Using Google Earth for Writing Research
As I climb out of my 1980′s hole and discover things like “the Internet” I’ve stumbled upon a neat little research tool called Google Earth. I’ve actually heard a lot of things about Google Earth, mostly about how it invades privacy and shows pictures of you watering the spice garden while only wearing a thong. I used to consider it a fancy Mapquest or something to use when you’re lost. But there’s a lot of potential in this tool.
I’m writing the sequel to my sizzling hot historical novel, Fate’s Needle. This new book will be primarily set in the Faeroe Islands. Seeing how the furthest I travel these days is to the Wal-Mart on 83rd Avenue, I haven’t had a chance to scope out these islands. However, Google Earth has changed all that for me.
It might be a little anti-climactic to say that I just downloaded the Google Earth tool and started poking around the Faeroe islands. But that’s what I did. It’s a tremendous tool for visualizing places you’ve never visited, or couldn’t visit (or wouldn’t want to be caught visiting). I located on the map where I wanted to place my Viking settlement. Then I zoomed down and started to rotate and move through the map. Suddenly it was not a flat picture but a 3d landscape. I started to pick up details that I wouldn’t have thought of from looking at a map alone. For example, the mountains I had thought so prominent were not as intimidating from the lower elevations.
I was able to find other uses for Google Earth. I have a scene in my book where one of the characters must travel to another part of the island. I wanted to know the distance involved in the journey. I could’ve just guessed at it. But this is historical fiction, and while I can’t know everything about my chosen period I can know simple things like distances. Besides knowing the distance and time involved is a key part of the story. Rather than just mapping a straight line, I was able to use a tool that let me draw a freehand line that meandered along the coast. So I was able to get a good idea of actual travel distance rather than a line between two points. It made a huge difference to a realistic portrayal of the trip.
There must be half a dozen other good ideas for Google Earth that I’m not thinking of yet. Seeing how the Faeroe Islands are rather empty, there’s not a lot of detail. But check out a major city and there’s tons of info. You’ll have more detail than you know what to put into your scenes. (Do yourself a favor and only use 1/4 of what your research yields. Unique and characterful detail is all you need.)
Other creative fields are finding unique uses for Google Earth. The artist Bill Guffey uses street view to find interesting scenes to paint. I thought that was pretty cool. This is just more than a map, it’s really a window on the world.
