Novel character consistency

Novel Character Consistency

Maintain accurate character representation by retrieving relevant passages from Milvus before generating new content.

Workflow

Before writing new character scenes:

1. Identify characters in the prompt

   • List all characters that will appear in the new section
   • Note primary vs. secondary characters

2. Query Milvus for character passages

   • For each character, query: "[character name] appearance, personality, relationships"
   • Retrieve top 5-10 most relevant chunks
   • Combine results into a character profile

3. Extract key details From retrieved passages, document:

   • Physical description: eye color, height, distinguishing features
   • Personality traits: temperament, speech patterns, quirks
   • Relationships: how they relate to other characters
   • Role in plot: their motivation and story arc status

4. Inject into prompt context

   • Include extracted details in the system prompt
   • Format as: "Character: [name]\n- Appearance: ...\n- Personality: ...\n- Relationships: ..."
   • Place character profiles in explicit context section before generating

5. Generate with grounding

   • Model now writes new scenes with retrieved context
   • Consistency automatically enforced through prompt injection
   • New passages automatically embeddable into Milvus for future retrieval

Character Profile Template

Use this format when injecting character data into prompts:

Character: [Character Name]
- Appearance: [physical traits from retrieved passages]
- Personality: [temperament and speech patterns]
- Relationships: 
  - [Character A]: [relationship type and status]
  - [Character B]: [relationship type and status]
- Current arc: [their unresolved story threads]
- Contradictions to avoid: [traits that shouldn't change]

Query Strategy

Effective Milvus queries for character retrieval:

• "[character] appearance, eyes, hair, clothing" → physical consistency
• "[character] said, spoke, thought" → voice and dialogue patterns
• "[character] relationship with [other character]" → interpersonal dynamics
• "[character] backstory, origin, history" → motivations and depth
• "[character] personality, emotional, reaction" → behavioral consistency

Common Contradictions to Prevent

Track and verify these don't change mid-narrative:

• Physical traits (eye color, scars, distinguishing marks)
• Speech patterns and dialect
• Core personality traits (temperament, values)
• Relationship status with other characters
• Character's death/absence (major plot points)
• Skills and abilities established earlier

Tips

• Query before each major character appearance
• Include secondary characters mentioned peripherally
• When characters interact, retrieve profiles for all involved
• After generating, embed new passages to update character knowledge in vector DB