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Research update
Mar. 1st, 2007 12:14 pmI hate this part of a book, when I run out of focus and the characters stand around and stare at each other, wondering when the author is going to engage again. The author needs to know what you're planning, silly characters, so get busy talking to me again!
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Last night's research revolved around determining the odds that somewhere in Havana in 1720ish there would be an iron beam of the proper length needed to hang this one massive bell from. (You'll recall that earlier research determined the weight of this particular bell, and boy, is it a whopper.) If there is not a beam, how the hell are they going to hang it? Surely the churches had been hanging even larger bells and weren't all using the heavy metal frame I saw on the used bells site. But did I find any hint of alternative mechanisms, or much data at all on the use of iron beams in construction? No.
(Did you know that the Indians--the subcontinent ones--used iron beams in construction as far back as the 12th Century?)
To be fair, I had only about 25 minutes before I had to shut things down and be upstairs to catch the newest Criminal Minds episode. I can't think of search phrases to use that I didn't try last night, though, so I'm not convinced that additional time would have turned up more definitive hits.
And, to make matters worse, I suspect there were no such beams in the islands at that time. Iron needs some very specific handling in blast furnaces and the like for it to be malleable and structurally sound, and while the raw materials may have been available I am not sure that the furnaces would have been. This is not blacksmith-level work, though blacksmiths use a very small version of the blast furnace; that's what they're doing with the bellows you see in so many depictions of smiths at work. And, with wood so very much more and more cheaply available in the New World, why take the time and expense to import iron beams?
Ah. Maybe I should be looking up iron production in the islands/New World at the time. If only to confirm my suspicions that they will have to find an alternative method of hanging that damned bell.
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Is it misdirection--or I should say is it improper use of reader expectation to talk so much about hanging the enormous bell and then have events overtake the intended action so that it does not occur? *g*
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matociquala talks today about the Criminal Minds episode and how the writers did not choose the epiphany that so many people apparently expected, and how she thinks this is cool. My spouse, who was also watching, did not think it so cool; he thinks they flinched. I recognized that my expectations had not been met, and puzzled over that for a while. I think it's like the difference between a chapter break and the end of a novel.
The End requires a tying up of most of the loose ends, or at least the revelation of the mechanism by which they will eventually be tied up. Failing to resolve a major plot thread is grounds for bouncing the novel off a wall and abandoning interest in that author's future projects.
The chapter (or scene, if you prefer) break, on the other hand, should end with a resolution of something occurring in the chapter, but it should also end with a question so that the reader has to keep going to find out what happens next. It can be abrupt--a cliffhanger--or just a transition to the next challenge in a long line of challenges.
It's this element of the sense of continuity that I think the CM writers were giving us last night. Spencer Reid's battle with substance abuse is not done. The novel is not finished.
That said, though, I do think they underplayed the one thing that was resolved, that Reid has committed to fight that demon. I had not thought, when Reid started talking with Gideon in that last scene of the episode, that any other outcome was possible--and perhaps that's where this expectation thing falls down. If I had truly thought something else might occur, the simple announcement that he had chosen to stay with the team and the job might have held more drama for me.
I am, however, an Angst Queen. Really. *g* And more emphasis on the angsty possibilities of Reid's conundrum, while satisfying to me, might not have been the best thing for the overall story.
I hope that, when it comes time for me to deal with this bell, I meet everyone's expectations. Including my own. *g*
**********
And just think if I'd put that much work into actually getting words for today!
**********
Last night's research revolved around determining the odds that somewhere in Havana in 1720ish there would be an iron beam of the proper length needed to hang this one massive bell from. (You'll recall that earlier research determined the weight of this particular bell, and boy, is it a whopper.) If there is not a beam, how the hell are they going to hang it? Surely the churches had been hanging even larger bells and weren't all using the heavy metal frame I saw on the used bells site. But did I find any hint of alternative mechanisms, or much data at all on the use of iron beams in construction? No.
(Did you know that the Indians--the subcontinent ones--used iron beams in construction as far back as the 12th Century?)
To be fair, I had only about 25 minutes before I had to shut things down and be upstairs to catch the newest Criminal Minds episode. I can't think of search phrases to use that I didn't try last night, though, so I'm not convinced that additional time would have turned up more definitive hits.
And, to make matters worse, I suspect there were no such beams in the islands at that time. Iron needs some very specific handling in blast furnaces and the like for it to be malleable and structurally sound, and while the raw materials may have been available I am not sure that the furnaces would have been. This is not blacksmith-level work, though blacksmiths use a very small version of the blast furnace; that's what they're doing with the bellows you see in so many depictions of smiths at work. And, with wood so very much more and more cheaply available in the New World, why take the time and expense to import iron beams?
Ah. Maybe I should be looking up iron production in the islands/New World at the time. If only to confirm my suspicions that they will have to find an alternative method of hanging that damned bell.
**********
Is it misdirection--or I should say is it improper use of reader expectation to talk so much about hanging the enormous bell and then have events overtake the intended action so that it does not occur? *g*
matociquala talks today about the Criminal Minds episode and how the writers did not choose the epiphany that so many people apparently expected, and how she thinks this is cool. My spouse, who was also watching, did not think it so cool; he thinks they flinched. I recognized that my expectations had not been met, and puzzled over that for a while. I think it's like the difference between a chapter break and the end of a novel. The End requires a tying up of most of the loose ends, or at least the revelation of the mechanism by which they will eventually be tied up. Failing to resolve a major plot thread is grounds for bouncing the novel off a wall and abandoning interest in that author's future projects.
The chapter (or scene, if you prefer) break, on the other hand, should end with a resolution of something occurring in the chapter, but it should also end with a question so that the reader has to keep going to find out what happens next. It can be abrupt--a cliffhanger--or just a transition to the next challenge in a long line of challenges.
It's this element of the sense of continuity that I think the CM writers were giving us last night. Spencer Reid's battle with substance abuse is not done. The novel is not finished.
That said, though, I do think they underplayed the one thing that was resolved, that Reid has committed to fight that demon. I had not thought, when Reid started talking with Gideon in that last scene of the episode, that any other outcome was possible--and perhaps that's where this expectation thing falls down. If I had truly thought something else might occur, the simple announcement that he had chosen to stay with the team and the job might have held more drama for me.
I am, however, an Angst Queen. Really. *g* And more emphasis on the angsty possibilities of Reid's conundrum, while satisfying to me, might not have been the best thing for the overall story.
I hope that, when it comes time for me to deal with this bell, I meet everyone's expectations. Including my own. *g*
**********
And just think if I'd put that much work into actually getting words for today!
