A writing quandary
Jan. 19th, 2012 05:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frogs_of_war I was writing away today, at the scene where Peregrine sees Harrison, Eowen's husband. Of course he was Peregrine's best friend. That just makes sense. Peregrine was very happy Harrison joined the family. This would make him about Peregrine's age.
But he was married to Eowen already, and she was pregnant, when Peregrine stopped talking to anyone in his family. And at that time, twelve years before, Peregrine was a junior in college. So wouldn't Harrison have to be a little older? To have him out of college and ready to have a family.
But... then I looked at Eowen's age. I have her as 29. Which means twelve years ago she was only seventeen. And pregnant. By a guy over twenty.
No.
So I had to rethink the ages. If Eowen is thirty, then she was eighteen twelve years ago. People do get married at eighteen. I did. And Harrison has to be Peregrine's age, unless I want then to have been a freshman in high school dating a senior, which wouldn't be too bad according to my daughter. And maybe Eowen got pregnant, which is why they didn't wait until after he graduated before they got married.
Not that any of this will be explained in the story, but it changes the kind of guy Harrison is.
Also, does anyone happen to know how to cure a pelt? Or really how the ancients would have done it?
(I'm not sure what it's called even after the hours I spent on Wiki and pages it linked to. Tanning? But that involves talking the fur off.)
In a story that I'm nearly done with, a young person killed a giant tiger-like animal. And the people traveling with him want to leave the (lost colony) planet and to leave they need him as a guide. But he's not about to loose his prize. (He's going to use it to win the much-more-manly-looking boy he loves.) And I'm stuck trying to decide how long they have to wait until the curing process before traveling so that pelt won't rot. Or will they have to get to their goal in a certain period of time? Or would he work on the pelt every time they stop? Technology is Bronze Age at best, but I know people have been able to do this for far longer.
I wrote the first half of this story over a year and a half ago, so I really want to finish it. And this isn't really that important to the story, but it's got me stuck.
But he was married to Eowen already, and she was pregnant, when Peregrine stopped talking to anyone in his family. And at that time, twelve years before, Peregrine was a junior in college. So wouldn't Harrison have to be a little older? To have him out of college and ready to have a family.
But... then I looked at Eowen's age. I have her as 29. Which means twelve years ago she was only seventeen. And pregnant. By a guy over twenty.
No.
So I had to rethink the ages. If Eowen is thirty, then she was eighteen twelve years ago. People do get married at eighteen. I did. And Harrison has to be Peregrine's age, unless I want then to have been a freshman in high school dating a senior, which wouldn't be too bad according to my daughter. And maybe Eowen got pregnant, which is why they didn't wait until after he graduated before they got married.
Not that any of this will be explained in the story, but it changes the kind of guy Harrison is.
Also, does anyone happen to know how to cure a pelt? Or really how the ancients would have done it?
(I'm not sure what it's called even after the hours I spent on Wiki and pages it linked to. Tanning? But that involves talking the fur off.)
In a story that I'm nearly done with, a young person killed a giant tiger-like animal. And the people traveling with him want to leave the (lost colony) planet and to leave they need him as a guide. But he's not about to loose his prize. (He's going to use it to win the much-more-manly-looking boy he loves.) And I'm stuck trying to decide how long they have to wait until the curing process before traveling so that pelt won't rot. Or will they have to get to their goal in a certain period of time? Or would he work on the pelt every time they stop? Technology is Bronze Age at best, but I know people have been able to do this for far longer.
I wrote the first half of this story over a year and a half ago, so I really want to finish it. And this isn't really that important to the story, but it's got me stuck.
