Every manuscript that lands on an editor's desk has potential. But most first drafts share the same handful of structural problems — problems the writer can't see because they're too close to the work.
Here are the five most common developmental issues we encounter, and what they look like from the inside.
1. The story starts too early
Writers begin where the idea began, not where the story begins. Chapter one is often the writer warming up — finding the character, finding the world. The actual story usually starts on page 12.
Ask yourself: what is the first moment of genuine tension or consequence? Start there.
2. Passive protagonist syndrome
Your protagonist reacts to everything but drives nothing. Scenes happen to them. The plot would proceed the same way whether they were there or not. A protagonist must want something, act on that want, and face consequences.
3. Overwritten interiority
The reader doesn't need to be told how a character feels after every beat of dialogue. Trust your scenes. If the scene is written well, the emotion is already there.
4. Inconsistent stakes
The stakes established in act one don't match the stakes paid off in act three. This is almost always a structural problem — the writer changed direction mid-draft and didn't go back to recalibrate the opening.
5. Subplots that don't mirror the main theme
Every subplot should complicate, contrast, or echo the central question of the novel. If your subplot could be removed without changing the meaning of the story, it probably should be.