- 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.
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