How To Fix Plot Holes--Without Starting Over
One of the most daunting aspects of your story . . . Finding the missing chunks. Let me walk you through it step-by-step.
4/8/20262 min read
Ohhh, the dreaded plot holes. For me, one of the hardest parts of writing a story. Finding all the missing pieces. And let me tell you . . .
There will be a LOT.
At least, if you write like I do. By the seat of your pants. I don't outline (much), and I pay a hefty price afterward. But that's okay. It's my system, and I'm sticking to it.
Let me walk you through how I find and fix those nasty plot holes.
But first things first! Finish that rough draft. Stop going back and rewriting chapter 1. Stop overthinking dates and going back to check what color this guy's eyes were.
JUST WRITE.
It's a fact: your first draft will suck. I promise. But there's no possible way to finish a rough draft without getting through it.
After finishing that first dumpster draft, now you may proceed.
First. Take some time off. Time away from your story. I take thirty days. Take two weeks. Anything. Long enough to get your story out of your head. You need to be able to forget it to get a thorough second draft.
Second. Read through the entire draft. No editing. Just read it. Make notes on the way, if you prefer. But save editing, big or small, for later.
I like to list out problems as I find them, chapter by chapter. Makes things easier for me if they are in a list that I can cross off as I finish.
Third. Now that you have read the complete story, start with your big problems. Maybe a character you cut out halfway through the book, or a scene that doesn't even need to be there, anyway.
Make your way down a checklist, and fix every problem, starting big and ending small. Just enough so your story makes sense. You don't really have to worry about tiny details in this draft. Focus on PLOT.
I also like to list the day of the week and the time of day in my chapter heading. I use Scrivener, so the chapter heading is just for my reference. But listing it somewhere helps if you want to use a timeline to sort out your sequence of events. (Also SUPER helpful.)
Now, your plot should make sense. Whew! That was probably exhausting. No time to relax now.
Onto the fourth step. This is actually your THIRD draft. Making your writing beautiful, making it you. Painting a picture in the reader's mind as they read, focusing on show, don't tell. Vivid details. Bring out the color, bring life to your story. (Also exhausting.)
Next? You've finally reached your fourth draft. Your proofreading draft. Time to find all those missing apostrophes and spelling errors. This is down to the nitty-gritty.
There you have it! An extremely condensed summary of the Four Draft Revision System! It's worked well for me for the past five novels, and I hope it can work for you, too!
Happy Writing!
Michelle
