One of the many things writers need to do is create a world where readers are engaged. And it needs to be a world that makes sense and seems natural. It is our gift to those who spend their time reading our work. We can transport them to alien worlds conjured from our imaginations (but based on an image we have created in our heads that makes sense, i.e., how plants survive, where light comes from etc.) We generate the plumbing and electrical work hidden behind walls that make your house work – only in story form and on a bigger scale.
To do this, travelling allows us to fill in all the blanks that looking at a picture or watching a Youtube video does not. The smells, the way light bounces off the ground, hearing the ambient sounds and even how those living there behave add texture that we can use in our books.
Just back from California. What a variation. From the laid-back Pacific Coastal Highway to the terrifying freeways of Los Angeles. Expect LA to feature in a book in the future!!!