Character
Character Introduction
Flags first appearances of character names without nearby physical or contextual description.
What It Does
Tracks capitalized words that aren't common English words (likely character names), and checks whether a physical description keyword appears within 3 lines of their first mention.
Why It Matters
Readers need to picture a character when they first appear. A name without context is quickly forgotten. Even a single telling detail ("the tall barista" or "a woman in a red coat") anchors the character in the reader's mind.
What Gets Flagged
| Severity | Example | Why | Suggested Revision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hint | "Sarah walked in." (no description nearby) | Reader can't picture Sarah | "Sarah walked in, still wearing her hospital scrubs." |
Configuration
No configuration options. Uses NLP to filter out common words that happen to be capitalized.
Technical Details
- Source:
prose-craft - Scope: First-occurrence detection per character name
- Method: NLP common-word filtering + description keyword proximity check