Mr. Earbrass studies his history
I hate what I'm writing right now. I hate that I'm writing no more than a few hundred words a day because I hate what I'm writing. I hate that when I went to revise the earlier parts and get back on track nothing really changed (that should be a good sign, shouldn't it? That it was all okay or something? But it felt, rather, like I just lack the imagination or insight or whatever to see what's wrong).
I hate that I am writing so slowly because I hate it so much that I keep drifting away to do trivial crap instead of writing.
Oh well. I now know more about saltpeter than most people, anyway. I still don't know much about guns, but I won't need to, I think, since Yanek's weapon is a drum. I may need to know a bit about ballistics so I don't get the battlefield scenes ridiculous.
I'm a bit worried, too, about some details about saltpeter production. Like, okay, in the method they're using, a lot depends on bacterial action. Since it's an organic process, is it at all seasonal? Do the little germs slow down when it's cold? Or does the compost-like nature of the salpeter berm setup keep them warm anyway? Is it ridiculous for the survey team to commence its work in midwinter? I was thinking that having the ground hard from freezing might make some of the mapping tasks a bit easier.
Frank was suggesting that they're using mostly peat for fuel rather than mostly wood, which bothered me at first because my understanding of the geography involved only relatively narrow seams of peat running through an otherwise neutral-to-alkaline fen, but this mornign I realize that's really quite appropriate. Ecological destruction is really quite appropriate for the story, unfortunately.
On another front: I need to discuss with my doctor the possibility that my statin is contributing to my muscle problems. I'm getting a return of the pain now that my leg muscles are growing back. Apparently, simvastatin is not in the category of worst offenders in this regard (there's one that was taken off the market because it was ten times more likely than the others to cause muscle breakdown leading to liver failure), but there is a category that is less likely to cause these problems, and maybe we should consider switching me over for the just in case aspect. Partly because the pain is demoralizing, but also because there are potentially crippling or even fatal consequences if it is the statin-involved type of muscle problem.
edit: I finished the damned chapter. Next chapter's a damned one too, but it ought to go a little bit better.
I hate that I am writing so slowly because I hate it so much that I keep drifting away to do trivial crap instead of writing.
Oh well. I now know more about saltpeter than most people, anyway. I still don't know much about guns, but I won't need to, I think, since Yanek's weapon is a drum. I may need to know a bit about ballistics so I don't get the battlefield scenes ridiculous.
I'm a bit worried, too, about some details about saltpeter production. Like, okay, in the method they're using, a lot depends on bacterial action. Since it's an organic process, is it at all seasonal? Do the little germs slow down when it's cold? Or does the compost-like nature of the salpeter berm setup keep them warm anyway? Is it ridiculous for the survey team to commence its work in midwinter? I was thinking that having the ground hard from freezing might make some of the mapping tasks a bit easier.
Frank was suggesting that they're using mostly peat for fuel rather than mostly wood, which bothered me at first because my understanding of the geography involved only relatively narrow seams of peat running through an otherwise neutral-to-alkaline fen, but this mornign I realize that's really quite appropriate. Ecological destruction is really quite appropriate for the story, unfortunately.
On another front: I need to discuss with my doctor the possibility that my statin is contributing to my muscle problems. I'm getting a return of the pain now that my leg muscles are growing back. Apparently, simvastatin is not in the category of worst offenders in this regard (there's one that was taken off the market because it was ten times more likely than the others to cause muscle breakdown leading to liver failure), but there is a category that is less likely to cause these problems, and maybe we should consider switching me over for the just in case aspect. Partly because the pain is demoralizing, but also because there are potentially crippling or even fatal consequences if it is the statin-involved type of muscle problem.
edit: I finished the damned chapter. Next chapter's a damned one too, but it ought to go a little bit better.