Chapter 12 

Step 12: Final Inspection - Grammar, Flow, and Reading Aloud

You’ve reached the final phase of building your novel. The structure is solid; the details are in place, and now it’s time for the final inspection.

This fourth draft is about polishing your prose until it shines, ensuring the reading experience is smooth and immersive. It’s about fixing the squeaky floorboards and touching up the paint—the small imperfections that, if left unaddressed, might distract from the overall effect of what you’ve created.

Here’s how to approach this final draft:

Read aloud: You really need to do this! Read your entire manuscript aloud, either to yourself or using text-to-speech software. Your ears will catch what your eyes miss. I prefer to use text-to-speech software with a mechanical-type voice. It’s just what works best for me. Look for these the following:

· Awkward phrasing

· Repeated words or sounds

· Missing words, phrases, or wrong words

· Unintentional rhymes

· Run-on sentences

· Dialogue that doesn’t work

· Inconsistent tense or point of view

The Grammar and Mechanics: Now is the time to address grammar problems. Use grammar-checking software if you like, but remember it’s a tool, not a replacement for your judgment. Sometimes, grammar rules should be broken for style or effect.

· Proper punctuation

· Consistent formatting for thoughts, emphasis, text messages, etc.

· Correct use of commonly confused words (their/there/they’re, etc.)

· Properly formatted dialogue

· Consistent spelling (especially of names and places)

· Appropriate paragraph breaks        

Flow and Rhythm: Check your prose.

· Vary sentence length for rhythm and emphasis

· Break up overly long paragraphs

· Ensure transitions between scenes and chapters are smooth

· Use sentence fragments and run-ons intentionally, not accidentally

· End chapters and sections with sentences that have impact

The Checklist Method: Create personalized checklists of your common writing weaknesses.:

· Overuse of “just,” “very,” and “suddenly”

· Too many sentences beginning with “He” or “She”

· Characters nodding, sighing, or shrugging too frequently

· Repetitive sentence structures

· Unnecessary dialogue tags

Use your word processor’s search function to find and evaluate each instance.

Consistency Check: One final review for consistent details:

· Character descriptions (eye color, height, etc.)

· Timeline (seasons, days of the week, character ages)

· Setting details (distances, room layouts, etc.)

· Special terminology within your story world

The First and Last Impressions: Give extra attention to your opening pages and final chapter. These create the strongest impressions for readers:

· Does your first page establish voice, character, and situation effectively?

· Do the first few pages raise questions that compel readers to continue?

· Does your ending provide satisfaction? Do you leave room for more story if you’re writing a series?

· Have you cut any unnecessary epilogue that weakens the impact?

The “One More Thing” Trap: Be wary of the urge to keep making “just one more change” indefinitely. At some point, you need to declare your novel complete.

 Congratulations:

After this final draft, your novel won’t be perfect—no novel ever is—but it will be the best you can make it at this point in your writing journey. It will be ready for others to read.

This is a moment to celebrate. You’ve done something extraordinary. You’ve built a novel from nothing, discovered its shape as you wrote, and refined it into something that others can experience and enjoy.

The process I’ve described—from breaking ground to final inspection—has focused on craft, not art. I’ve talked about structure, technique, and process because these can be taught. But the spark that makes your novel uniquely yours—that comes from you alone.

Trust that spark. Nurture it through each draft. Let it guide you when rules and advice fail.

And remember that every novel you write teaches you how to write that novel—usually just as you’re finishing it. The next one will be different. You’ll make new mistakes and discover new strengths.

That’s what keeps things interesting. It has kept me interested for decades, and I expect it will keep me interested until the end.

Building a novel is never simple, especially for discovery writers. It’s messy, challenging, and sometimes frustrating. But it’s also one of the most rewarding creative acts possible. You create worlds and people from nothing but imagination and perseverance.

So, go build your novel. Make it sturdy. Make it beautiful. Make it yours.