I think one of the interesting things about being in a fandom is watching people argue about what is in-character or out-of-character for a character who's been established over many movies, episodes, novels, etc. For example, I felt like Luke Skywalker was OOC during Episode 8 during the flashbacks. Seriously, why would the Luke of Episode 6 turn into that guy? Even Mark Hamill agreed that was unlikely.
As a writer, I think about this issue, too. I want my characters to seem internally consistent, and I want them to work based on real life human psychology. I've got a B.A. in psychology, and I've done psychological research on a variety of topics. And I strive to always put it to work when I write.
Not everyone will react the same way in any given situation, so my characters won't always react in the way a person seems themselves reacting. But that's a different issue covered under human diversity. But more than anything, I don't want to make basic writing mistakes I see like someone suffering a major wreck and then walking away like it didn't shake them up. Come on, now. Have you ever been in a wreck? I have. Someone ran a stop sign and hit me, totaling my car. I didn't just walk away smiling like nothing happened.
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