Geography

One of the facets of a novel is the location. When you are setting out to describe a historical place make sure you do your research and know how the geography has changed in the intervening years. For many places this means man made changes in rivers, mountains, draining swamps, creating islands or any other method used to make more habitable land areas. In some cases in the Middle East and Africa the opposite is true. The desert as we know it was not nearly so widespread in Ancient times. Most of the Middle East was in fact quite fertile and green. Mountain ranges are in a constant state of change as well. Mt Everest keeps growing to greater, more challenging heights. The landscapes of today are not the same as those of our predecessors.

Cities and towns can change just as rapidly as any landscape. Buildings rise and fall, streets are laid over old fields and ruins are all that remain of once prosperous neighborhoods. In many areas this happens in even as short a span as a single decade.

It is the job of an historian to preserve as much of the past as possible for future generations, but it is writers who are able to really bring alive those long lost places and paint a picture with words. A good writer can resurrect a lost civilization out of the ruins of the modern landscape with the right research. Until next time, keep reading and writing.