1. How would you describe your protagonist’s goal - the thing that the protagonist tries to achieve throughout the course of the book?.
   1. They don’t have a goal at all.
   2. They have a fuzzy goal. One where it’s hard to know when it’s been achieved.
   3. They have a specific goal. One that makes it easy to know when it’s been achieved.

2. How would you describe your protagonist’s motivation for confronting the villain/going on the magical quest/doing whatever it is they’re up to in your story?
   1. They don’t have anything else to do.
   2. They’ve got reasons, but they could choose not to do so if they wished.
   3. If they don’t do it they’ll face consequences.

3. If your villain gets what they want, how is your protagonist impacted?
   1. The protagonist isn’t affected. The protagonist can still get what they want no matter what happens with the villain.
   2. The protagonist faces minor obstacles to reaching their story goal.
   3. There’s a mutually exclusive relationship between the protagonist’s and villain’s goals. If one succeeds, the other fails.

4. How would you describe the world that your characters live in?
   1. It’s stable.
   2. There are threats on the horizon.
   3. It’s in mortal peril/ on the verge of collapse.

5. How would you describe the relationship between the fantasy elements (e.g. magic, supernatural beings) and the story?
   1. They’re just a cool backdrop. They don’t really impact the story.
   2. They affect some parts of the story, but not others.
   3. The story wouldn’t be possible without the fantasy elements.

6. What stops your protagonist from solving every problem with magic or supernatural power?
   1. Nothing. They solve every problem with magic or supernatural power.
   2. The protagonist doesn’t have magic or supernatural power, and neither do any of their allies so they can’t use it.
   3. The protagonist or their allies have power but they have to be careful about when they use it because it’s got some drawbacks.

7. How many words are in your manuscript right now?
   1. < 25,000
   2. < 25,000 - < 80,000
   3. 80,000+

8. How do you feel about the start of your story?
   1. I’m not sure where it starts yet.
   2. I’ve got a general idea about what will happen but the details are murky.
   3. I’ve got it written and I love it!

9. How do you feel about the climax of your story?
   1. I have no idea how to end it.
   2. I know who wins, but not how it happens.
   3. I know who wins, how it happens, and I’ve got it written.

Scoring

Count up how many times you answered a, b, and c to each of the questions above. If you chose mostly…

• A, you’re On the Path

• B, you’re Meeting the Mentor

• C, you’re Storming the Castle