Score Your Novel Across 14 Craft Dimensions
Every scene graded from A to F across 14 metrics that matter. Hook Power, Prose Craft, Tension, Character Voice, and ten more. Know exactly where your manuscript is strong — and where it needs work.
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Try ProseEngine FreeWhat Is Quality Scoring?
Most writers finish a scene and wonder: is this actually good? Quality scoring replaces gut feeling with measurable craft analysis. AI reviews every scene across 14 dimensions of literary craft and assigns letter grades with specific, actionable feedback.
Not a Grammar Checker
Grammar tools catch typos. Quality scoring evaluates craft — whether your hook grabs readers, whether tension escalates, whether characters sound distinct, whether you show instead of tell. The things editors charge thousands to evaluate.
Objective, Repeatable Scores
Run the same scene twice, get consistent results. Track your improvement across drafts with the comparison scoreboard. Watch your weak metrics climb as you revise with targeted feedback.
Specific Feedback, Not Platitudes
Every grade comes with an explanation of what works and what doesn't. Not “make it better” — specific observations about sentence rhythm, tension beats, sensory gaps, and dialogue patterns that need attention.
Scene-Level Precision
Scoring happens at the scene level because that's where craft lives. A novel can have brilliant chapters and weak ones. Scene-level scoring pinpoints exactly where your manuscript needs revision — no more guessing.
The 14 Metrics Explained
Each metric targets a distinct dimension of fiction craft. Together, they form the most comprehensive quality assessment available for novel manuscripts.
Hook Power
Does the scene's opening grab the reader? Measures the strength of your first lines — whether they create urgency, curiosity, or tension that compels reading further.
Prose Craft
Evaluates sentence-level writing quality: rhythm, word choice, variety of structure, and overall elegance. Catches overwriting, repetitive patterns, and awkward constructions.
Tension
Measures whether the scene maintains and escalates conflict. Detects flat middles, premature resolutions, and scenes where nothing is at stake for the characters.
Pacing
Assesses the rhythm of action, dialogue, and reflection. Catches scenes that rush through important moments or linger too long on the mundane.
Character Voice
Do your characters sound distinct from each other and from the narrator? Measures the uniqueness of speech patterns, word choices, and internal thought across your cast.
Dialogue Quality
Evaluates whether dialogue sounds natural, advances the plot, reveals character, and avoids on-the-nose exposition. Catches stilted exchanges and talking-head syndrome.
Sensory Detail
Are readers grounded in the scene? Measures the use of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste to create immersive, visceral prose that puts readers inside the story.
Emotional Resonance
Does the scene make readers feel something? Evaluates emotional arcs within scenes, the authenticity of character reactions, and whether pivotal moments land with impact.
Thematic Richness
Assesses how well the scene reinforces or develops the novel's themes. Catches theme-absent scenes and rewards subtle, layered exploration of central ideas.
Show vs Tell
The oldest craft rule, measured precisely. Detects passages where emotion or information is stated rather than demonstrated through action, dialogue, or sensory experience.
Scene Structure
Every scene should have a goal, conflict, and outcome. Measures whether scenes follow effective dramatic structure or meander without purpose or resolution.
Canon Compliance
Cross-references scene content against your Story Codex. Catches continuity errors — wrong eye colors, timeline contradictions, and characters who know things they shouldn't.
Engagement
Predicts reader engagement by analyzing narrative momentum, cliffhanger strength, and page-turn compulsion. Catches scenes where readers are most likely to put the book down.
Overall Quality
A holistic assessment that weighs all other 13 metrics together, factoring in how well they work in concert. A scene can score well individually but fall flat as a whole — this metric catches that.
How It Works
Submit Your Scene
Select any scene in your manuscript and run quality scoring. Works with scenes of any length, from flash fiction to epic chapter-length sequences.
AI Scores Across 14 Metrics
Your chosen AI model analyzes the scene across all 14 craft dimensions. Each metric receives a letter grade from A (exceptional) to F (needs significant work) with detailed reasoning.
Review Feedback & Revise
Read the specific feedback for each metric. Identify your weak points. Revise with purpose — then re-score to measure improvement. Track progress on the comparison scoreboard.
The Quality Gate — Recursive Improvement
Quality scoring tells you what's wrong. The Quality Gate fixes it. Set a minimum quality threshold, and AI will rewrite your scene until every metric passes — automatically.
1. Set Your Threshold
Choose your minimum acceptable grade — B+ across all metrics, A on Hook Power and Tension, or whatever standard your manuscript demands. You define what “good enough” means.
2. AI Rewrites the Scene
The scene is rewritten by AI with the scoring feedback as guidance. The rewrite targets the specific weak metrics while preserving your voice, plot, and character decisions.
3. Re-Score and Repeat
The rewritten scene is scored again. If any metric still falls below your threshold, the cycle repeats — rewrite, score, improve. The loop continues until every metric passes.
4. Scene Passes the Gate
Once all metrics meet your standard, the scene is marked as passed. You review the final version, accept or adjust, and move on knowing it meets professional craft standards.
Track Improvement with the Comparison Scoreboard
Revision without measurement is just guessing. The comparison scoreboard shows exactly how your manuscript improves across drafts, scene by scene and metric by metric.
Draft-Over-Draft Tracking
Score your first draft, revise, score again. The scoreboard shows every metric's trajectory — which improved, which regressed, and which stayed flat. Revision with data, not hope.
Identify Persistent Weaknesses
Some weaknesses survive revision after revision. The scoreboard surfaces patterns — if Sensory Detail scores low across 80% of your scenes, that's a craft skill to develop, not just a scene to fix.
Manuscript-Wide Overview
See your entire novel's quality landscape at a glance. Which chapters are the strongest? Which scenes drag the average down? Focus your revision time where it matters most.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is AI quality scoring for fiction?
ProseEngine uses advanced AI models trained on literary craft principles. Scores are consistent across evaluations and align with professional editorial standards. The 14-metric system catches issues that single-score tools miss entirely — weak hooks, passive tension, thin sensory detail, and more.
What does each letter grade mean?
Grades range from A (exceptional craft) to F (needs significant work). Each grade comes with specific, actionable feedback explaining what works and what to improve. An A in Hook Power means your opening grabs readers immediately. A C means it functions but lacks urgency.
Can I score an entire novel at once?
Yes. You can score individual scenes for focused revision, or run a full-book audit that scores every scene and generates a manuscript-wide quality report. The comparison scoreboard tracks how scores change across drafts.
Is quality scoring available on the free tier?
Basic scoring is available on Writer tier and above. The full 14-metric scoring system, Quality Gate, and comparison scoreboard are available on Author and Studio tiers. All tiers include a 14-day free trial.
Stop Guessing. Start Scoring.
Know exactly where your manuscript stands — across every metric that matters.
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