1. How would you describe your sleuth’s motivation for solving the mystery?
   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 solve it they’ll face consequences.

2. How would you describe your villain’s motive for committing the inciting crime (the first discovered in the book)?
   1. The crime is committed on a whim.
   2. The crime helps the criminal meet a need or desire such as excitement, wealth, or revenge, but the choice of victim was random.
   3. It helps the criminal meet a need or desire such as excitement, wealth, or revenge, AND the choice of victim was meaningful.

3. How many suspects (the innocent ones + the true villain) are in your story?
   1. 1
   2. 2 or 3
   3. 4 - 7

4. How truthful are the suspects?
   1. They rarely lie.
   2. They lie, but they don’t have strong reasons for doing so.
   3. They lie a lot because they have secrets to hide.

5. How would you describe the clues in your novel?
   *Consider the following categories of clues to answer this question:
   I. Physical objects (bloody shirt, knife distinctive jewelry, syringe, etc.),
   II. Alibis
   III. Witness testimony
   IV. Video or audio recordings (voicemails, CCTV, etc.)
   V. Paper or digital records(texts, letters, medical records, bank statements, etc.)
   VI. Forensics
   1. The clues are mostly of one of the 6 categories listed above.
   2. The clues are a mix of different categories, but none of the clues are unexpected or unusual.
   3. The clues are a mix of different categories AND one or more clues are unusual and may take advantage of specialty knowledge.

6. How would you describe the process of investigating the mystery?
   1. The sleuth discovers and understands clues easily.
   2. The sleuth sometimes has a hard time finding clues and sometimes doesn’t understand clues immediately, but generally one thing leads to another.
   3. Some clues are easy for the sleuth to understand, others are more challenging. Also, the meaning of at least one clue changes upon further reflection or analysis.

7. How many words are in your manuscript right now?
   1. < 20,000
   2. 20,000- < 60,000
   3. 60,000+

8. How do you feel about the discovery of the first crime in your story?
   1. II’m not sure how it’s discovered yet.
   2. I’ve got a general idea about the discovery, 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 what clues lead the sleuth to the real culprit, but not how the sleuth confronts the criminal.
   3. I know what clues lead the sleuth to the real culprit, how the sleuth confronts the criminal, and I’ve got it written.

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

• A, you’re Gathering Evidence
• B, you’re Working the Case
• C, you’re Exposing the Criminal