Hello, Fellow Menewshans, I am finding myself in quite a bind. I have a story idea that I want to write so badly that I have insomnia. You see, for the story I am currently working on, one of the side characters has amnesia. It serves a purpose for the plot, because it turns out that his memories hold the key to solving a mystery the MC has been trying to solve for years.

Here is the thing though, I have absolutely no experience trying to write a character with amnesia. In most books I have read, the characters with amnesia always come across as being trite and unoriginal. I really don't want that to happen with this character. He retains some of his memories, but just bits and pieces. Not enough to really string together, but they are so vivid that he actually thinks they are real and ends up going insane.

How would you write a character that is insane and has amnesia without sounding cliche? I know it sounds bad, but it really is vital to the story. V_V

How about...every day, he keeps a journal full of images/memories he sees, and is convinced that they really mean something and are telling a story related to whatever is happening? Like, he records everything he remembers/sees...and once he starts to piece them together, he's convinced they're related to saving the world or something? I'm not sure how to put my thoughts in words...but is that clear? Lol... ^^;

I hope I can help!

Amnesia. Goodness, that sounds difficult.

I agree with Vall'na about the journals, I know you're supposed to do that when you have reoccurring dreams and things like that too.
Speaking of dreams, you could play with that concept too. Dreams are often said to be ways for your mind to store and 'file' so to speak all the data it learned in the waking world. If he has amnesia, he could be having strange dreams that, while not the memories themselves, could have bits and pieces of those memories.

You could also play with the idea of deja vu when he enters certain places. Where he can't remember what has happened, but rather that something did and whatever it was, he was a part of it.
This could be more than sight too. A certain sound, touch or smell might even have a more profound effect on jogging his memory.

It might also be important to take into account how he got this amnesia and what made him realize he had it. Does he meet someone from his past who remembers him, but he does not remember the person? Is it an overwhelming sense of deja vu all the time? Was it such a vast amount of his life he forgot (an entire childhood or something) that he realizes he must have amnesia?

Did he get the amnesia by being bashed in the head? Maybe then his memories aren't even in order. Did he get it by forcibly repressing them? Then they'll probably come up easier, in dreams or deja vu, than if his brain was physically beat around.

I don't really understand what you mean by his memories being so vivid he thinks they are real. Did you mean that he had implanted memories or that the vividness of them actually makes him think they are happening now? (If it's the second that is such a cool idea and I'm glad someone is writing a story with that. I want to read it.)

I think what's also really important is to know how he goes on with his life. Or does he not at all? Is he stuck in the abyss that is his memory bank?

Also, does this character have a psychiatrist/psychologist? If so, you might look into the pharmaceutical aspect of it. (I assume there is one. I don't actually know, but it's something to look for!)

Anyway, I hope all that rambling gave you something useful. Good luck! =]

Originally Posted by Nolori

Amnesia. Goodness, that sounds difficult.

I agree with Vall'na about the journals, I know you're supposed to do that when you have reoccurring dreams and things like that too.
Speaking of dreams, you could play with that concept too. Dreams are often said to be ways for your mind to store and 'file' so to speak all the data it learned in the waking world. If he has amnesia, he could be having strange dreams that, while not the memories themselves, could have bits and pieces of those memories.

You could also play with the idea of deja vu when he enters certain places. Where he can't remember what has happened, but rather that something did and whatever it was, he was a part of it.
This could be more than sight too. A certain sound, touch or smell might even have a more profound effect on jogging his memory.

It might also be important to take into account how he got this amnesia and what made him realize he had it. Does he meet someone from his past who remembers him, but he does not remember the person? Is it an overwhelming sense of deja vu all the time? Was it such a vast amount of his life he forgot (an entire childhood or something) that he realizes he must have amnesia?

Did he get the amnesia by being bashed in the head? Maybe then his memories aren't even in order. Did he get it by forcibly repressing them? Then they'll probably come up easier, in dreams or deja vu, than if his brain was physically beat around.

I don't really understand what you mean by his memories being so vivid he thinks they are real. Did you mean that he had implanted memories or that the vividness of them actually makes him think they are happening now? (If it's the second that is such a cool idea and I'm glad someone is writing a story with that. I want to read it.)

I think what's also really important is to know how he goes on with his life. Or does he not at all? Is he stuck in the abyss that is his memory bank?

Also, does this character have a psychiatrist/psychologist? If so, you might look into the pharmaceutical aspect of it. (I assume there is one. I don't actually know, but it's something to look for!)

Anyway, I hope all that rambling gave you something useful. Good luck! =]

Thanks! That post was really helpful! I imagine him being quite insane. He is unable to distinguish his memories from what is currently happening in reality, and mixes the two in his mind. In the beginning of the story (before he is rescued) he is being held by the antagonist of the story, because his memories hold the key to something that the antagonist is trying to discover. He is the only one that the antagonist is aware of that is still alive with the memory of the place of this item. All of the others were killed in the same tragedy that caused his amnesia. So in other words, yes, he cannot distinguish between his memories and present reality because his memories are so vivid and they are so traumatic that they have severly scarred him.

I suppose there couled be a pharmaceutical aspect of it. This story takes place in a futuristic world, (not too futuristic though, just slightly more technologically advanced than present.) The antagonist wants this memory so badly he would be willing to do anything to extract it from him.

He is so deep in his memories that he is unable to preform even basic tasks normally, yet sometimes he has moments of strange lucidity that it is almost as though he is completely normal, yet not quite. Even during these moments there is still something 'off' about his behavior.

Yeah, he got amnesia because of an accident that should have killed him. He was rescued though because of the memory that he held. So because the amnesia was caused by physical damage the memories are jumbled and fragmented.

Okay, I think that answered all of my questions!

My only other suggestion is that if this accident was truly that emotionally scarring then you might want to consider other repercussions.
Let's say, for example, a building collapsed around him. His head get bumped about and the resulting concussion messes with his memories. Well, from this traumatic event he might also come away with severe claustrophobia from being trapped under the debris. Or perhaps this hypothetical building exploded, so now he is horribly afraid of the sound of explosions, ranging from something as loud as a bomb to something as simple as the echo of someone popping open a bag of chips.

I think since he is insane, it might be worth playing with these other fears. Be it in the manner of cowering out of the way or attempting to be foolishly brave in his attempt to be stronger than them.
Depends on his personality, really.

Anyway, just my two cents. (Extra two cents I guess. Hah.)