now I know what a young girl sees when she gets lost in the woods under a full moon.

I don’t know about other writers’ processes, but mine involve knowing sensory details of the spaces in my imagination. My goal is to allow readers to see what I see, hear what I hear, etc.