People who don’t live in California seem to think that everyone is within an hour from Disneyland. More than once I’ve had people contact me, telling me that they were going to be in LA, so maybe we can meet up for dinner.
Now, depending on where this person is in the LA Basin, drive times from San Jose (40 minutes south of San Francisco) can range from 5 1/2 hours to 6 1/2 hours. People always seem to be shocked to learn how large California actually is.
In fact, if you were to drive from the most southern large city, San Diego, north to the Oregon border, it would take you over 11 hours on a good day with no stops.
Google Can Be Your Friend
The point I am making, is that you need to research your travel times. It is so easy to simply Google the directions from place to place. Google will even given you travel times for car, bus, bicycle, and walking.
But Google Won’t Tell Me
But sometimes Google won’t work. Maybe your characters are traveling on a private jet, or maybe your novel takes place in 1850. Here are some fantastic resources to help you:
Sea Route and Distance Calculator
Need More Depth?
Travel Times in Pre-Industrial Society (by foot, horse, boat, etc.)
GET THIS FREE
When you sign up for my newsletter, you get THE STRIGOI, PLUS access to the WRITER’S TOOL KIT. Your address will never be sold.
Action | Adventure | Vampires | Awesomeness + Writerly Things
Need a Map?
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 20,000+ MAPS MADE FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE BY NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
And, just for fun. Here is a tutorial on how to create your own fantasy map starting with a public domain map.
If you have other resources that you love to use, I would love to hear about them. Happy writing!
Do you have any resources you love to use? Please leave a comment. 🙂
Check out the resources and master lists in the Prompt Me Series here on Amazon.
Related Posts
- EIGHT OR EIGHT: USING NUMERALS IN TEXT: Are you wondering how to write numbers in the text of your document? Here’s a quick tutorial to clarify (includes rules and examples).
- WORD COUNT 101: How many words in a novel, novella, novelette, short story, and more. Plus, word counts on some famous novels.
- WORDS TO DESCRIBE VOICE: My most popular word list. See more lists below.
Recent Posts
Stand Like a Superhero (and Tell Your Inner Critic to Sit Down)
Discover how small, positive changes—and a daily superhero pose—can boost confidence, heal emotional wounds, and shift your mindset. Embrace your messy humanity with humor, grace, and powerful “I Am” affirmations.
The Lying and Gaslighting Connection
Is all lying gaslighting? Learn how authors can incorporate gaslighting behaviors into your writing to create complex, manipulative characters in fiction. Discover how this psychological tactic enhances conflict, tension, and character depth in your writing. And…learn ways to be aware of this in your personal life.
The Power of Shared Negative Experiences
Explore the impact of shared negative experiences on memories and communities in this insightful article. Learn how collective grievances can distort perceptions, fuel mob mentality, and harm group dynamics. Discover the neuroscience behind emotional contagion and confirmation bias, and how they shape the way we process both personal and collective experiences. This article also offers…
Categories
GET THIS FREE
When you sign up for my newsletter, you get THE STRIGOI, PLUS access to the WRITER’S TOOL KIT. Your address will never be sold.
Action | Adventure | Vampires | Awesomeness + Writerly Things
2 responses to “Resource: Realistic Travel Times”
[…] Resource: Realistic Travel Times […]
[…] comme le mentionne cet article de Robin Woods Fiction, Google Maps est ton ami. En effet, il te permet de mettre en place un itinéraire selon ta […]