Hey, loved, Loved, LOVED MoaM! Would you ever share what your planning process was like? With it being so lengthy with many side plots it would be interesting to see! Can’t wait to read your other works! I don’t normally read WIP, but I’m going to risk it for Kingdom Come!
Hi! Thank you for one! Glad you enjoyed moam and are going to risk following a wip for Kingdom Come. I'm excited, the draft is done, which is wild for me tbh, but here I am.
So, to answer your question, with MoaM. I had the idea for a long time but it looked way different than what was written (not Draco and Scorp's story arc but Hermione's). I talked it out with my beta, K, who really grilled me on how everyone was connected and their actions and motivations. As both the narrator and protagonist, I spent the most time building Hermione, asking questions like what would she do if X and Y happened? Then she said "make an outline" which ended up being an unhinged telling of half the story. Most of which I didn't use exactly as written, except for the first kiss scene, Theo's dichotomy of man convo, and the Austen party idea.
I think the best thing is I knew where I wanted to go with the story. I knew where the characters started and where they would finish, I knew I wanted this to be a canon possibility, sort of like an CC where it presents all sorts of outcomes for if certain things happened, like a Canon Multiverse....and that gave me the beat of the plot line.
I knew quickly it would be slow paced because of so many plot aspects (Narcissa's disease...as there is a whole lot of things to consider when you or a family member is terminal, Greyback, politics (which only existed bc in CC Hermione is MoM and I wanted to play on the possibility), Scorpius/Al, Dramione romance, Hermione's parents, and the lighter plot points with her friends). I did not want Draco and Hermione to exist in a bubble where we learn or know little about the ppl around them. I didn't think that would be realistic--an easier read for those who don't care about that, but not realistic.
Also I knew it would be slow because change doesn't happen so rapidly. Bringing Draco and Hermione back together after 13yrs of nothing, when they both are set in their ways....It's more than a "hello, you're cute wanna bang?" Rushing and glossing over the hard work the characters need to take to learn, grow, have setbacks, and better themselves and the effort put into helping Scorpius...I just thought it would be a disservice to anyone put in any aspect of that situation. I also had the realization that Scorpius played a more integral role than I originally anticipated. He was glue. The build between Scorpius and Hermione had to start before the Dramione build and I needed the Dramione to be underway when things like the hospital attack happened.
It is funny that it's called a slow burn when Draco and a Hermione are together in some romantic capacity for half the story. Hahahaha.
In short answer the planning process was ongoing, chaotic, and wild. Anytime I was like "but what if" my beta shot that shit out the sky do I stayed on track. I wrote nearly all of Nothing before posting the first chapter and kept ahead making tweaks and whatnot. But when I got stuck and didn't like the romantic progression I went back and tore it to shreds and made what you see now. Aka I made it faster which is kinda hilarious given the pace.
I hope my chaotic answer helps!
