Report guide
Character Continuity
A character detail, emotion, injury, behavior, role, or reference may need checking across scenes.
What This Means
Character continuity flags ask whether the same person is being presented consistently enough for readers to follow them. The goal is not to make characters predictable; it is to make changes feel motivated, visible, or intentionally mysterious.
Worth Reviewing When
- An emotional or physical state changes without a visible cause.
- A character seems to know, want, remember, or believe something that conflicts with earlier context.
- A name, title, nickname, or role could make readers think two references are different people.
Often Fine When
- The change happens after an implied off-page event.
- The inconsistency is a deliberate mystery, lie, disguise, or point-of-view limitation.
- The character is intentionally unstable, conflicted, injured, hiding information, or changing under pressure.
How To Review It
- 1Check the character's last few appearances before the cited passage.
- 2Identify whether the shift is emotional, physical, relational, knowledge-based, or naming-based.
- 3Add a small bridge, consequence, reminder, or clarifying reference if readers need help tracking the change.