Yesterday I posted about grammar. Another reason to review a manuscript is to check for holes in the plot. If a character has a broken mobile phone in chapter three, they better not use that phone in chapter five without a trip to the repair shop or phone store! Anything that might cause a reader to pause and flip back, "wait, I thought this other truth was established..." is a hole. Writers sometimes write so fast that we don't notice such flaws. Readers do. Especially mystery readers, who love to find something out of place, that little clue to help solve the who-done-it. This is also a great reason to get a beta reader, or a few, who can point such flaws out.
you have no idea how many plot holes I've found in my manuscripts...recently it's been trying to ensure that I don't have capitals where they shouldn't be, such as Vampire, Werewolf, Ghoul, Sorceress, apparently they don't have capitals in the body of the story, only if they are at the start of a sentencewho decided that??? lol
ReplyDeleteIt's such a pleasure to read a book without holes in the plot!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is always my first reader and he often finds little things like that.
ReplyDeletePlot holes can ruin an otherwise decent reading experience, and it's a shame more people don't get new eyes on the story to help point them out. You mentioned mysteries, and you are so right - plot holes in a mystery can completely destroy the means, motive, opportunity, or culprit, and that is the basis of the whole story.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Nothing worse than reading about something being one colour, only for it to change a couple of chapters later.
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for H: My Languishing TBR: H
Minotaur