How to run a fiction continuity pass
A continuity pass is not a search for every repeated noun. It is a controlled review of the facts, states, and rules readers must be able to reconcile across the story.
Define what this pass covers
Agree whether the pass covers one manuscript, a series, or only revised chapters. Record the draft version and decide whether you are checking internal story continuity, real-world factual accuracy, or both. They are different jobs.
Build a risk-led canon
Prioritize facts likely to cause reader-visible problems: character traits and injuries, dates and travel time, who possesses key objects, who knows each secret, relationship changes, access constraints, and magic or technology rules.
Record the evidence pair
For every suspected contradiction, record both passages, their locations, the exact fact that seems incompatible, and any contextual explanation. A note without the earlier evidence forces the author to repeat the editor’s search.
Adjudicate before reporting
Mark each item confirmed, intentional, ambiguous, stale-canon, false positive, or query author. Consolidate duplicate findings and separate consequential contradictions from harmless wording differences.
Continue the editor workflow
Add manuscript evidence to the pass
Use Novilot to surface possible evidence pairs, then keep the professional judgment yours.
Run a free manuscript preflight