Writing Have you ever experienced a plot hole involving inconsistent character descriptions?

Eldoria

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Inconsistent Character Descriptions

Authors are also human and can forget. It's possible the author misread a character's description.

For example, in chapter 10, side character X is described as having blonde hair. In chapter 100, the same character is described as having black hair.

Well, maybe this is the importance of noting down character designs in the glossary to avoid plot holes due to forgetfulness.

Edit:
Well, don't focus on the hair color example. Inconsistencies in character descriptions can occur in any attribute, such as eye color, height, birthmark, facial features, nose shape, etc. Or it can also be non-physical attributes such as titles, levels, relationships, family background, etc.

Maintaining consistency in character descriptions is important to avoid plot holes and make characters feel personal.
 
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Juia_Darkcrest

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yeah... Luckily, my MC has memory issues canonically, so I can ignore some of those mistakes. Other times, I have misquoted something from a long time ago, and then need to figure out how to fix it to keep my continuity somewhat smooth. It can be painful
 

tiaf

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For example, in chapter 10, side character X is described as having blonde hair. In chapter 100, the same character is described as having black hair.
character dyed hair, boom, problem solved

Made the mistake while drawing. I then decided that my character's change of hairstyle is part of his usual styling habits. Very in line with his personality.
 

L1aei

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This took me a very hot minute to remember I did have an inconsistency in one of my old novels. I had a side character, sort of a pseudo-antagonist, who was initially named Matt, but I somehow through the chapters transitioned into referring to him in the later chapters as Mark. :blob_sweat:

Now I had a dilemma on whether to ctrl-f all the Matts or Marks and straighten them out or establish a new character. I settled with going back and changing all the Matts into Marks because, for some unknown reason my instincts kept telling me this guy felt like a Mark and that explained the reason for my mistake. :sweat_smile:
 

TinaMigarlo

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I did a fantasy project, and it was swords era. I never specified a date, but it was after the roman vacuum left western europe. They were supposed to be the early culture that would later turn into the vikings. anyways, this called for cool names. Not many vikings, named Bob and Mike, you know.

I had a problem with name consistency.
I realized I had Makela and Mikela in diff chapters, and sometimes in the same one. (oops)
Auroch and Arroch, fuck me I had chapters with both names sometimes (another oops)

I might have to load that one up here. Fantasy, is a thing.
Here's the blurb on that one...

Young Ryeamund was many things…

A starving lease farmer.
A poor blacksmith.
A fine woodcutter.

Born into a world of chaos and violence, with no family other than his father that died when he was young. Possessing nothing that he had not made with his own two hands… he was first hated, then feared. Accepted only by the rough and coarse men of the high hills, and the animals on the little farm that both he and his broken father scratched a miserable living out of.

What can a man do, when he learns his own village hates and fears him and that his own gods cursed him before he was even born. Nothing, except learn to fight just for the right to be left alone… that true love and acceptance are for everyone else… that it's best to try in vain to hide whatever he was. Simply because it's the better option than to become an actual monster, roaming the countryside.

When Ryeamund finally escaped his cursed existence, he found that the world and everything in it was strange and very different than he had ever imagined. Nothing was what it had seemed to be. Unable to escape his true heritage and destiny, he would discover that it is better to serve than to rule. That a curse can be a gift. That one man truly can change the world and rise up to challenge kings and gods.

Long before he passed into tale and legend, both his enemies that feared him and his friends that respected him would give him the name…

"Winterblood".

WBcover3.jpg
 

CharlesEBrown

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Caught myself doing this a few times. Most recently, accidentally reversed the colors of Dane Coleman's hair and eyes in one chapter.
 

expentio

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Had to rename the father of my MC, because I intentionally used a different one and then backpedaled, after I basically committed on the second one that was arguably worse.

Also, I used a bunch of names of characters I'm now probably going to introduce on already existing characters (intentionally, since they were good), yet now have to figure out what to do about them. (Can't change the original owner of the names I'm going to introduce, yet can't change my MCs names either.
 

persenche

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this is actually the reason i switched to using scrivener. i kept forgetting minor details about the characters, once i hit a full ensemble cast.
 

Rhaps

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I have a canonical reason for why characters forget certain things. The final boss has the power of Mystery, its whole thing is making people forget things.

And one of its inspiration is the False Hydra
 

L1aei

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False Hydra

I've heard of that from a few years ago after listening to some old CritCrab narrations off of D&D Reddit stories. I admit that creature would've wiped out any old D&D party I had partake in; it's scary efficient.
 

Alski

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I once read a story that consistantly mixed up the MC's father with a primary antagonist (both had large introductions earlier in the story) and when i pointed it out to the author he stuck his head in the sand and chose to play idiot.
 

Rhaps

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I've heard of that from a few years ago after listening to some old CritCrab narrations off of D&D Reddit stories. I admit that creature would've wiped out any old D&D party I had partake in; it's scary efficient.
I tried to setup a dnd campaign around it once, it was pretty hard to get it work properly, but I got it working. Shit be scary when a player left the campaign and I tell the rest "there was never a character by that name"
 

Naravelt

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Smile.jpg


I forgot three or four times that the character in the right is a boy, not a girl. Thankfully, the reader noticed and gave me suggestions to fix it
 
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