A pendulum’s whole virtue is that it refuses to hurry. It swings at the tempo its length dictates, through every mood in the room, and the clock built around it stays honest. A character kept on a pendulum card is given the same protection: her description was written once, at a calm moment, and it is consulted at the same beat in every sitting, whatever the hurry of the day.
The card holds five lines in fixed order. Age, a plain number. Hair — colour, length, habitual style. Build in two or three words. Face — one or two enduring details. Signature — the detail that survives a tight crop. Below the card, the day’s line: outfit, corner, hour, light — the things allowed to swing.
Paste the card word for word at the head of every prompt. Generate at the standard 6 credits, judge against the card at the same unhurried beat, and let repairs, swaps and finishing follow only what judging has passed. Nothing at this desk is improved by being done faster and in a temper.
Series do not lose their characters in dramatic moments. They lose them in hurried ones. Keep the beat, and the character keeps herself.