Warning: Plot math ahead!
I'm taking a bit of a break from the International Criminal Conspiracy to work on a short story idea I had involving Hyperion and Kaylee.
It's a caper plot where they have to retrieve an item that's been planted in Kaylee's high school locker before the authorities find it.
So what’s the issue? I’ve already established certain dates and character ages. This is like the issue with Kaylee not being in school in October, only worse.
The genesis of the plot revolves around something that happened in the ICC, which takes place in 2019, so it has to take place after that book.
However, it's clearly established that Kaylee is 14 going on 15 in The Lynx Who Came in From the Cold, which takes place in 2016.
Doing a bit of math means that she'll be 18 going on 19 during the short story. And given the mapping of age to school year, it also means that by the time ICC ends, she'll have already graduated from High school and be getting ready for college.
So why would she need to get into her high school locker? Oops.
Well, could I set the short story the year before? Nope, it has to be after ICC. The plot doesn't make sense otherwise.
Okay, since the problem is based on her age in The Lynx, could I just make her 13 going on 14 in that story, then she'd be the right age in 2019? Nope, a significant part of The Lynx revolves around her having just gotten her driver's permit, which requires her to be 15 at that point in the book.
sigh!
What to do, what to do, what to do. Which, while quoting Winnie the Pooh, reminds me of the cartoon which stated that it would be a horrible idea for Pooh to join Star Fleet given his penchant for wearing red shirts.
Anyway, I see, given the temporal straightjacket I've placed myself in, I have two choices.
1) Forget the short story.
Reply: Are you mad?
2) Move The Lynx from 2016 to 2017, which requires me to recalculate the dates of all the events in the novel.
Reply: This isn't actually bad, it's almost only in the chapter headings. Subtract 1 from the day, add one to the year to keep them on the same day of the week. No problem.
Okay, but you'd better check Road Kill and make sure you didn't screw anything up there.
Moles and Trolls, moles and trolls, work, work, work, work, work. (source: Real Genius)
Seriously, do you really think anyone would be pedantic enough to do the math and check this kind of thing? Sure, I did.
---------------------------------------------
Snippet from the beginning of the short story:
"Foghorn Leghorn to Chicken Hawk. SitRep. Over."
"Hype, I’m right next to you," Kaylee Tranter reminded her feline compatriot.
The two were hiding behind a low hedge marking the edge of the high school parking lot, Kaylee, a seventeen-year-old high school student crouching low to stay hidden, yet keep her skirt from getting wet from the ground still wet from the overnight thunderstorm, and Hyperion, the five-foot-long, 125lb cat peeking over the top, totally uncaring as to the state of his fur.
"Caution Chicken Hawk, Savoir-Faire is everywhere," Hyperion continued in a fake southern drawl. "Do you have eyes on Miss Prissy? Over."
"I should have asked Meagan to come with. Why can’t I know any sane adults?"
It's a caper plot where they have to retrieve an item that's been planted in Kaylee's high school locker before the authorities find it.
So what’s the issue? I’ve already established certain dates and character ages. This is like the issue with Kaylee not being in school in October, only worse.
The genesis of the plot revolves around something that happened in the ICC, which takes place in 2019, so it has to take place after that book.
However, it's clearly established that Kaylee is 14 going on 15 in The Lynx Who Came in From the Cold, which takes place in 2016.
Doing a bit of math means that she'll be 18 going on 19 during the short story. And given the mapping of age to school year, it also means that by the time ICC ends, she'll have already graduated from High school and be getting ready for college.
So why would she need to get into her high school locker? Oops.
Well, could I set the short story the year before? Nope, it has to be after ICC. The plot doesn't make sense otherwise.
Okay, since the problem is based on her age in The Lynx, could I just make her 13 going on 14 in that story, then she'd be the right age in 2019? Nope, a significant part of The Lynx revolves around her having just gotten her driver's permit, which requires her to be 15 at that point in the book.
sigh!
What to do, what to do, what to do. Which, while quoting Winnie the Pooh, reminds me of the cartoon which stated that it would be a horrible idea for Pooh to join Star Fleet given his penchant for wearing red shirts.
Anyway, I see, given the temporal straightjacket I've placed myself in, I have two choices.
1) Forget the short story.
Reply: Are you mad?
2) Move The Lynx from 2016 to 2017, which requires me to recalculate the dates of all the events in the novel.
Reply: This isn't actually bad, it's almost only in the chapter headings. Subtract 1 from the day, add one to the year to keep them on the same day of the week. No problem.
Okay, but you'd better check Road Kill and make sure you didn't screw anything up there.
Moles and Trolls, moles and trolls, work, work, work, work, work. (source: Real Genius)
Seriously, do you really think anyone would be pedantic enough to do the math and check this kind of thing? Sure, I did.
---------------------------------------------
Snippet from the beginning of the short story:
"Foghorn Leghorn to Chicken Hawk. SitRep. Over."
"Hype, I’m right next to you," Kaylee Tranter reminded her feline compatriot.
The two were hiding behind a low hedge marking the edge of the high school parking lot, Kaylee, a seventeen-year-old high school student crouching low to stay hidden, yet keep her skirt from getting wet from the ground still wet from the overnight thunderstorm, and Hyperion, the five-foot-long, 125lb cat peeking over the top, totally uncaring as to the state of his fur.
"Caution Chicken Hawk, Savoir-Faire is everywhere," Hyperion continued in a fake southern drawl. "Do you have eyes on Miss Prissy? Over."
"I should have asked Meagan to come with. Why can’t I know any sane adults?"
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