Ask Jerry
Character who lost their memory
Asked by Lexi Lee on February 4, 2021
Hello Jerry,
I’m writing the first draft of a fantasy novel, but I’m having trouble nailing down a POV. There is a lot going on in the story, so I originally planned on switching back and forth between 2-3 characters (each POV change indicated by a new chapter). Third-person limited is what I planned to use. The problem is that one of my main characters has lost her memory, so she’s kind of clueless about what’s going on for the first few chapters of the novel. I find myself slipping into third-person omniscient when writing from her POV. I don’t know how to reveal information about her to the reader because the information I need to reveal is stuff she doesn’t remember! Do you have any advice?
Jerry's Answer
How crucial is it that she loses her memory, Lexi? That's become a bit of a cliché, and it really hampers your storytelling.
But if you need it, force yourself not to switch to omniscient and make it part of the story. The reader knows what happened from the others' perspectives, and she can say what she thinks might have happened while admitting that she doesn't remember.