Unexpected Lack of Inspiration
Hi friends! We just returned from two weeks in Scotland, which was a lovely trip. We had great weather, the scenery was fantastic, and there were plenty of ruined (and not) castles to traipse around in. But I did find myself disappointed on one front–inspiration. I thought for sure I would find story inspiration all over the place. I love traveling, and I especially love the way different places’ legends and mythology are tied into their history. And Scotland seemed like inspiration central–the romanticized Highlands, the empty moors, mists and fae. The aforementioned castles. Loch Ness. But I didn’t find it. Maybe–maybe a lot of it–is that Scotland’s history is kind of the general European-centric medieval time period that a lot of fantasy typically espouses. It’s great learning about how castles functioned and who did what, and how, but it also kind of felt like that was stuff I already knew, you know? Part of it may be that this is a major part of my ethnic background, so I was already familiar with the history of the country, so while I was seeing places I’d only read about, I wasn’t necessarily learning anything new. Part of it may be that the Scots don’t seem to embrace the faerie aspects of Celtic mythology as much as, say, Ireland does. While there were places labeled Fairy Glens or Fairy Pools, it was clear that there was no actual mythology linked into those places. Only one castle tour even mentioned ghosts. Don’t…