If you hadn't heard, they're doing a wickedly cool reconstruction of the bronze age settlement Pavlopetri, which was found underwater. My friends, it is awesome. It is even MORE awesome, because the reconstruction shows us how the other half lives, so to speak. We have so much (relatively) information on the palaces of Mycenae and Crete, but so little about regular Joes and non-palace life. Just seeing the way the settlement is laid out offers us a glimpse of something more. And as you all know, I am a big fan of computer reconstruction type things. Especially faces. I love when they give people faces SO MUCH.
But.
Every time something new pops up in my radar for Bronze Age Greece, I start to hyperventilate, thinking about HELEN, and how much I may or may not have to change for historical accuracy. I pore over the article asking myself "Am I close enough to what they've discovered to get away with it?" "Was I right?" "Am I totally off base?!" Which of course then prompts a reread and spot revision of the entire manuscript. I don't even want to talk about the Great Citrus Debacle of failed research that I discovered a few months back. (I was so ashamed of myself. All fixed now, I promise!)
I have a feeling this is going to go on for some time. Especially since the next project I have lined up (after I finish the Orc romance--59K baby!) is Heracles, set in the same time period. In that respect, the Orc Romance is a nice break. The only thing I really have to worry about for accuracy is linguistic, and even there I have as much wiggle room as I want to take. (As a side note, finding names for Elves is not NEARLY as easy as finding names for Giants in Norse mythology.)
Even when I've done all the research, I still haven't done all the research. It's my love/hate relationship with historical fiction.
I was just berating myself for the fact that next month marks a year since I started writing Theodora (I swear it will be polished by then!), and then I remembered how much research I've had to do. And how many books I've had to read.
ReplyDeleteOh! The woes of a historical fiction writer! :)
It is way cool, isn't it? The picture looks like something out of a video game. In fact, it'd be the perfect setting for a video game. Or a book.
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow I have a feeling that Theodora book will be pretty good.
Nobody's going to ding you Amalia for details that come to light after the thing is written. The ultimate along these lines is when Kubrick was about to release 2001: A Space Odyssey. The first Mars probe was scheduled to land on the release date, so Kubrick insured the move against life being found on Mars, because it would have destroyed the plot.
This is the kind of article that I love. The details are amazing.
ReplyDeleteStephanie: I'm sure you haven't been letting the moss grow, no matter how much time it's taking to get to the finish!
ReplyDeleteGary: But I would know! And at this point it is not so far out of my hands I can't change it. At least for little things. Pavlopetri looks incredible, though. I'm so glad they're doing this kind of modeling! It really brings the past to life for me, cliche or not.
Ralfast: Agreed!
I have been intrigued with pavlopetri since I first saw the show about it. I wish there were books about it.
ReplyDelete