tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post7455829489723825878..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: Visiting the Past by Sally NichollsMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-82693626237541762842012-04-30T18:38:02.882+01:002012-04-30T18:38:02.882+01:00Yes, those "out in the field" moments do...Yes, those "out in the field" moments do have a way of giving you the writing a deeper sense of place and space. Recall going backstage in an empty theatre to get the feel of the space for my "Boy Called MOUSE" novel.Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-48640803102464189932012-04-30T09:15:35.862+01:002012-04-30T09:15:35.862+01:00My book, Emily's Surprising Voyage, came about...My book, Emily's Surprising Voyage, came about because of a visit to the ss Great Britain in Bristol. I agree with you, Sally - there's nothing like seeing the spaces where people lived. What amazed me was how tiny the cabins and bunks were - even for first-class passengers.Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-1159971393355509062012-04-29T17:39:12.886+01:002012-04-29T17:39:12.886+01:00Forgot to say I tried a Turkish version of that ra...Forgot to say I tried a Turkish version of that rat curse in Venice. It didn't work.michelle lovrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01026972300195225090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-20897921129267721212012-04-29T14:18:02.408+01:002012-04-29T14:18:02.408+01:00Fascinating post! Thanks so much, Sally.Fascinating post! Thanks so much, Sally.H.M. Castorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716936870601385683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-68581790823242027892012-04-29T10:27:22.830+01:002012-04-29T10:27:22.830+01:00I couldn't agree more! I've walked miles ...I couldn't agree more! I've walked miles in the sleet, crawled down a Roman copper mine, sailed a Viking ship and (more recently) bounced down the Thames in an infatable dinghy to try and get that authentic flash of 'THIS is what it would be like'. Can't wait to read your book, Sally!Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-73304198234633332362012-04-29T10:16:02.277+01:002012-04-29T10:16:02.277+01:00Dear Sally, welcome to the site!
Yes, physical r...Dear Sally, welcome to the site! <br /><br />Yes, physical research is absolutely necessary. My favourite experience was visiting a Peruvian convent at night, when it was lit only as it would have been when my story was set, the early eighteenth century. So there were candles and fires burning, but all they did was create little fierce red hells in the midst of the darkness, seeming to intensify the blackness rather than allievate it. I had needed to evoke a sense of evil to further the storyline, and that night it was suddenly possible to do so because I personally had been physically convinced of fear. <br /><br />I've just been in Ireland to see an old mossy bridge where, in my next book, a terrifying encounter takes place. The scene was already written when I went there, but it was torn apart and rewritten as a result of my standing in the spot where my protagonist meets her attacker. The writing was lifeless before I went there. <br /> <br />Very best of luck with the book.<br />Michellemichelle lovrichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01026972300195225090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-47495254435284525032012-04-29T09:44:16.355+01:002012-04-29T09:44:16.355+01:00I know what you mean, Sally. I've visited Plim...I know what you mean, Sally. I've visited Plimouth Plantation at Plymoth, Massachusetts,<br />http://www.plimoth.org/<br />where they have recreated the seventeenth century settlement of those who sailed on the Mayflower. It was peopled with Pilgrims as well as Native Americans. Apart from the evocative smells, memories that I have are how the Native Americans burnt out the wood from a tree trunk to make a canoe, and the fact that the floors of the small houses were all compacted earth. Obvious really, if it was filled with hens and a cow!Jean Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04805479454940218153noreply@blogger.com