Mary Amato was kind enough to respond to my query about how a writer knows when she is "done" with a project:
How do I know when I'm done? Definitely NOT by reading and re-reading and re-reading.
I step away from the pages, from my carefully-crafted sentences and I consider the big picture of the story. I often do this by creating a kind of visual outline or map of the story and then looking at it to see if it all adds up.
I try to show this in my videos that I post on the writing process. [For Mary's tips on the writing process, see the Resources Index on her web site.]
Usually once I have everything right with the plot, then the voice and the writing comes more easily.
Then I know when I'm done if I feel what my characters are feeling in every scene.
--Mary Amato
[Feel free to send me your ideas on how you know when you are "done" and I'll share them in future posts.]