A-hunting we will go…

Allison Rushby shares the inside story of a writer's research trip

I’m about to head off on a hunting trip (no nasty guns, notebooks and pens only!). I wouldn’t call it a research trip as such, as that sounds too specific. And I’m not particularly hunting for ideas. I’m more … lurking in the thickets. Thinking. Imagining. Wondering.

Before I go, there will be an awful lot of planning.

Most of my books are set in and around London and thus when I find myself there, I need a solid itinerary of what must be investigated. Often this will cover several different writing projects (from children’s to adult) that are in different working stages, from vague ideas to half-written manuscripts, to books in the very final stages of the publishing process.

What am I looking for?

All sorts of things.