As you are working through the writing process and working on drafts, make sure to read through your work to ensure you aren't just summarizing the story. Summarizing can include some important details (which is good!) but won't have the depth of critical thinking (inquiry) required. If you have a lot of information, look to see if you are explaining "why" or "how," or asking deep questions about character or author motivation. Think about why the author chose to do what he/she did with the characters or the setting or the narrative mode or narrative structure. Perhaps the author divided the book into 3 parts: why? Perhaps the author never reveals the protagonist's name until halfway through the novel: why? Perhaps you are reading and start to feel really angry: how did the author do that? And why? Don't just understand the text: work to understand the subtext and analyze the literature. Use the careful notes you are taking using the Talking to the Text reading strategies to help you. In short, don't just read the words on the pages, find the magic in the pages!
