I just started trying to WILD last Thursday, and I think I might have been close twice.
I have read several guides on WILD and lucid dreaming in general, so I'm pretty familiar with the process.

What happened the first night is I was lightly awoken by a quiet alarm I set 5 hours after going to sleep (I do this because I very very rarely catch myself between REM cycles.). I laid there, barely awake, and thought to myself "I am going to a dream now". It felt like my whole body was moving forward, and for a few seconds I saw a strange black and white symmetrical pattern, but it soon blurred and faded away, and I assume I fell asleep normally at that point. The second night was similar, but instead of the feeling of moving forward, I saw very clear images of my phone screen that quickly faded much like the night before.

Last night I woke up, much more conscious than the previous nights, and tried as hard as I could to WILD, but I couldn't make anything happen. It just felt like I was trying to WILD without any sleep prior. I figured this may be because I wasn't in REM sleep? Tonight I am setting the alarm for 6 hours instead of 5.

Does it sound like I'm on the right track, or am I doing something wrong here?
I haven't felt sleep paralysis yet, and I have trouble staying calm, but I'll keep trying.