How did writers write before Google?

When I read an engaging book, it draws really vivid images in my mind. I feel as though I know the characters, but also as though I can see them.

I'm learning to write like that. Sometimes, I want to describe a place, or a person, or an object that I don't already have a clear image of in my mind. So I find myself using Google images, Youtube and Wikipedia a lot more than I was expecting.

'I'm not sure what the interior of an elderly couple's bungalow might look like. I can google that...'

from lasthomedecors.com

'What does the inside of an abbey look like?'

from virtual-shropshire.co.uk

'What about Show and Tell in school? What was that like?'

 Youtube is your friend.

Now Show and Tell definitely wasn't like this, but this girl's English is incredible! Suffocation? Pulmonary diseases? Wow! Maybe we do Show and Tell all wrong here in the UK...

The Windows 10 update came (which I'm enjoying btw), and it's trying to increase my efficiency and access to the world around me even more.

So much information is available right here on the screen in front of me. Perhaps writing a novel is the easiest it's ever been! Maybe I'll say that with more conviction when I'm finished.

How many times do you hear the phrase, 'the film was okay, but it wasn't as good as the book'? That's the incredible thing about a good book. It can create an image in your mind that can rival even a movie in its vividness and entertainment.

SI