When I travel I usually keep am constantly taking notes. I want to have everything from the street names to the tablecloth colors right in case I someday write a story set in one of the places I’ve been lucky enough to visit.
On my recent trip, with my father, his wife, and my sister, I did not take these kinds of notes. You might think that I’m going say that I didn’t do this because I was finally able to travel in the moment or I was too busy enjoying family time. Or you might think that I was too tired. To be honest the idea that anyone is reading this post and thinking anything is a huge presumption on my part.
The reason I didn’t follow my usual pattern, is that I’m not writing a story set in Prague or Budapest of Vienna right now. I’m writing a story that primarily takes place on a planet I’ve made up. So instead of trying to imagine what kind of stories I could write about the cities I visited, my head was stuck in Somnus (my made up planet). In Budapest’s parliament building I thought about holes in my planet’s system of government. While at the Haus Der Musik in Vienna, I wondered what kind of music my characters enjoyed.
Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy my trip. I did. I fell in love with all three cities. I even liked Vienna, where I had food poisoning for half of our stay. I saw more beautiful churches and palaces and museums than I can count. I became immersed in two new favorite artists: Klimt and Mucha. I ate delicious meals, along with some not so delicious meals (i.e. two occasions when I ordered beef in the Czech Republic and it came out smothered in whipped cream). Also if you are a bath lover Budapest is definitely the city for you. Because of the plethora of bath houses it appears to be completely acceptable to spend all day just hanging out in different large tubs of water in varying temperatures.
Because of my (unusual) lack of notes, I can’t tell you every last thing that I did. And I think it would be pretty boring if I did. Although if anyone is planning a trip to any of these cities please let me know. I can definitely give you more specific recommendations. Even though I didn’t take copious notes, I did take a few pictures:
It feels special to have spent that amount of time with my sister and I am grateful that I got the chance to see all three cities. However, I am glad to be back in California, working on a new draft of my novel, and back on my imaginary planet. Who knows? Maybe someday I will be published and you will be able to join me there.
Alison Doherty 
ISo fun to hear and see more-also interested to learn how it effects Somnus!
Thanks … procrastinating writing more of it by looking at the blog right now. This is a good reminder to get back to work!
We’ve missed you!! Welcome back. So glad you had a great time.
I’d love to hear more about your WIP! Can you boil it down to a few sentences?
Thanks! It was fun to read all the posts on your blog from when I was away. Thanks again for the great guest post. It really made me want to find a critique group.
I’m still working on my quick summary (an elevator pitch so to speak). But I’m writing about a planet where instead of dreaming about their lives people’s dreams take them to other planets where they can gather information and intelligence. My story alternates between a teenage girl on Earth and a girl from this planet who she meets through a series of dream visits.
I know it sounds kind of wacky, but it’s been a lot of fun to work on.
Hi there, I see you were in Prague around the same time I was. Did you get caught in the floods? I also saw that you were looking for books set in Prague. Did you happen to pack a copy of The God Complex? If so, how was it for you?
I haven’t read The God Complex, but I will add it to my list. Luckily we missed the flood by about a month … but you could definitely see the destructive after effects. Especially on Kampa Island. Thanks for commenting!