Just Because I Don't Have Anything To Do....

Just because time lies heavy on my hands and I have nothing to do, I decided to sign up for an eight-week quick on-line course on writing dialog. Because. Just....because. *sigh*

Yes, I know I have a thousand things already going on in my life.

Yes, I know that I'm not that horrible with dialog and that I have friends and fellow authors who are happy to give specific feedback if I ask for it.

Because my schedule was just screaming for one more
entry - yeah....sure!

But - there's just something about a course that pulls into one of the areas I feel weak and that I want to try and hone my skills in. The fact that it was less than $16 for the course didn't hurt either. I figured I would read through the lessons and do the homework when possible, and see if by the end of the eight weeks I can hone dialog in my o-fic to be more productive and more of a story-mover instead of a place setting. Anyway, that's the goal. And for less than $20, it's well worth the try.

I spent the time in my shower thinking about the architecture of Barad-dûr. What? Doesn't everyone think about the architecture of Sauron's high-rise while they are washing their hair? No? Shame on you for not casting a thought in that direction. Just think about it for a moment.

So Barad-dûr is supposed to be the tallest
thing EVER! How was it built without a
steel skeleton for the pressure and the weight? Was
it all just smoke and mirrors (and one ring)? 

We have a tall tower - the only skyscraper of its height in Middle-earth and all made without the internal structure of steel that modern-day equivalents require to obtain such a height. So how does he do it? Without that steel skeleton, relying on stone and mortar only, a tower will reach a point where it will collapse upon itself and it's not all that high. So what did Sauron do to make it possible to build such an edifice?

Look at this lovely pic I found while searching for Barad-dûr. I put it
on a black background and added the text, but the different pics
are just fun, so I thought I'd share with all of you. 

Orthanc, Saruman's current domicile, was supposedly built by powers never specified and held properties of its own that allowed it to escape the wrath of the Ents unharmed and showing minimal damage. The Ents managed to destroy everything else around it perfectly well, but they bounced off the Teflon surface of Orthanc.

So is Barad-dûr a similar situation? I suspect not because Sauron's tower collapsed in spectacular fashion when the One Ring was cast into the flames of Orodruin. So what is the architecture of Barad-dûr that allowed it to stretch to the skies above, rivaling the very mountains themselves? Something to think about today. 

Happy Thor (and Loki) day to all my friends!

Happy Thursday (or for fans - Happy Thor's Day).