Characters losing their memory through amnesia

[Ryudo1701]

Hey guys, just thought about writing an arc in which the main character loses his memory. Wanted to hear the opinion of other authors or readers about this.
While it could be very interesting, resulting in a possibly complete change in direction the story takes or the personality of the character (especially when he regains his memory and his current and previous personality conflicts), I am quite fearful that this would be seen as a mean to prolong the story or something comparable and be viewed negatively overall.
Would appreciate your thoughts and general ideas about this theme.

 

[MasterHiatus]

I love those kinds of arcs where the mc gets amnesia but one thing, nativity. That's what decides what a reader will think about the arc. I mean, I did some amnesia arcs when I was new and I noticed two ways of writing it.
Either Increase nativity or mature thinking mc. Your choice will affect how your arc will turn out.

No, erase that, pick one, then, now it depends on how you write it.

(Not really erase that thought ok? Sorry for the bad grammar, English was never my first language.)

 

[Deleted member 29316]

I love those kinds of arcs where the mc gets amnesia but one thing, nativity.

Either Increase nativity or mature thinking mc.

I think you meant naivety.

In any case, I did my research about amnesia when I wrote my story DECK. It would depend on you if the story would change direction, but the character might change personality. There are two types of amnesia: anterograde and retrograde.

Anterograde amnesia is the type that makes you unable to retain new information. It can be quite frustrating to the victim, thus changes his/her personality.

Retrograde is the opposite, where you lose past information. It can also be frustrating in a way that the victim can't recall his/her identity and past.

So which kind of amnesia did your character have? The most common literature amnesia is the retrograde, btw.

 

[Ryudo1701]

Anterograde amnesia is the type that makes you unable to retain new information. It can be quite frustrating to the victim, thus changes his/her personality.

Never even heard of anterograde amnesia before...

Mostly thought about retrograde, cuppled with a change in his surroundings. While waking up in the same surroundings could still be interesting as it could be quite possible for someone to manipulate him into actions he wouldn't have taken before, the change in surroundings would create a whole new situation where he would needs to define himself once more on new experiences and maybe a couple of old "feelings" (like not doing anything that doesn't feel right)

 

[kola]

I think amnesia, the starting point gives you the opportunity to move in the story and not care about what and how his old persona might have done this or how these new events will affect him. So, give you a chance to create a character of your ideas.

And how you plan to include in the story the old person is your playground. For others, this is like throwing a rocket in a night sky and waiting for it to hit a star....and you know it never happens because of many things. But one reason is for sure you and your thinking is unique. So, just write it.


Also, here is my attempt to create a story with amnesia.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/164359/diary-of-otherworldly-king-revisited-r/

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Never even heard of anterograde amnesia before...

Mostly thought about retrograde, cuppled with a change in his surroundings. While waking up in the same surroundings could still be interesting as it could be quite possible for someone to manipulate him into actions he wouldn't have taken before, the change in surroundings would create a whole new situation where he would needs to define himself once more on new experiences and maybe a couple of old "feelings" (like not doing anything that doesn't feel right)

Well, if you think about it, you could make an arc about retrograde amnesia, mainly concerning his quest to find his identity.

For anterograde, you could insert it along the story, or create a solo arc for that (his quest to regain his ability to retain his new memories).

So we could safely say that Anterograde amnesia is more flexible than the common retrograde. However, it's more difficult to write something about. In any case, it'd be up to you as an author to decide.

 

[Ryudo1701]

For others, this is like throwing a rocket in a night sky and waiting for it to hit a star....and you know it never happens because of many things

We're all looking for a star in this smut-filled universe (alias community).

While I quite like my character, and he's not one of these generic good guys, this is something that could bring about change and development in his personality.

Will try to take a look at the novel, though I'm quite stuffed with writing (never should have promised a week's worth if chapter for reaching trending)

 

[Ryudo1701]

For anterograde, you could insert it along the story, or create a solo arc for that (his quest to regain his ability to retain his new memories).

While it definitely sounds interesting and worthwhile writing about, it doesn't really fit into my novel at the moment. And I have no idea even where to start with that right now.

The insight in retrograde though definitely helps and provides some points of thought to reflect on the general planned layout!

 

[Deleted member 29316]

While it definitely sounds interesting and worthwhile writing about, it doesn't really fit into my novel at the moment. And I have no idea even where to start with that right now.

The insight in retrograde though definitely helps and provides some points of thought to reflect on the general planned layout!

Glad I was of help with that! Good luck with your work!

 

[tofu_moon]

this is like throwing a rocket in a night sky and waiting for it to hit a star....

I like that. Sounds poetic ;)