Writing a character with amnesia

Question

I'm working on a webcomic in which the main character has amnesia from head trauma. She was an experiment and when escaping she hit her head. She has one sentence of dialogue to the other main character saying that "she's in a hurry" before she passes out, and when she wakes up she realizes that she can't remember anything except she had a feeling that there's something important that she needs to do.

I'm having trouble writing the dialogue for when she realizes she can't remember anything from her life before this moment. I'm not sure what emotions I should channel as she's a very excited and happy character in general.

Answer 1

Meet cute!

Build the chemistry between your 2 main characters. Amnesia or not, establish what makes them click from the start.

If they spar comedically..., or one-side flirts..., or they share a love of vintage baseball memorabilia… whatever it is, give it in its purest form here.

Maybe amnesia girl is smart enough to cover a vulnerability. She might decide that Manic-Pixie-Dreamgirling her way into his heart like a rom-com is as good a plan as any until she remembers what she was doing.

Maybe she didn't have a real plan other than 'escape', and being outside for the first time she has so many questions. She would prolong the experience as long as she can. Depending on how clever or manipulative or entertaining she is, she might say anything to string him along, or she follows him and he slowly realizes she's making up information about herself as he tries to get rid of her.

Unfortunately, real amnesia is traumatic brain damage, so there are no 'realistic' ways to do this trope.

Answer 2

Your character is like an alien just arrived on Earth. Depending also on how much she forgot.

What's this? How does it work? Where is this town? Who are these people and why do they behave like that?

It's a good way of showing how humanity works from the outside. People do random acts of evil and of kindness.

She will be full of curiosity and eager to learn. Some things will make her wonder, some will remind her of things she no longer knows.

Answer 3

I'm not sure what emotions I should channel as she's a very excited and happy character in general.

I assume you are not writing an medically accurate story, so one approach could be to ask yourself: How would you feel if you suddenly lost all memories?

There are usually two aspects to consider: the conscious and the subconscious mind. As you probably know from your own experience, you sometimes forget, for example, a name but you know that you know the name. Or you get to some new place and feel home without being able to explain why you are feeling this way. Are you here the first time? Have you already been here?

The question is now: Is your character's memory wiped out completely or are the memories (or some of them) still there?

Examples:

• If she has a loving family, she might still feel protected even if she does not remember her family.

• She might have been a karateka for years. She might have forgotten that, her body might still remember. (Also see muscle memory.)

Furthermore: Why is your character very excited and happy "in general"? Is it because of specific memories (e.g. nice family who loves and protects her) or because is it part of her nature (e.g. always looking on the bright side, no matter how bad life is)?

In the end, there is no such thing as "the amnesia".