Research Project Number - 05
For most regular and/or semi-regular readers, it is pretty well established that I work as a research consultant to Australian writer/novelist/blogger/Jack of All Trades John Birmingham. Later tonight, if I can find the right cable and MAKE IT WORK, I'll receive my marching orders for the latest project.
To date, I have worked on three novels for Birmingham. It started with an offhand review of his first alternate history novel Weapons of Choice. While the novel had flaws they were mainly technical or cultural in nature, enough to jar military readers out of the narrative but not enough to ruin the characterization or the plot of the novel. Birmingham left a comment at the first version of this blog and the rest, I guess you'd say, is history.
I've always struggled with exactly how to portray the work I do. I enjoy doing it, that is for certain. To me it is akin to an apprenticeship for novelists. I get to see how a novel is put together from the moment of inception. Each novel is different with their own struggles, growing pains and problems. I am proud of my small contribution to the projects.
That said, my original doctrine was to serve as a silent partner. This was pretty much in keeping with my relations with other writers. Keep things confidential. As I grew to be more unpopular in certain circles of the American Science Fiction Community, I figured it was best to stay quiet about the work. That is why the blog entries always referred to Birmingham as "the Client" and the novels received code names RPN-02 to RPN-05.
Birmo would have none of it. I end up the in the acknowledgements pretty regularly.
So, just what exactly do I do?
Originally I was brought on board to correct minor military errors. With Final Impact I was to go through and make sure the weapons, equipment and employment were plausible. There have been arguments elsewhere about whether or not it would have been possible to build an F-86 with 1944 technology that I will not rehash here. If it had been a matter of providing technical advice alone, I might have back those arguments. That said, I believed it was important to maintain continuity with the other two books series.
I realized, pretty quick, that it wasn't just a matter of looking up tech specs and vomiting the information to Birmingham. I did a fair amount of that to be sure, but there is a creative aspect to it as well. It seems to me that in order to provide research that your client can use, you have to either be in tune with their vision or better yet, inside their head. The work required some level of flexibility.
From military advice I moved up a bit to the cross chat between characters. Ever so often an Australian turn of phrase like, "to get a leg over" will find its way into an American character's mouth. I mark those for correction and provide suggestions accordingly.
In Without Warning it was a mix of drawing upon research and my own memories of military service. Small details like poncho liners, chili mac (yuk) and the like were handy in filling in the furniture. Bret Melton's tattoo along with his whole attitude about the term "Hooah" was my idea.
Sometimes problems arise which are somewhat intractable. In Without Warning the big problem was the nuclear warning shots across the bow of Hugo Chavez. The research I was able to obtain was very vague about whether or not an Ohio class sub could be convinced to fire without the authority of anyone in the line of Presidential succession. At the end of the day, the decision was made that the commanders of those subs were not lock step Prussians and they probably adapt to the conditions extant at the time.
As it was, we only needed one sub to do the job.
In other cases where problems arise, a discussion will transpire as to whether or not the details are really necessary. Sometimes a writer's greatest strength is knowing when to use a lot of detail and when to go vague. A little handwavium goes a long way. On the other hand, if you get a detail wrong, people will know.
And it happens to military research assistants. I've made my share of mistakes, getting the Captain of the Nimitz wrong for instance. Or letting things slip past you, like the capital of Alaska.
At other times, the smart thing to do is simply be honest. I have let Birmo know more than once, "This is outside of my area of expertise. I suggest consulting an expert." I've also advised upgrading to someone with more recent military experience (my knowledge is increasingly dated) but that usually falls on deaf ears. Fortunately, Birmo has people he can draw upon for advice in areas that fall outside of my balliwick.
Conversely, sometimes the research or the projected direction of the novel has prompted me to engage in some research for my own benefit. I would have to say that working for Birmingham has made me a better historian in many respects. Much of my time of late is spent reading up on the Founding Fathers and Early American History in an effort to understand how they dealt with problems which are very similar to problems faced by the characters in the Without Warning trilogy. A fair amount of that material ends up in lectures for my students in my American History 120 courses.
Strange to think that this all started with a one off blog entry. I've gotten a lot of grief about my blog over the years. When I do, I point to my work and my friendship with Birmingham as an example of why it isn't a total waste of time.
He's my client and he's my friend. To use an Australian turn of phrase, he's my mate.
Now it is time to clear off the decks and get to work on that project.
Where is that modem cable?
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri
16 hours ago