Questions I ask myself

Questions I ask myself while writing:

• Do my characters ring true?
• Do their emotions and actions fit their character?
• Does their trajectory make sense?
• Do I care about my characters?
•  Does the plot deliver?
• Does the plot build in suspense?
• Does the action make sense as it unfolds? 
• Do consequences logically follow actions?
•  Does the story flow?
• Is the time and scene progression clear?
• Does it avoid getting bogged down?
• Is too much going on at once?

I feel discouraged looking at all these questions — how can I manage to do all this? Much of this happens subconsciously, or by trial and error. Sometimes it’s hard, because I don’t (obviously) write the whole book at once, but by bits and pieces. A lot of this I miss with my own tired eyes, which is why I have a dev editor and I let others read my stories.  

So in actuality, it’s a matter of trusting myself, trusting the process, and just writing.