Checking your work for basic problems It can be very difficult to identify areas of weakness in our own work. This is why it is important to have our work assessed professionally by an outsider who is not affected by what we were trying to do, and can see what we have achieved instead. But for those of us on early drafts, it can be helpful to know some of the things assessors consider when reading manuscripts. See how many of these you can answer with a 'yes.' An occasional 'no' is fine. Just make sure you have reasons for your deviations, and that you have not weakened your work with too many of them. Is it clear who the story is about? Is the major character someone the reader can identify with well? Does the major character have both outstanding character traits and flaws, physical and mental? Is the major character introduced to the reader very early? Does the major character show growth in understanding as the tale progresses? Is the main character active in solving the problems encountered? Does the main character's weakness contribute to the problems encountered and solved? Does the main character have moments of despair and hopelessness as well as of confidence? Are there a limited number of essential minor characters, all different? Are the minor characters as completely thought out as the protagonist? Does each minor character have more than one use in the development of plot and ideas? Are the antagonists more than stereotyped figures of evil? Do the 'good' characters avoid stereotypes? Are gender stereotypes either used deliberately or avoided? Do all minor characters come across as individual people? Does each minor character participate in events in the main plot as well as in minor plot elements? Does the main action begin in the first few paragraphs? Does each chapter contain a significant contribution to the main plot line? Does the solution of each problem in the main story line lead to a greater problem? Are there sub-plots? Do the sub-plots contribute significantly to the themes or ideas of the main plot (e.g. by reinforcing them, or offering alternative points of view)? Do the subplots connect with and interact with the main plot at various times? Are the subplots resolved before the main plot climaxes and is resolved? Is there a twist or surprise at the end? Is back story avoided in the first few chapters? Are the setting clearly pictured (if imaginary) and well known (if real)? Do the settings offer clear changes in mood, tone, action? Do the settings complement or contrast with the prevailing mood and action? Do the settings have universal attributes (understood by any reader)? Do images and symbolic objects hold their significances across cultural lines? (e.g. Are trees and rivers used archetypally or are they invested with personal meaning?) Are the settings appropriately specific or generic? (e.g. the W. A. Museum's Aboriginal artefacts display vs. a museum) If the work is set in some time or place other than that of the author, is that time or place thoroughly researched and made familiar? Have anachronisms been avoided (e.g. King Arthur smoking a pipe; Victorian women holding 20th-century views on gender)? Does the first sentence capture the tone and topic of the story? Are the characters shown in action, rather than being passively described? Does the first paragraph introduce the major threads of the story? Do the middle chapters maintain pace and forward movement? Are conversations representative of real conversations: elliptical, brief, colloquial? Do action sequences have short sentences with emphasis on verbs? Do descriptions focus on specific things rather than general? (e.g. 'black' rather than 'scary') Are verbs expressed in active forms (e.g. 'she knitted' rather than 'she was knitting)? Is the author's viewpoint limited to a few, one, or no characters' thoughts and feelings? Does the author remain invisible or take an active part in telling the story? If this is a first novel, is it under 80,000 words long? Is it double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 point or the equivalent? Does it have wide margins on every side? Are the first lines of every paragraph, except those that open chapters, indented? Do paragraphs follow each other without spaces between them? Are the pages numbered consecutively, along with the author's surname and book title, in 10-point? Are common spelling and punctuation and grammatical errors checked? (e.g. its/it's; their/there/they're; to John and I; he could of gone; laid/lay) Are characters' names and nicknames consistent and clear? (e.g. surnames don't all begin with S, aren't all two syllables long, accurately reflect ethnicity; minor characters don't have three different names they are known by) Are sentences grammatical? Is punctuation standard? Is the spelling standard usage?
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