Small caveat before you read any further: I am a firm believer that no manuscript is ever done. I say this as someone who has now completed two of them, and is in the process of revising my first manuscript for the fourth time after seven hard years of work.
But, if you're anything like me from a year ago, done at this stage in your process just means reaching the end of your plot arc. It means typing the final word of the final chapter and getting ready to shove your now-completed manuscript in the hypothetical dark drawer that it should rest in for a couple months until you begin editing.
And if you're anything like me, you think that the moment you type that final word, it'll be ready to go with just a little copyediting. It's not, trust me. It is FAR from it, and we'll get to that point.
No, whether you're actively writing or just brainstorming, I want to go all the way back to the first kernel of the story that would eventually become a 96,000 word manuscript. Because sometimes, the process of drafting feels like being stuck in a very dark cave with like, no flashlight, and really strange noises around you. It's disorienting and interminable without a map and a keen sense of adaptability and resourcefulness.
When I first started drafting my Celtic YA fantasy novel, I had a (mostly) fully formed main character: Aiselde, goddess of death. I had a (mostly) fully formed map: Hy'Brasil, based upon the mythical disappearing island of Celtic mythology. It supposedly appeared every seven years, although modern scholars would say that this was exclusively due to a mapmaker's error. I chose to interpret this as an actual island, land of the gods, home of the isle of the dead, Tech Duinn, where our main character lived. I also knew that our main character was a fugitive of the law in some way, due to something her deceased parents had done, and that leaving Tech Duinn would be fraught with difficulties for her. I knew this main character had a brother. I knew this would be a trilogy charting the rise of Aiselde to the eventual position her mother held. And that's all I knew.
So naturally, my first three chapters, which took me a whopping five months to write (not for lack of trying--my pace was super slow even though I had time, and my writing would put the most purple prose-y of authors to shame), were largely comprised of worldbuilding. When I showed them to a dear friend of mine, proud that I Wrote a Thing, her comments were something along the lines of "this writing is super gorgeous, but where is the plot?" And, because I didn't actually know the plot, but I just knew that Aiselde had a Big Secret. And, because I was eighteen and pretty naive, I said the plot was unknowable, because Aiselde didn't know it and my story was in first-person. I sat with my friend's comments for a solid day, tried to plot more, and gave up for three years.
Obviously, this is dumb reasoning and it's not super difficult to see why I let the story sit. But I'm sharing this not to cringe at little me, but to prove a point. I gave up because the story had no direction. Having a strong main character is crucial, as is worldbuilding, especially in a fantasy setting. But the plot is the actual wheel that keeps your story turning. Otherwise, why are you writing? And more importantly, why are we reading?
I could have plowed through and kept writing a seemingly directionless book. Maybe something would have emerged from the ether. But equally crucial is understanding when to let an idea mature. Let me put this out there (and remind myself!): you are pushing yourself to write this book. There's no time table unless you tell people, and, for the love of all that's holy, don't hype your book up when it's just an idea. Let that bad boy sit for a bit. Don't be little me and excitedly tell authors at a local book festival (many of whom I still keep in contact with) about your "50 page manuscript." Because then you'll put pressure on yourself when you can't finish it...and waiting is perfectly okay!
My three year wait had given my ideas time to percolate. I understood now that there was a god of death, Arawn, who was evil and who was oppressing people that Aiselde and her (unnamed) twin's mother had fought for--only after turning from the side of evil to the side of good. When Aiselde's parents died, they left the twins with undead relatives to watch over them, and a mission: unlock your magic, kill the god of death, and free the oppressed people. The problem? It's been eighteen years, and neither one of them has an ounce of magic. Her brother tries every day and just can't get it, but Ais? She's got bigger concerns.
Now this was an actual skeleton of a plot, and one that I've adhered (close-ish) to throughout multiple drafts. How did it arise? I wish I could be romantic and say "from the ether." But actually, it came from theory. (Thank you, Ms. Elaine Winder for assigning this in AP Literature!)
Thomas C. Foster, in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, pulls from Kurt Vonnegot's idea of the six basic plots. No matter what, your story is either:
Rags to Riches (the hero's rise)
Riches to Rags (the hero's fall)
Man in a Hole (the hero's fall, then rise)
Icarus (the hero's rise, then fall)
Cinderella (the hero's rise, then fall, then rise)
Oedipus (the hero's fall, then rise, then fall)
Since Ais occupying her mother's position implies a rise (in power), but a fall in morals (and an obvious redemption at the end), I suddenly had an organizing plot structure for the trilogy: Cinderella.
With that in mind, I mapped the major plot points for the trilogy, then got into the nitty gritty of Book 1. I find it easiest to chunk things into threes. Three books. Three parts to each book. There you go.
I began writing with major points now mapped: Ais will get stuck over on Arawn's land for some reason (possibly supernatural), Ais will fall in with the rebels, Ais and a few of the rebels will end up kidnapped, and she'll convince the god of death to come to her side by falling in love with him.
Wait, what in the holy Stockholm syndrome is this??
I course-corrected, obviously. But I didn't stop writing. Because here's the thing: once you have an organized plot, characters you believe in, and a solid world, you can safely do that without putting a grinding halt to the whole thing. Ais and the rebels can end up discovering a reason to infiltrate Arawn's castle, and, suddenly, there's no need for kidnapping. Arawn can fall in love with her instead, while Ais is fawning over the girl she's infiltrated the castle with, and Ais can use Arawn's love to her advantage.
By planning and replanning, but always adhering to that overarching plot, I managed to finish the first draft in a hectic two months: a 105,000 word behemoth that really was so, so bad, and that has taken the better part of a year and several beta readers to fix into something beautiful.
But that is another story for another day.
Happy drafting :)
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