10 Sept 2015

Crossover Chapter 3 - Commentary

Everyone's on the road!  Welcome to the commentary for the third chapter.  Please read the chapter before continuing.

Crossover was my NaNoWriMo project in 2008.  My first, Lethal Ladies, was the first time I expanded from short stories to full-length novel and has two climaxes because it started to end halfway through.  My second, Digital Magic, was a failed attempt at writing romance; the romance never came through and the pacing was awkward.  The lessons learned were pacing and making sure that the plot could fill the word count.  Pacing is still a little off, though I did try to keep the action going as much as possible.

Maria is a practical mother.  She remembers what she was like at Nasty's age, which was pregnant with Tasha.  She isn't necessarily forcing Nasty to have sex with Eric or anyone else, but she wants her daughter to be prepared.  Nasty, however, isn't ready to entertain such thoughts.  She's keeping them buried deep.  This can only end well for her.

Vicki is a look at how a teenaged hero would have to be creative.  She doesn't have access to high-tech super-fabrics that change size when she does.  I handwaved that her Pixie dust can imbue the ability in her costume, but she needs to do that every time she does laundry.  Vicki is a contrast to Nasty, part of the reason for having her in the story.  She is far more typical a teen than Nasty, though that's a comparison of their backgrounds as well.  Nasty wound up becoming far more responsible at a younger age than Vicki, out of necessity.  Vicki had a more stable childhood with parents that weren't still maturing themselves.

The trip from Toronto to Cleveland is about ten hours, depending on traffic.  Highways aren't always busy; traffic is worse through a metropolitan area and tapers off the further out.  Keith having his Yugo on autopilot wasn't a problem, and he was there to make sure it didn't go off the road.  Prototype Alpha is a joint effort between Meredith and Keith.  Meredith is the one in the suit, but Keith has remote access to the controls and can advise over the radio.

I needed someone to explain how the physics of the two dimensions work and Natasha volunteered.  Tori asked the obvious question; why are their counterparts in Cleveland?  Other than, "plot", that is.  The closeness of the dimensions allow them to reflect each other.  Nasty goes to Rochester thus Natasha goes to Rochester, but for different reasons and not necessarily in the same building.  Neither are making the decision for the other; both have reasons to be there and both leave for their own reasons.  The timing doesn't have to be precise.  Natasha is driving to Cleveland from New York while Nasty's flying in.  Ultimately, they will both be in Cleveland.

Tomorrow, Crossover Chapter 4.
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, the History of Adaptations continues with the Ninties.
Saturday, over at Seventh Sanctum, Watership Down.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.

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