When I started thinking about my second novel, to be set in Bratislava, I knew I wanted to do things differently from the first time, when I set my novel in Japan.

I set off writing about Japan with barely a look back at my diaries, notes and photographs of my time there. I did this deliberately, because didn’t want to make the novel too autobiographical and I was worried that digging too much into my own records of those experiences might do that. If I one day decide to revise that novel again, though, I can imagine gathering up photos and notes and using them to add some more “authentic culture” to the story, perhaps.

But this time round, the plot itself is not really at all related to my experiences in Bratislava, it’s much more a product of my imagination than anything, and is still evolving. So what I want is to be able to incorporate the “landscape” of Bratislava into the book, and these are less clearly embedded in my head than some of my experiences from Japan.

Recently I got a bunch of photographs from my Bratislava days printed up from digital so that I can create a collage to hang up in my study. I’ve got pictures of major landmarks like Bratislava Castle and Novy Most (the ugly bridge), snowy photos from a cold Bratislava winter and pictures showing the apartments, streets and shops in the residential area where I lived (and where, curiously, my characters also live!).

I’m hoping that this collection of pictures will have two effects. Firstly, that I’ll be able to use them to create more detailed and interesting descriptions of locations I use in the novel, and secondly, that seeing these pictures will provide me with sparks of inspiration – memories from my year in Slovakia that might also have an interesting place in the story. I’m also going to go back to my diaries and emails from that time to get extra details to help develop a good sense of place. When I’ve made some more progress with writing this novel, I’ll let you all know if the photos have helped or not.