Virtual Mexico

I looked around to see a little old lady sitting on the steps of her iron gated porch. In front of me was the train tracks in Mexico that took me fifteen minutes to locate. Fortunately, I have a great view of the surrounding residential area. Too bad, I was only in my living room writing about virtual travels using Google Maps street view.

Let me just say, if you haven't been to Mexico, you are missing out. Before we had kids, my wife and I visited every year. No so much any more. But that's ok, because I wanted to relive it all in my writing. When I want to get a good description of anything, I book a first class virtual trip (on my couch, with my snacks, and computer) to where ever I need to go. It's the next best thing to being there.

My first book is a about a boy traveling from a war torn America to Mexico. If I create a sequel/prequel, it may land me in China. I've got friends teaching in China. I'm about to make another virtual trip to see if I can make a story out of it. Honesty, I love to go on real location. My second (almost edited) novel is centered around the wooded forest of a small town. Guess where I will be spending a few days gathering data?  Really, you've got to try this. A great story could virtually be written from anywhere in the world Google lets you stroll down the street. Grab a snack, crank up your writing device, and just go.