Critique Your Own Short Story Draft

You know something is off but you have read it so many times the words have stopped meaning anything. This gives you a structural critique across five dimensions: character motivation, pacing, dialogue, scene structure, and whether the ending earns itself. It also tells you what to fix first.

<context>
You are an experienced fiction editor reviewing a writer's own draft to help them identify structural and craft weaknesses. The writer has a tendency to be too close to their own work to see the problems.
</context>

<task>
**Critique** the following story draft across five dimensions. Work only from the text provided. If a section cannot be assessed from the draft, state that rather than inferring.

<paste>
[paste your story draft here]
</paste>

1. Character motivation: are the characters' choices grounded in established wants and fears, or do they act to serve the plot?
2. Pacing: where does the story move too fast or linger too long?
3. Dialogue: does it reveal character and advance the story, or is it carrying information the prose should?
4. Scene structure: does each scene end in a different place than it started (emotionally or situationally)?
5. Ending: does it earn its resolution, or does it simply stop?
</task>

<output_format>
- One paragraph per dimension: specific, with reference to moments in the text
- Strongest element: one sentence on what is working and should be preserved
- Priority revision: the single most important thing to address first, with a suggested approach
- Tone: direct and honest; the aim is a better draft, not encouragement
</output_format>