: Re: Tracing dependencies and emergent plotholes during edits The fiction I write currently hit a major snag and needs a big overhaul of a major part of the story. A whole, large thread is being

@Tiffany377

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The best thing is to get someone else to read through what you have. I find it difficult to look past the changes, because I know what was "supposed" to happen before the change. Someone who is unfamiliar with your story will be better situated to go through it without preconceptions.

There's something to be said for doing this yourself. It's amazing how well just saying to yourself, "I haven't read this before, I have no idea what's going to happen," works.

I am also a big fan of drawing out a timeline of events. Where was Bob when X was going on? Why didn't Alice show up at Y? Could Charlie have realistically gotten from here to there in the amount of time he had to travel? Putting every event on your timeline will help you keep your characters, your events, and your plot on the straight and narrow.

Finally, I wouldn't necessarily worry about filling in every single perceived plot hole you find. As much as the IT folks like to scream, "Security through obscurity is no security at all," sometimes people don't exploit a weakness because they don't see it. So your main character is standing exposed and no one takes a swing at him. So what? Sometimes the bad guys just don't notice. If it helps, you can seal up your plot hole by pointing it out. "Daniel stood in the field of battle, blinded by sweat and exhausted by the effort of simply standing. Had anyone chosen to attack at that moment, he couldn't have fended them off with more than a stern expression. Luckily, though the battle still raged, no one approached and the moment passed..."

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