Over the weekend at the conference, I heard several projects that faced this same problem. The author had spent so much of their time thinking about the over-all plot line or the relationships of their characters, that they missed some key plot holes in their stories. These were not simply things that could be over-looked, but issues that truly became the Achilles Heel of their projects.
What I am talking abotu here are issues with either the characters or the plotlines. This might be situations where the characters simply couldn't do what they were doing in the story due to logistics or other rules of natural physics. Would a doctor or lawyer really violate their ethical code? Is the character ignoring a law or is there a law that would simply prevent that from happening?
This even extends to issues of world building and plots. This might be situations of time travel, gravity, or simply situations of getting from one place to the next in the right amount of time.
Now, while these might be things the author can say, "well this is fiction you know," we have to remember that readers are often not so forgiving. They will come back and haunt you!
Although looking at the big picture of the story is fine, it is still crucial to examine those smaller elements of the story to make sure those elements really are working too.
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