Using Google Maps for Fun and Writing!

Let's say you're writing a novel and your characters wind up in St. Louis. No big deal...except that you haven't been to St. Louis in a decade and you don't know where anything is. And because of work, your finances, and your spouse, you aren't likely to venture to St. Louis any time soon.

How do you write, with any certainty, about what St. Louis is like?

Google Maps, that's how.

When I wrote about St. Louis, I decided I needed to know where the FBI offices were. So I went to the FBI website and found the address for the FBI site, then popped it into the Google map page.

By entering the address in the search field, I got a map view of the FBI office and surrounding territory. When I clicked the Satellite button, I got a visual image of the neighborhood.

To scroll in and out, I can use the scroll bar on the left side of the image. What's even more useful is Street View. If you click the little orange guy on the top of the scroll bar and drag him to the street, you can see what it looks like if you drive by in a car. (You can only drag the little orange guy onto a street with a blue outline.)

When move the mouse pointer over street view, a yellow line with arrows appears. You can use the arrows to move up or down the street. You can click within the picture and drag to alter what you're looking at from your current point of view.

In short, it's like being there without really being there. And it makes research a lot easier.