Do you ever wonder, if you live in a big city, what’s going on under your feet? It’s easy for us to think that it’s all solid ground, but the truth is, it isn’t always. Many cities, especially the older ones, have a surprising amount going on underneath them.
There’s the obvious, like power and phone cables, sewers and subways, but there can also be abandoned mines, natural caves and rivers, and a plethora of abandoned tunnels. Many of these are long empty and abandoned, forgotten but for a few.
A search of the internet will quickly reveal a lot of pages showing images from tunnels and abandoned buildings from all over the world. The images are fascinating, and I’m not surprised that some people search them out for the express purpose of finding these tunnels.
There’s something about these images, and the people who find them. A sense of adventure, a spirit of exploration, a need to know, and then to share with others. I couldn’t help following link after link, and reading many stories.
So when I needed somewhere for Marlee and Tyris to hide out from the government in Reckless Rebellion, it seemed like the perfect place. And of course, as these things do, it evolved from there. An abandoned tunnel had to be built by someone, so an ancient rebel alliance was born. And of course, with so many tunnels, they had plenty of room for extra people.
I love the fact that writing novels can lead you to research topics that you might not otherwise have come across. This was definitely one of my favourite ones. I especially loved combing Pinterest boards for interesting photos to inspire me.
What topics do you love exploring on Pinterest? Have you ever researched anything (for a novel, or something else) that you ended up being fascinated by?
Other than the sewer system I’d never really thought about what was under the city. Thanks for the insight.
It’s fascinating isn’t it? I hadn’t really given it much thought, but even here in Australia, where the cities are relatively new, there are abandoned tunnels. So much potential.
I liked the tunnels bit in Reckless Rebellion, it felt very real – your research obviously paid off. I think in London especially there must be huge potential for writing stories underground. Terry Pratchett uses it a lot in his Discworld novels, writing about how the city is mostly built on top of the city.