Manuscript Analysis

See how Vellam reads your book

See on someone else’s book exactly what you get on yours: logic errors, characters drifting out of themselves and threads that stop halfway.

  1. A world that stays put

    Details of the setting stay where you left them, so the reader does not fall out of the story in chapter three.

  2. A character who stays in character

    We track every appearance: looks, voice, temperament. A change without a reason will not slip past.

  3. No thread lost along the way

    We map every plot thread and show the ones left hanging, along with contradictions in the timeline.

What Vellam sees

Examples of inconsistencies detected by Vellam in real manuscripts.

Vittore Carpaccio, The Vision of Saint Augustine, 1502
Consistency analysis

Vel's inconsistent beard description

Character trait · Low

In chapter 1 the protagonist is described as smooth-faced ('dark good looks', no mention of facial hair in a detailed description of his eyebrows and hair), but in chapter 3 a beard suddenly appears with no earlier mention of him growing one or any passage of time.

R1

“He was a man of dark good looks. His brown eyes dominated his dark, thick eyebrows. And his chestnut, slightly too-long hair, swept back, fell freely down to his neck.”

R3

“he made a brief pause in which he stroked his thick beard”

Vellam Analysis Examples

Below you'll find a sample report

Characters, threads and locations in one report. See how Vellam finds what escapes you on the fifth read of your own text.

  • Vel, protagonist

    Vel's character is well-defined as a tired but loving father. However, I suggest deepening his internal conflict regarding his lack of magical power: in the scene where he reads about the Unifiers, he might involuntarily clench his hands on the book, which would underscore his frustration hidden beneath a mask of calm.

  • Kas, elder son

    Kas displays leadership and theatrical qualities. His portrait could be strengthened by adding a small visual detail, e.g. fixing his hair in a way that mimics adults, which would highlight his desire to be perceived as mature.

  • Sami, younger son

    Sami is dynamic and full of energy. To make him more distinctive, I suggest introducing a specific linguistic quirk or onomatopoeia he uses during play, which will emphasize his childlike enthusiasm in contrast to the more composed Kas.

Story Atlas

Cards from the analysis of The Doll by Prus

For every story element, Vellam builds a separate card, chapter by chapter. Below are examples from Chapter 1.

Character Chapter 1

Stanisław Wokulski

Main partner of a haberdashery shop, former insurgent exiled to Irkutsk, student of the Main School.

APPEARANCE
Around forty (in 1860 he was in his late twenties), well-dressed, proud, frowning like a ruffian at the slightest provocation; that's why the clerk at Mincel's supports him, and he supports the old man.
PERSONALITY
secretive and proudrestless and hot-headed character
EMOTIONS
anger "At the slightest provocation he frowns like a ruffian… Of course we laughed at him, but weakly, and for the worst he got angry like a jaguar, then as if nothing…"
RELATIONSHIPS
Ignacy Rzecki, friend and Wokulski's deputy
INTERESTS
science "He took it upon himself to become a scholar […] During the day he served guests at the bar and kept accounts, and at night he studied"
BELIEFS & MOTIVATIONS
He went to the Russo-Turkish War to make a fortune and gain social standing.
Location Chapter 1

J. Mincel and S. Wokulski haberdashery shop

A renowned haberdashery in Warsaw, whose owner is absent.

APPEARANCE
A renowned shop with foreign credit. Staffed by three clerks: a scrawny blond, a brunet with an à la Rzecki beard, and an elegant man with waxed mustache.
ATMOSPHERE
A place of commercial success despite the owner's absence; heavy traffic, scent of the elegant clerks' perfumes, an atmosphere of industry.
CHARACTERS IN SPACE
Russian merchants place orders; clerks serve crowds of guests; Ignacy Rzecki manages everything.
NARRATIVE FUNCTION
A symbol of Wokulski's life's work and commercial stability, as well as an object of speculation about ruin.
Thread Chapter 1

Employee relations

CHAPTER DESCRIPTION
Thread marked through a mention of Wokulski's loyalty and trust in Rzecki, who manages the shop in his absence, and the presence of three clerks with strikingly different appearances.
CHAPTER EVENTS
Active In Wokulski's absence, three clerks of different characters work under the management of Ignacy Rzecki.
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Józef Chełmoński, Indian Summer, 1875