How to Tell Whether the Book is Working

Max! So good to see you back! You’ve been sorely missed… totally can’t wait for your new story. So, question: how do you know a story isn’t going well? Or, how do you know it *is* going well?

ryandake

Thanks for the question! Over the years I have figured out a foolproof process for telling whether a story is working.
This won’t work for everyone, but it works for me, 100% of the time. Occasionally I think
I’ve found an exception, but then I realize I haven’t.

Foolproof Method for Determining Whether Book is Working
Do you wonder whether the book is working? If yes, it’s not. If no, continue.
Do you ask people to read parts of the book to tell you whether it’s working? If yes, it’s not. If no, continue.
Do you stop to go write other stories? If yes, it’s not working. If no, continue.
When you read the last thing you wrote, do you feel like writing more? If no, it’s not working. If yes, continue.
Are you convinced the book is (or will be) the greatest thing in the world ever? If yes, congratulations, it’s working, for now.

Books that aren’t working can be made to work, though. They may require radical
surgery, like removing everything except one scene, but it can be done. Most of my
books were Not Working for a long time before they started working.

I thought I would get about three ASK MAX! questions a week, and I would pick one.
But there are tons already! Thanks so much. And please forgive what is clearly going to
be a terrible question-to-answer ratio.