Reducing your self-critiquing to this single question can simplify your writing process and open new creative doors.

Early in my writing career, I often bombarded myself with complex self-critiquing questions.

• Does this sentence strike the right tone for my readers?
• Do these words sound pretentious or confusing?
• What will my editor/publisher/readers think?
• Do I need to include more or less detail?

The list goes on.

Looking back, I can see why such an approach may have seemed appropriate, but from where I sit now, it feels exhausting and unnecessary. These days, I mostly stick to a single question as I evaluate and refine what I write: