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Get an editor's notes on one scene
Paste a scene and get comments pinned to your lines on its turn, pacing, dialogue and point of view, with your prose left untouched.
River reads one scene from your novel or story the way a developmental editor would, then leaves comments pinned to your own lines. The comments look at what the scene is for: what the viewpoint character wants, what stands in the way, and what has changed by the last line. They also cover pacing, dialogue, point of view and the moments you summarise that the reader should live through. Your prose stays exactly as you wrote it.
Each comment names what a passage is doing, why it matters to the reader, and a direction for revision. Where a short example helps, it is written in your voice and marked as an illustration, not a replacement. River also notes what is working, so you know what to protect while you revise. At the top of the document, a brief editor's note lists the two or three changes most worth making first, in order, so you know where to begin.
This is for novelists and short story writers in revision, especially with a scene that feels flat for reasons you can't name. Tell River where the scene sits and what it needs to do, and the comments judge it against that purpose rather than a generic checklist. A deliberately quiet scene is read as quiet, not slow. Revise, paste the new version, and River can read it again the same way, noting what improved.
What makes a scene work
A scene earns its place when something changes. A character wants something, meets resistance, and leaves in a different position: closer to the goal, further away, or holding new information that alters the goal. Editors often call this the turn. A scene where nothing turns can still be beautifully written, but readers will feel it as a pause. The first question in revision is what this scene changes, and whether the reader can feel it by the final line.
Pacing follows purpose. A confrontation usually wants short exchanges and little description; a scene of grief may need room for the character to notice small things. The problem is rarely speed itself but mismatch, such as a long description at the height of an argument. Dialogue carries more when characters don't say exactly what they mean. Backstory delivered as characters telling each other what both already know is one of the most common weak spots in a draft.
"Show, don't tell" is useful advice with limits. Summary is the right tool for moving through time or covering what the reader doesn't need to watch. It becomes a problem when it covers the moment the reader most wants to experience, such as a flat "She felt scared" at the point where fear should land. Point of view matters too, because slipping into a second character's thoughts mid-scene blurs whose story it is and loosens the reader's grip on it.
How it works
Paste your scene
Paste one complete scene, or attach the chapter and say which scene to read.
Add its purpose
Optionally say where it sits in the book and what the scene needs to do.
Read the comments
Comments sit beside the passages they concern, with an editor's note at the top.
Revise in voice
Make the changes yourself, then ask River to read the revised scene the same way.
What you get
- Comments pinned to your own lines, with your scene kept word for word
- A check on what the viewpoint character wants and what changes by the end
- Notes on pacing judged against the scene's purpose, not a fixed ideal speed
- Dialogue comments on voice, subtext and backstory that characters explain to each other
- Flags for point-of-view slips and for summarised moments the reader should experience directly
- A short editor's note listing the two or three changes worth making first
Common questions
How do you revise a scene?
Start with purpose: what the viewpoint character wants, what blocks them and what has changed by the end. If nothing changes, reshape or cut before polishing sentences. Then look at pacing against that purpose, dialogue that explains rather than reveals, and summary covering moments the reader should live through. Line-level polish comes last, once the scene is doing its job.
Will River rewrite my scene?
No. The scene goes into the document exactly as you pasted it, and all feedback is in comments. Where an example helps, a comment may include a short illustrative phrase in your voice, clearly marked. If you want a rewritten version, ask after reading the notes, and River writes it separately so your original stays intact.
Does it need a complete scene?
A complete scene works best, because the most important question is whether something changes from beginning to end. A fragment still gets useful comments on dialogue, point of view and summary, but River will say that it can't judge the turn. If your scene is part of a longer chapter, attach the chapter and name the scene.
What if my scene is meant to be slow?
Then say so, or tell River what the scene must do. Quiet scenes of grief, reflection or atmosphere are judged by whether the slowness is doing work: deepening a character, building dread or setting up a later turn. Comments flag drag only where the scene circles or pauses without adding anything the reader needs.
How does this compare with a human editor?
It is a careful first read, not a replacement for an editor or critique partners. River can't know your whole book unless you give it, and its sense of what a reader feels is an informed estimate. Use the comments to fix what you agree with before paying for human feedback, so that feedback goes further.
Does it work for every genre?
Yes. The questions about goal, resistance and change apply to thrillers, romance, fantasy and literary fiction alike, though what counts as resistance differs. In a romance it may be a character's own fear; in a thriller, a locked door and a deadline. River works out the scene's genre and reads it against that genre's expectations.
Get an editor's notes on one scene
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.