8 Ways to Know Your WIP is Going Well

8. ��You have an outline for your writing project. ��Even if it is only a rough sketch with only an emotional arc written on the back of an envelope, or on a napkin. ��Having some inkling of what you want to do helps to keep writer’s block at bay.

7. Have a character questionnaire completed for at least your main character/POV character. ��This questionnaire can be as simple as the POV character’s name and physical description. ��Or, it can be a full biographical sketch complete with major childhood events and any psychological issues.

6. Have a very thick skin. ��Yes, you need to begin developing a��thick mental skin right now. ��Even if you have never completed any writing project you must protect your inner Muse by taking critique well. ��Meaning, hear what is said about your work and��not take it personally. ��You may need to put down your work for a couple of days and come back to it once you’ve digested the critique. ��You may also need to turn to a trusted writer friend and bounce the critique off of them to ensure that you received the message you think you did from the critique. ��Why is this #6? ��Because if you don’t have a supportive circle of writers around you you will need to create, or find one.

5. Create/find a writing circle. ��In these new and revolutionary days in which publishing is no longer ‘kind and gentle’ (if it ever was), your manuscript needs to be as perfect as you can make it��before an agent, or a publisher reads it. ��Meaning, your story arc is honed and sharpened to the specifically right one that works for your book, characters and setting. ��That your characters’ voices are clear and distinct from each other. ��That your theme is clearly depicted throughout the book. ��That your story has complexity with added sub-themes and/or plots that support the central theme of the book. ��A supportive writing circle, or group, can help you do just that without the cost of a structural book editor (which can be costly; sometimes as much as 20 – 40 cents per word depending upon the length of your document).

4. Be prepared and know that your first-draft is not your masterpiece. ��The first-draft is just that…your first pass at telling this story. ��Think of your story in terms of a human pregnancy — it has 3 trimesters — just like your story. ��The first one is your first-draft. ��The second trimester is the phase where you REST. ��You move entirely away from the story for as long as a month before going back to it (this applies to longer works such as a novel). ��This resting time is to give you distance from your work so you can look at it objectively. ��While you may��never be able to be completely objective giving yourself time will allow you to see things you may not have seen shortly after completing the first draft. ��The third trimester is the editing phase where YOU go over your work and add in scenes to more fully develop and flesh out characters, or the plot. ��Where you add in characters (or remove them) to make the story more realistic. ��You may need to go in and re-work your theme as you see holes you left, or red herrings that go nowhere (because you may have been rushing through the first pass as getting the story out). ��This is the stage where you identify your book’s team.

3. Every great book took a village to bring to market. ��You need an editor. ��You need a book cover designer (if you’re Indie), you need a book formatter (if you’re Indie). ��You need a fact-checker (if you’re with a publisher this generally is embedded in the several editorial passes they conduct for your book. ��[Publishers usually have 4 – 5 editors go over your book to ensure there are no typos, grammatical errors, wrong facts, etc. ��Indie authors — you’ve got to find a team that will help you have the same types of checks on your manuscript.] You need beta readers; people you trust to give you an honest opinion. ��You don’t need to know your beta readers personally but you do need to feel comfortable with them and how they process what they read. ��So, research online folks whose book reviews you appreciate. ��You should also be mindful of the types of genres your beta readers usually read. ��You ideally want beta readers who currently read the types of books you are asking them to read — unless you want someone totally outside of your genre’s opinion. ��That has value also. ��People who don’t read the genre will generally pull out things that are story/plot holes, or character flaws. ��They read the��story. ��People who read the genre you have written will do that as well (usually) but they tend to focus on things that make, or break, the genre rules. ��These beta readers will keep you��true��to the rules of engaging your readers in your work’s genre.

2. You must have discipline. ��Without a writing ethic of writing on a regular basis (at least once a day), it will be difficult to finish a project in any kind of timely manner. ��‘Nuff said.

1. You have no idea how tomorrow’s scene will turn out.�� Putting your characters’ collective backs against the wall is the best thing you can do for your readers, and therefore, your story. ��No one likes a predictable story. ��If you, the writer, cannot figure out how to get your characters out of the mess they’ve created for themselves you are doing great! ��You may need to do some research online to figure out how to pull yet another rabbit out of your writer’s toolbox. ��But hey, this is what you signed up for when you decided to become a writer!