Keeping characterization of a character consistent

I've been told several time by others I know that my character isn't very consistent.

So, does anyone have any tips on how to keep the character going in one direction?

In what ways is your character not consistent? It'll be easier to diagnose the problem if we have an example.

He's not consistent in that he flips from being supposedly "kind of stupid" to being the straight man in a situation. The character is supposed to be this absentminded guy who's a little stupid.

I'll let someone else explain it better.

Could you have two characters, one who's the straight man and one who's the dumb guy? What's good is to have each character where you can change the situation and it reveals something about him or her. There are thoughts and feelings that connect the before and after change moments that drive the character. I don't know how you would make a straight man or dumb guy that deep though.

simple. stick to one characterization and drop the other. he's either stupid or a straight man. or forwhat you actually seem to want, a straight man who isn't actually very smart with his quips.

This is one of those times that a character sheet might come in handy.

I don't know if I'd just "drop" one. It kind of simplifies a character and doesn't address the point, more of the symptom.

I'd honestly recommend writing a lot. Write a scene where he's absent minded and a straight man, and then, analyze the scene yourself, and make sure you have a perfect explanation for why each action was done, and none of those explanations contradict each other.

Or some other writing exercise. Point is practice and repetition is probably the best help you can get.

edited 28th Jul '13 11:13:05 AM by MrAHR

I'll try that out and see how it works.

I get around this problem with lots of notes. I design a background and personality for every character in my story...and I do mean every single one, even ones that are only going to be briefly featured.

Example; in the sequel to the novel I just published, I've got a bartender character who my primary protagonist interacts with only a little; she talks to the lady maybe twice. But I've got three pages of notes for that minor character, regarding where she came from, why she's a bartender, etc. Now most of that work - in fact almost all of it - won't be used directly in the novel, but it will inform the parts which do show up.

As for my primary protagonist, I've got close to forty pages of notes regarding her background and personality.

And I know this works; one of the specific pieces of praise I've gotten on my novel is the consistency and believability of the characters. One person remarked "these are people I feel like I could walk out into the street and shake hands with".

To expand on what Drunkie said, I've seen some (just the tip of the iceberg) of his character notes. In the case of one character, he not only created the character's backstory and history, he created the character's grandfather's history and backstory. And the grandfather is never even mentioned in the book at all. So why did he do it? The grandfather raised the character; he was a huge part of why the character turned out the way he did. By making the grandfather detailed and consistent, he made sure that the character who actually is in the book is consistent and detailed.