Timeline and Sequence Errors

• Is the elapsed time between scenes consistent with what the characters are doing? — Unreviewed
• If a character travels between locations, does the implied travel time fit the distance and available transportation? — Unreviewed
• If one scene occurs at night and the next occurs in the morning, have the intervening hours been accounted for? — Unreviewed
• Are references to yesterday, tomorrow, next week, or a specific date still correct? — Unreviewed
• Do deadlines, appointments, rituals, battles, or scheduled events occur in the intended order? — Unreviewed
• Are day and night, weather, and seasonal details consistent? — Unreviewed
• Do injuries, exhaustion, hunger, or other physical effects reflect the amount of time that has passed? — Unreviewed
• Did moving, combining, or deleting any scene break the chronology around it? — Unreviewed

Character Knowledge and Belief Errors

• For each major reveal, who knows it at every point in the manuscript? — Unreviewed
• Does anyone speak about, react to, or make decisions based on the information before learning it? — Unreviewed
• Does a character seem surprised by something an earlier scene already revealed to them? — Unreviewed
• Could the character reasonably infer the truth from the evidence they currently possess? — Unreviewed
• Does a mystery character reach a conclusion before obtaining the necessary clues? — Unreviewed
• When a secret is shared, do later dialogue and behavior reflect the new information? — Unreviewed
• Does information learned in one point of view remain out of another character’s thoughts until they learn it themselves? — Unreviewed
• Does a character distinguish between what they know, what they suspect, and what they believe incorrectly? — Unreviewed
• If information was learned off-page, has the manuscript made that transfer clear enough? — Unreviewed

Physical State and Object Continuity Errors

Relationship and Emotional State Errors

• Does any scene show an important relationship in a state that contradicts what has already happened? — Unreviewed
• When a relationship shifts, do later scenes carry some evidence of that shift? — Unreviewed
• Do trust, suspicion, resentment, affection, fear, or dependence develop in a believable sequence? — Unreviewed
• Does dialogue reflect what the characters are currently willing to admit to one another? — Unreviewed
• After a betrayal or revelation, does the affected character respond differently in later interactions? — Unreviewed
• After reconciliation, do the characters behave as though the conflict was actually resolved? — Unreviewed
• Does grief, humiliation, relief, anger, or trauma remain present when it would plausibly matter? — Unreviewed
• Has a moved or deleted scene removed the event that originally justified a later emotional reaction? — Unreviewed
• When a relationship subplot resolves, does the resolution affect the rest of the manuscript? — Unreviewed

Open Threads and Downstream Consequences

• Did the manuscript create a promise, threat, deadline, or obligation that was never addressed? — Unreviewed
• Did a major event produce consequences for characters, factions, or locations that never appear? — Unreviewed
• Are clues, prophecies, mysteries, or suspicious details eventually resolved or intentionally left open? — Unreviewed
• Did a removed subplot leave references behind? — Unreviewed
• Does an object or character introduced as important disappear without purpose? — Unreviewed
• Did a revision change the payoff without changing the earlier setup? — Unreviewed
• Are later scenes still dependent on an event that no longer occurs? — Unreviewed
• Has the manuscript explained why an expected reaction does not happen? — Unreviewed