The Secret to Writer’s Block: Travel Inspiration - Guest Post Sarah Kades

Bumping into the Magna Carta, and Other Happy Travel Hazards

One of the things I love about travel is what you stumble across. Sometimes I do my homework before visiting someplace new, eager to make the most of the trip. Other times I look forward to winging it and the surprise of the unknown.

A couple years ago I was presenting at a conference in the U.K. that the University of Lincoln was hosting. I had been racing to finish work before the trip, and was delirious I had any time to figure out what train I needed to catch from Heathrow, let alone study any Lincoln backstory, I mean history. My travels would be a proper surprise.

I arrived a day early and left the rather adorable hotel I was staying at to explore. To the north stood Newport Arch, a third-century Roman gate that gave access to the north road to York. It’s kind of a big deal; it is the only Roman arch still in use in the U.K. As lovely as the arch is, I headed south, making tracks to Lincoln Castle. I currently live in Calgary, a metropolitan city in western Canada. Our oldest building is The Hunt House, an Hudson’s Bay Company log building, likely built in 1876.

Different worlds.

As I made my way towards the Lincoln Castle, the Lincoln Cathedral loomed large. I’ll be honest, cathedrals don’t float my boat—shhh, don’t tell my dad. I was more interested in the peregrine falcons dive bombing the scaffolding. I gave the cathedral a passing glance before making my way to the castle, not before noticing a number of establishments had references to the Magna Carta.

I made my way into the castle grounds, briefly joining a tour before exploring on my own. I walked into a building and made my way down the stairs, popping into a wee theatre while a school group finished up. I checked out the room they had vacated and blinked. I was looking at one of the four remaining 1214 copies of the Magna (freakin!) Carta. I stepped forward. I’ve been an archaeologist for a long time and beholding an artifact is always a rush. Seeing the artifact that was foundational to our contemporary constitutional democracies was exhilarating. It also made the town’s business naming practices suddenly make sense.

But what made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge was what was in a case further in the small room, behind the Magna Carta. That case held a copy of the Charter of the Forest, a 1217 addendum to the Magna Carta that re-established the rights of free men to use the natural resources of royal forests. That artifact captivated me. I had never heard of it, yet couldn’t stop staring. The attendant admitted she had never seen anyone so taken with the Charter of the Forest. Most barely give it a passing glance; the Magna Carta is usually the showstopper. 

I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I write eco-thrillers. I’ve been in environmental consulting for two decades. Momma Earth is my jam. A document that lays out a country’s mindful use of natural resources is going to spark my interest. 

I couldn’t help but wonder how Crown Land in Canada or the Bureau of Land Management in the U.S. were influenced by these roots; both countries having colonial Britain in their post-contact origin stories. I was a bit grumpy (and perplexed) I hadn’t learned about the Charter of the Forest in school. I was born and raised in America and immigrated to Canada—the historically Loyalist part—after marrying my Canadian husband. That inspired any number of hilarious faux pas! But I digress. Back to Lincoln.

In town, I paid attention to the locals. Writer tip: study people. I’ve lived in a lot of field camps, traveled, and have spent years of my life working with crews outside. I swear that’s why I write the dialogue I do. I listen and watch, trying to notice the nuances. Something that caught my attention during that trip was how locals were happy to chat about the Magna Carta, but waxed poetic about their cathedral, something about it giving them “city” status. I smiled, enjoying the nuances. My point of reference, like setting the declination on a compass, angled me to be more taken by the peregrines and the document in the other glass case.

If you dig reading action adventure stories packaged as eco-thrillers with some heat, may I suggest my Hearthstone Series (Stark Publishing). Archaeologists, oil barons, double-agents, MI6 couriers, bull riders and more, come together to shake out jaw-dropping family secrets in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

You can find me at sarahkadesgraham.com. 

I write eco-thrillers as Sarah Kades and narrative nonfiction as Sarah Graham.

Follow me on BookBub, Goodreads, Amazon Author Central, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

I hope that these ideas help you to break through! 

Disclaimer: This post is exclusively the words and views of the guest blogger and do not necessarily represent the views of Heather L. Barksdale. The story featured has not been read or reviewed by Heather’s bookshelf.

Still getting writer’s block?  Tell me how I can help!