In this episode of the Messy Mapping mini-series, we talk about knowing your guideposts. The guideposts are simply the structural highlights of your novel. We’ll talk about a story from Brian Tracy’s Eat that Frog that exemplifies why guideposts are so helpful in keeping us motivated and on track and save time in the editing stage of our books. 

 We’ll talk about my five favorite methods for identifying guideposts, so you can find what works for you without it being too overwhelming. 

 This is the stage of writing where you can play around and brainstorm and throw crazy ideas out without boxing yourself in. You can figure out what will work and what won’t. Have fun with it and save yourself a lot of pain in the drafting stage where you might paint yourself into a corner or run into plot holes. 

 Guideposts will help you maintain your momentum, know where you’re going, and keep you excited about getting there.