Free tool
Free plot hole checker
Paste your synopsis or chapter-by-chapter summaries, up to about 2,000 words. You get a list of possible plot holes, each with where it sits, why it may lose a reader and one or two ways to fix it.
- Free
- No signup
- Your text is not stored
What you get
A short read on how well your story's logic holds together, and up to eight possible plot holes, the most damaging first. Each one names its type, says where it sits, quotes the lines it rests on and explains why it may confuse a reader.
Each issue comes with one or two fixes, phrased as options you can take or leave. The check ends with questions to ask about your own story. It takes about half a minute, and you don't need an account.
The six kinds of plot hole it looks for
- Contradictions: a fact that changes, like a name, an age, a distance or who is still alive.
- Timeline gaps: events that can't fit the time given, or happen in an impossible order.
- Knowledge errors: a character acts on something nobody has told them yet.
- Broken world rules: magic, technology or a law of your world stops working the way you set it up.
- Motivation holes: a character does something with no reason the reader can see, or ignores an easier path.
- Dropped setups: something introduced with weight that never pays off.
Why it says possible, not definite
The checker reads a summary, not your book. A summary leaves things out, so a gap in the outline may already be filled in chapter twelve.
That's why every issue is framed as something to check, and why the fixes are options. Use it to find the places worth a second look, then decide with the manuscript open.
What to paste for the best check
The more of the story's cause and effect your summary carries, the more the checker can test.
- Summarize every chapter, ending included. A synopsis that stops before the climax hides the payoffs.
- Keep names, places and times as they are in the book, so a change shows.
- Add an excerpt only for a scene you're unsure about. The outline carries the check.
Finding plot holes by hand
A checker is a fast first pass. Our guide covers the full method: a separate pass for the timeline, the continuity ledger, motivation and the promises you made the reader.
Read how to find plot holes in your novelCheck the whole manuscript
Many plot holes live between pages a summary never shows: an eye color that drifts, a secret someone learns too early.
StoryWith AI reads the full manuscript. Its continuity check pulls out the facts about your characters and world, flags the ones that conflict, checks your world's rules and tracks who knows each secret and how they learned it.
Run it on the whole manuscript
These tools read a sample. StoryWith AI reads the whole book: structure, pacing, continuity, and a readiness score with every issue linked to its passage. Start free, then upgrade when you're ready to analyze the whole book.
More free tools
- Manuscript Readiness ScorePaste your opening chapters for a score out of 100 and the issues most likely to stop an agent.
- First Page CritiquePaste your first page for an agent-style critique: five ratings, where a reader would stop, and the fixes that make them turn the page.
- Story RaterRate a chapter or short story on hook, pacing, clarity, dialogue and character, with your top three fixes.
- Query Letter GraderInstant checks on length, word count, genre, comps and greeting, plus an AI review with line-level fixes.
- Query Letter GeneratorAnswer six questions about your novel and get a first-draft query letter in agent format.
- Comp Title FinderFind comparable titles for your query letter from your genre, audience and premise, each checked against a book catalog.
- Synopsis GeneratorTell the story in four answers, ending included, and get a first-draft one-page synopsis for agent submissions.
- Book Blurb GeneratorDescribe your book and get three back-cover blurbs, each led by a different angle: character, stakes or mystery.
- Book Title GeneratorDescribe your book and get six to ten title ideas drawn from your own story, each with the reason it fits.
- Editing Cost CalculatorEstimate developmental, line, copyediting and proofreading costs from published EFA rates.
- Novel Word Count CheckerCheck your word count against what agents expect for your genre, from fantasy and romance to YA and memoir.
- Beat Sheet CalculatorSee where each beat of Save the Cat! or three-act structure falls in your novel, by word and by chapter.
- Query Letter TemplateA fill-in-the-blanks query letter in the format agents expect, with an annotated example and word counts for each paragraph.
- Book Synopsis TemplateA one-page synopsis in five parts, with a word budget for each and a full example that gives away the ending.
- Book Proposal TemplateThe eight sections of a nonfiction book proposal, with what to put in each and how agents read it.
- Character Profile TemplateA character profile with the questions that matter: want, need, wound, voice, relationships and arc.
- Story Bible TemplateOne document for every character, place, rule and date in your book, with notes for a series.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is the plot hole checker free?
Yes, with no signup. Free tools share a fair-use limit of 6 runs every 12 hours.
What should I paste?
A synopsis or a summary of each chapter, up to about 2,000 words, ending included. You can add a short excerpt of a scene you're unsure about.
Can it check my whole manuscript?
Not this free tool. It reads a summary, which is enough to test the story's logic but not every line. StoryWith AI checks continuity across the full manuscript.
Is my story stored or used for training?
No. It's sent to our AI provider to produce the check and isn't saved by StoryWith AI. We don't use it to train AI models.
Why does it say possible plot holes?
Because it reads a summary. Your book may already explain something the outline leaves out, so each issue is a place to look, not a verdict.
What if it finds nothing?
Then the logic in your summary holds together. It can't see details the summary leaves out, so a careful read of the manuscript is still worth doing.
Can I check a story in another language?
Yes. It reads your outline in the language it's written in and answers in that language.