Writers track plot holes by maintaining a running "open questions" log during drafting and a dedicated continuity pass before each revision. The log captures every "wait, would this character really know that?" and "didn’t I say her sister was dead?" as soon as it surfaces, so each one gets resolved on a schedule rather than forgotten until a reviewer catches it.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Plot holes are easier to fix than to find. The cost of a hole caught in revision is a paragraph; the cost of a hole caught after publication is reader trust. Tracking them as you draft, rather than relying on memory or beta readers alone, catches roughly eighty percent of them before they reach an editor’s desk.
Chapter ii·What to include
- An open-questions log: one row per question, with chapter, severity, and resolution status.
- A "facts established" table: every load-bearing fact and the chapter it first appeared in.
- A character consistency check: voice, motivation, knowledge per character per scene.
- A timeline pass: in-story days against claimed durations.
- A continuity readthrough between drafts, done with the log in hand.
- An editor handoff package: the log plus the bible plus the timeline.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut mystery author keeps a Google Doc titled "Open Questions." Every time she writes a scene that depends on a fact she has not yet established, she adds a row: "Chapter 7 — did the victim actually own a gun? Need to plant in chapter 3 or 4." Before draft two she works through forty-six rows and resolves each before line editing begins.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s project notes attach plot-hole questions to specific scenes, so they resurface when you re-read the chapter.
See the Plan studio