The things that chew into writing time

[ksmith]

Figuring out how big a hideout needs to be and how many people I can realistically cram into it.

Comments

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Well...pick a size or pick a number and go from there. And how long must they survive in it?

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Also, what was a realistic-though-larger-than-usual barn in the early/mid-1800s? That's the sticking point. The world's largest barn was 30K square feet, but it was built in the early 1900s. Don't need anything near that much space.

The smart thing would be to just win it, don't mention numbers but mention the crowding, the smell, the proximity to folks one would prefer to avoid. People only have to be there for a few days, so I have some room to maneuver.

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

My grandparents were VT dairy farmers (pre 1970). The barn attached to the house was approx. 40 x 80 -- so not a huge barn. What made it big was that it was build on land that sloped. It was three levels, cows entered on the west at ground level (the basement as it were), the second level was at grade on the east side and then there was the hay loft. There as a detached barn that had a larger footprint but only two levels.

Don't know what the land that you are writing about looks like but this would get you more square footage in a smaller seeming building.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info! I had only been planning for two levels, but the area I'm thinking of is rolling enough that it's possible the barn could have a basement entry.