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ljwritesI keep blowing my self-imposed deadlines on the novel, so I've decided to work on it a little every day--specifically at least one hour a day. I'll be blogging about that work, both as a way to leave notes to myself and to show that hey, it's alive!
It seems the office gods are smiling on my resolve on this first day, because my boss wanted me to go to my school library rather than come to the office so that I could pick up some books he needs for a conference presentation paper. He hired me partly for my academic credentials after all, and (I suspect) my access to a university library. I dutifully picked up his books and then leafed through several books I needed for my own project. A man may not serve two masters, but a girl has to multitask.
One neat thing about libraries is that I often stumble across books that didn't turn up in my original search, but which are placed close to the books I did search for and turn out to be relevant. I found one such book, a general-information work about Goguryeoh politics, customs, religion etc. (For background about Goguryeoh, see the Soseono Masterpost.)
I picked up the book without great expectations, knowing what popular histories are like: The information was likely to be generic, the sources not cited all that well, the arguments probably thin. Popular books can be useful, though, as a general survey--no serious scholarly work would try to discuss all aspects of Goguryeoh life in its seven centuries of existence in a 200-page book, but this kind of bird's-eye view can be a great first introduction.
I flipped through the book in an hour or so, not bothering to write anything down or even remember the book's title. (I could find it if I went to that section of the shelves, though). As expected, the work wasn't particularly in-depth or technical but gave me a very broad glance of areas I hadn't gone into yet.
Among other things, I had wondered whether people in my heroine's region ate rice. It turns out millet, wheat, and beans were probably the staple crops in the period when my story takes place. The book said there was probably no large-scale rice farming along the Maek groups along the Hunjiang in 1st century B.C., though I'll have to verify that with more technically sound sources.
Since my heroine is a noblewoman she might have had rice from time to time, maybe imported from China, and it must have seemed an exotic delicacy. It's possible that the rich floodlands of her love interest's tribe had rice paddies (again, must check sources), especially as a result of economic and technological exchanges with the nearby Chinese colony of Xuantu. 2,000 years ago, owning rice paddies in this area probably sent your hotness score soaring skyward. Now, not so much.
There was also a bunch of other interesting stuff, such as housing, marriage customs, religion and so on. I didn't put too much credence on any of it, but it was nice to get this general survey in so few pages. It's like dipping my toe in before I dive into the deep end. There were several other, more academic books, but I've gone over them before making notes and it seems I've gotten most of what I needed from them.
I ended up checking out one book I hadn't seen before but had marked in my research notes, Traffic Routes and Footholds in Ancient China-Korea Relations. I need to get serious about spatial relations and trade/military routes and bases. I've placed most of the major locations in the story, but haven't figured out a pivotal one--the seat of the heroine's first husband. I do have a site I like very much, but I'll need to check and see if it's feasible.
It seems the office gods are smiling on my resolve on this first day, because my boss wanted me to go to my school library rather than come to the office so that I could pick up some books he needs for a conference presentation paper. He hired me partly for my academic credentials after all, and (I suspect) my access to a university library. I dutifully picked up his books and then leafed through several books I needed for my own project. A man may not serve two masters, but a girl has to multitask.
One neat thing about libraries is that I often stumble across books that didn't turn up in my original search, but which are placed close to the books I did search for and turn out to be relevant. I found one such book, a general-information work about Goguryeoh politics, customs, religion etc. (For background about Goguryeoh, see the Soseono Masterpost.)
I picked up the book without great expectations, knowing what popular histories are like: The information was likely to be generic, the sources not cited all that well, the arguments probably thin. Popular books can be useful, though, as a general survey--no serious scholarly work would try to discuss all aspects of Goguryeoh life in its seven centuries of existence in a 200-page book, but this kind of bird's-eye view can be a great first introduction.
I flipped through the book in an hour or so, not bothering to write anything down or even remember the book's title. (I could find it if I went to that section of the shelves, though). As expected, the work wasn't particularly in-depth or technical but gave me a very broad glance of areas I hadn't gone into yet.
Among other things, I had wondered whether people in my heroine's region ate rice. It turns out millet, wheat, and beans were probably the staple crops in the period when my story takes place. The book said there was probably no large-scale rice farming along the Maek groups along the Hunjiang in 1st century B.C., though I'll have to verify that with more technically sound sources.
Since my heroine is a noblewoman she might have had rice from time to time, maybe imported from China, and it must have seemed an exotic delicacy. It's possible that the rich floodlands of her love interest's tribe had rice paddies (again, must check sources), especially as a result of economic and technological exchanges with the nearby Chinese colony of Xuantu. 2,000 years ago, owning rice paddies in this area probably sent your hotness score soaring skyward. Now, not so much.
There was also a bunch of other interesting stuff, such as housing, marriage customs, religion and so on. I didn't put too much credence on any of it, but it was nice to get this general survey in so few pages. It's like dipping my toe in before I dive into the deep end. There were several other, more academic books, but I've gone over them before making notes and it seems I've gotten most of what I needed from them.
I ended up checking out one book I hadn't seen before but had marked in my research notes, Traffic Routes and Footholds in Ancient China-Korea Relations. I need to get serious about spatial relations and trade/military routes and bases. I've placed most of the major locations in the story, but haven't figured out a pivotal one--the seat of the heroine's first husband. I do have a site I like very much, but I'll need to check and see if it's feasible.
