All about that location: WIP research

In January 2020 (those pre-COVID days!) I travelled to Vanuatu with some girlfriends for a few days of sun, sand... and research! My novel Acanthus is set on a fictional island in the Pacific Ocean, and so a degree of world building is required. It was such a great experience swimming, eating, learning, and relaxing in an environment so similar to the one I’d created in my mind. So this was definitely ENJOYABLE research.

World building... is not my thing. As a character-driven writer, I figured I'd write the story and see what happened first, then fill in the details later. Well, later was a few months ago. The island of Acanthus is a melting pot of cultures and settings--and as one of the key locations in my story was inspired by the Blue Lagoon in Vanuatu, I made that my next stop. It was just as beautiful as the pictures made it seem, and every day I rose to the rhythm of the ocean served as another inspirational moment for my WIP.

Here are some pictures from my trip if you’re curious. Highlights were from the Blue Lagoon, Cascade Waterfalls and some surrounding areas.

Do any real life locations serve as inspiration for the settings in your WIP? Let me know if the comments!