Just Life.

If you’ve finished the first draft of your novel, there are certain things you are going to check for first once you begin the editing process. You need to make sure your novel makes sense. You need to make sure your plot connects in a logical way and there are no plot holes. Having someone else read over your manuscript usually helps and they’ll be able to spot things you didn’t.

Here are a few tips for spotting and correcting plot holes:

Your story should have continuity.

Each event should connect to the next event or help tie your novel together in long-run. The order can change, but all the events need to fit together logically to form your novel. Again, this doesn’t mean you can’t have flash backs or events that happen in the future, but they need to make sense.

Characters shouldn’t suddenly know things.

Having characters know things without any logical explanation of how they learned it is a big no-no. If there’s a problem that’s been plaguing your characters for a while and then all of sudden someone knows how to solve it without any explanation, you need to rethink that situation. We need to understand and see the process that your character went through to overcome an obstacle. This also helps us see their character growth/development.

Do not write events that go against events that have happened earlier.

If you say something happened earlier and then contradict that event later, your story won’t make any sense. It’s helpful to keep track of what’s going in, especially if you’ve let your manuscript sit for a while. Remind yourself of what has happened already. You also don’t want to keep telling your audience the same information over and over again in order to ensure that they understand. Your audience is smart and they don’t need things mentioned several times.

Don’t be afraid to cut a scene if it doesn’t fit anymore.

A lot of authors get stuck on writing a scene even if it no longer suits their work. I know you might be excited about it, but you can always try reworking it or brainstorming for something different. Don’t be afraid to let go of a scene, even if you love it. Your story will change and will need some rearranging. You can’t get too attached to something.

Laziness is not an excuse for plot holes. Your readers WILL notice if something doesn’t make sense, so don’t think that people will simply overlook it. Take the time to understand your story and where it’s going.