Can the reader identify what is unknown?
Start here, then go back to the page and see what the manuscript gives you.MANUSCRIPT PROBLEM
How do I tell confusing mystery from productive mystery?
A good mystery leaves me wondering. Confusion leaves me wondering what I am even supposed to be wondering about. The difference is whether the reader has enough anchors to form a few possibilities.
BEFORE YOU CHANGE ANYTHING01 02 03 04 05
Not understanding everything is fine. In fact, that can be the fun. The question is whether I can still tell what kind of question the story is asking me to hold.
FIVE QUESTIONS
What we would look for first
Are there enough concrete anchors to form a hypothesis?
Start here, then go back to the page and see what the manuscript gives you.Does uncertainty create curiosity or prevent basic orientation?
Start here, then go back to the page and see what the manuscript gives you.When answers arrive, do they connect to earlier evidence?
Start here, then go back to the page and see what the manuscript gives you.Is the mystery withholding information intentionally or because the author already knows it?
Start here, then go back to the page and see what the manuscript gives you.WHERE A DEEPER READ HELPS
Stay with the reaction before deciding what to change.
We would track what the reader knows at each point and what the story seems to invite them to wonder about. When those two things stop lining up, we can usually see why the scene feels confusing.
A POSSIBLE NEXT STEP
Bring the question, not a diagnosis.
You do not need to arrive knowing which editorial service you need. If you want another pair of eyes on the actual manuscript, this is the route that fits the question above.
IF YOU ARE STILL NOT SURE
That is useful information too.
Sometimes the most honest starting point is simply, “Something isn't working and I cannot quite tell why.” You can start there.