Plot Hole Detective
Find gaps in logic, motivation and timeline.
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Find plot holes in my story. Summary or chapter synopsis: [SYNOPSIS]. Timeline notes: [TIMELINE_NOTES]. Rules of the world or setting: [WORLD_RULES]. Read as a sceptical reader. List issues grouped as motivation (why characters act), knowledge (who knows what and when), logistics (time, distance, objects), rules (internal logic), and coincidence (events that help the hero). For each give the location, the question a reader would ask, how serious it is (high, medium, low), and two possible fixes, one that changes the plot and one that adds an explanation. Present as a table. Highlight the three that could make readers stop trusting the story. Ask me about anything ambiguous instead of assuming. After the table, add a section called Questions Only You Can Answer that lists up to five decisions I must make to close the gaps, with the consequence of each choice for the rest of the story. Distinguish plot holes from deliberate mysteries, and say which items you think are intended gaps based on my summary. Add a worked example of one plot hole analysed with invented story facts: a thief enters a locked vault without the guard's key, though the guard was established as the only holder. Show the facts as stated, the gap, four candidate repairs (add a second key, give the thief another route, change who held the key, make the guard complicit), the knock-on effect of each on character and theme, and the recommended repair. Label it an illustration. Add a systematic scan method: list every question a reader could ask at the end of each act and check whether the text answers it, check each character's knowledge at each scene against what they could have learned, and check timing, distance and objects. Provide a prioritised repair list format with severity and effort. Finish with a final pass that reads the story backwards by scene, asking in each whether the character knows only what they have learned so far, which catches many knowledge errors quickly.
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