Readers remember highlighted information. If the story never accounts for it, the draft can feel incomplete.
Glossary term
Unresolved reference
An unresolved reference is a named clue, promise, object, threat, secret, or callback that appears important but does not return or resolve.
Definition
What unresolved reference means
An unresolved reference can be a deliberate mystery, but it becomes a continuity issue when the manuscript gives it weight and then forgets it.
A character receives a warning letter that changes their behavior for one scene, but the letter is never explained or mentioned again.
Wise Wombat looks for named objects, clues, promises, threats, documents, injuries, secrets, and callbacks that need payoff or cleanup.
Related
Related continuity terms
These terms often appear together during manuscript revision.
Setup and payoff
Setup and payoff is the relationship between a story promise, clue, threat, question, or object and its later resolution.
Prop custody
Prop custody is the continuity of important objects as they are held, lost, damaged, transferred, used, hidden, or recovered.
Manuscript continuity
Manuscript continuity is the internal consistency of a draft across time, character facts, locations, references, structure, and world rules.