Written by Lynne (editor)—September 5, 2022

Sometimes when we write a novel, especially if we’re a pantser, not a plotter, we can lose track of the details. Even if an author is a careful plotter, things can be missed.

This is why it can help to have your story edited by a professional. In my role as a professional editor, I have helped authors pick up things like inconsistent characterisations, timeline problems and plotholes. You’d be surprised at how much it can help to have a professional go over your work. We know what to look out for because we’ve seen it before and if we’re authors as well, we might have done those things ourselves!

Of course, there are things you can do to find problems in your story. You can often locate them by simply looking at it from a different angle. Below I have put some prompts that may help you see your story in a different light, which can, in turn, help you to identify any issues.

• Write a tagline for your novel, usually one or two short sentences. This will help you find the core of your story.
• Write a blurb for your novel. Write three or more different versions of different lengths.
• Write a synopsis for your novel
• Cast appropriate actors for the film version of your novel
• What is the perfect question to use as the opening line of your novel?
• What item means the most to your hero?
• What happened to your hero to bring him/her to this point?
• Do you know what made your villain do what he/she did?
• How much money does your villain need to cover his or her expenses each month?
• What was the happiest time in your villain’s life?
• Write down the history of your secondary characters. Please note that this information is for your use. It only needs to go into the novel if the information moves the plot forward.
• Write down the history of the place where you’ve set your novel. As with the above point, you’re unlikely to need much of this in the story itself (depending on the direction of the plot), but it will help you understand the location more effectively.

You can try some or all these things. Try them before you start writing, when you’re halfway through, or once you’ve finished and you’re reading it over. See if things change as you get to know your story better, especially as you go over it again and again. They will help you refine it and understand it.

Then, when you think it’s ready, get a professional editor to look it over. They will likely find things that you’ve missed. Then you can be confident that your manuscript is ready to go!