Friday, July 24, 2026

Math is the Plot

But a plot usually has a conflict. What's the conflict? (I don't know yet.) And there should be some drama, etc.

I'm now in a critique group for people writing STEM fiction. I recommended Math Girls to one of my critique partners. She mentioned how much she loves trying to solve the problems before the characters do. Duh! I figured something like that would be easy to include in Althea and the Mysteries of Calculus. It took me a few days. Now there's a teaser at the end of each chapter. And the list of those questions makes a great outline for a calculus course.

I'm still working on the characters' responses to those questions. I've already rewritten a number of scenes in exciting ways. Sofia is a very visual thinker, and she often finds answers in very different ways from how Mom would explain.  

 

Check it out.

  

  1. How can we define tangent lines? (p31)
  2. How is it possible to figure out a speed when no time has passed? (p53)
  3. To find instantaneous velocity we need two points infinitely close together. How can we do that? (p62)
  4.  ... 

 

 
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