Keeping Your Novel’s Plot Coherent: An Editor’s Perspective
Novelists love their fictional premises. But many authors run into a problem: Somewhere between “Once upon a time” and “The End,” the wheels come off.
The resulting novel may contain dazzling prose, witty dialogue, and inventive concepts. But somehow it still fails to satisfy readers.
Why? Because the story doesn’t hold together.
Plot coherence is the glue that binds all of your story’s elements into a unified whole. Without it, the book just feels like a series of disconnected scenes. So let a professional editor show you how to make sure your plot holds together:
1. Start With Cause and Effect
Every story is a chain of causality. A coherent plot shows how one event leads to the next.
Ask yourself:
Does each scene arise naturally from the one before it?
Are character decisions driving the action, or are you forcing events just to hit a beat?
If your scenes feel interchangeable, or if characters seem dragged along by external forces, your plot is slipping into incoherence. Strengthen the chain by ensuring every beat is a direct consequence of what came before.
Remember: No transition between any two beats in your story should be describable only as “and then.” If you find any that are, revise them to “therefore” or “but.”
Related: Why Every Newpub Author Needs an Editor Now More Than Ever
2. Know the Spine of Your Story
Think of your novel as a body. Characters, settings, and subplots are limbs. And they all attach to the spine: your central conflict.
Every element in your novel must relate back to that main conflict. If you can cut a scene without affecting the outcome of the main plot, you probably should.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have subplots. But they need to echo, contrast with, or reinforce the spine.
For example, a romance subplot in a thriller can work if it deepens the stakes or forces the hero to face harder choices. But if the love triangle is there just there because you “thought it’d be nice,” it’s dead weight. Toss it overboard.
Which brings us to …
3. Watch Out for Cool But Pointless Scenes
Think about how many times a witty exchange or a high-octane action sequence has come to you while writing? You have a blast putting it on the page; Maybe it even impresses your beta readers.
None of that matters, because if the scene doesn’t move the story forward, it kills coherence.
Editors have a brutal but necessary phrase you’ve no doubt heard: “Murder your darlings.” Like many writing axioms, it’s often misinterpreted. What it means is that if a scene doesn’t advance the plot, deepen character, or develop theme, cut it.
Will it be painful? You bet. But your readers will thank you.
Related: Ask the Editor - How to Choose the Right Title for Your Book
4. Anchor Your Plot in Character Arcs
When characters don’t behave consistently, or when their actions feel disconnected from their motivations, the story falls apart.
Readers can forgive wild plot twists, but they won’t look past characters acting against type just because it’s convenient for the author.
Keep a separate document where you track each major character’s goals, obstacles, and growth. Cross-check every scene against it. If your characters’ choices don’t align with who they are—or who they’re becoming—you’ve got a coherence problem. Go back and make sure your characters’ choices follow naturally from their goals and personalities.
5. Resolve What You Set Up
Nothing destroys reader trust like dangling threads.
If you plant a question, hint at a mystery, or foreshadow an event, you must make it pay off.
That doesn’t mean explaining every minute detail, but it does mean giving readers closure on your promises. Never make them feel like the story doesn’t know where it’s going.
If you aren’t sure whether a setup pulls its weight, make a reverse outline. Start at the end of your book and work backward, listing every major payoff. Does each resolution have a setup? Does each setup have a resolution? Your job is to ensure the answer is always “yes.”
6. Keep the Stakes Consistent
Many a writer has fallen for the incoherence trap of stakes creep. That’s when the author keeps escalating the stakes without grounding them. Suddenly, the fate of the universe hinges on a conflict that started with a parking ticket.
Escalation works when it feels organic instead of arbitrary. Keep the stakes proportionate to the spine of your story and the scale of your characters’ lives.
Related: Beating Revision Paralysis - How to Stop Editing and Start Publishing
7. The Editor’s Shortcut: Read It Aloud
This tip sounds deceptively simple, and I’ve said it before, but it works.
When you read your manuscript out loud; or better yet, ask someone else to read your book back to you, you’ll notice which transitions feel jarring, when motivations don’t add up, and where the cause-and-effect chain breaks down.
A lot of writing gurus will swear that to answer to plot coherence issues is adopting some plot formula. The real secret is staying focused on your readers.
When a story flows logically, with every piece connected to the whole, readers feel comfortable investing their time and attention. They trust you to deliver on your promises.
This editor can tell you: Coherent plotting is the difference between a neat idea and a book people tell their friends about.
If you want your readers turning your novel’s last page with satisfaction instead of throwing the book across the room in confusion, tighten the cause-and-effect chain, keep each element tied to the spine, and make sure every setup has its payoff.
That’s how you build a story that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
For action-adventure that blends Gundam and Xenogears while staying coherent, read my military SF epic Combat Frame XSeed!
Brian Niemeier is a best-selling novelist, editor, and Dragon Award winner with over a decade in newpub. For direct, in-person writing and editing insights, join his Patreon.