Fantasy Foretold Forum Looking for opinions on an ide..

Hello! A quick introduction- my name is Mitchell, and I am new here!

Alright, now that that's out of the way...

I've had this idea floating around my head for a while now and I want to get your opinion on it. While brainstorming ideas for the protagonist of a new project I'm working on, I thought it might be interesting to reveal no backstory for my character. More specifically, I thought of introducing my character washed up on shore, naked, with a good old case of retrograde amnesia. No clues whatsoever about who he is or where he came from.

The setting for this story is going to be in a completely fictional world, so having this character conveniently placed into it with no evidence as to where they came from could prove to be an entertaining way of getting the reader to feel like THEY could be the character. The reader could easily imagine being in a shipwreck, a car accident, a coma, or simply falling asleep, only to find themselves washed up naked, on the shores of a mysterious land, with no memory of who they are or how they got there.

However, I'm also fearful that the opposite could become true- that by having an anonymous background, the reader might feel less inclined to relate to the character. Do you think that rather than view it as clever and intriguing, readers might feel it to be a cheap trick that cheats them of a well developed character?

I am torn. I've never come across an example of this in anything I've read, though I'm sure they exist. It is definitely something I want to experiment with, but I also don't want to invest too heavily in it only to find I've created a b*****d character that no one will ever appreciate.

Any opinions or criticisms are welcome!

Hey Mitchell Lee, I read your idea and have to say that I, personally, am an advocate for risky writing and experimentation (I've done some weird things with my own), so I think this would be great.  However, it will also be quite challenging as characters inevitably develop as the story advances, even those with amnesia, so if you are trying to intentionally create an underdeveloped character, then that might be something to think about. 

Also, I feel the narration would be important in this scenario (first, second, third), as certain narration allows for more introspection than others.  It sounds like you'd be writing a third person limited narrative, but if you really want a challenge and a way to have the reader inject themselves into the story as the character, then perhaps consider second person.  I haven't read many second person stories, except for things that are choose-your-own-adventure, so I'm not sure how popular non-interactive, one-fate second persons are, but...yeah.

I don't have a book to recommend that has a similar scenario, but if you watch anime (or are willing to) Angel Beats!! is a perfect example of this plot (it is amazing).  He does eventually begin to remember a few things (not much) about his life, though, later on in the show (not sure if you plan to do this).

Also, characters tend to have personalities, ones that the reader may not even want to put themselves into.  If you plan to write this book in a sort of, how to put it, board-game fashion, then you could get away with literally only telling what the character does without ever showing his thoughts and making him speak only when needed. The thing about this is that you will have to make up for this one-dimensional character with something else to keep the reader interested....perhaps a complex plot with many twists, a well-defined setting, fantastic supporting characters, complete originality that makes the reader want to read more for the sake of seeing where this thing ends up, etc.

Again, this sounds like a great idea, so go for it! : )

Thank you so much for your insight! It's funny because this idea has been at the forefront of my mind for about a week now and hasn't really matured much-- but within minutes of actually writing it out, it began to grow in different directions. Even as a writer, I forget that sometimes the best thing to do when you're stuck with an idea is to actually WRITE about it.

Anyway, I quickly realized some of the points that you brought up. Even without any memory or history whatsoever, the character will still have a personality very much his own and also very much in contrast to probably most of my readers. People enjoy reading about different characters for just that reason- they are different. I know that when I read, I enjoy being able to sympathize with a character or relate to a character or even sometimes wish I could BE a character; but I don't want a character who is exactly me. That takes a big part away from the point of reading fiction.

So, the second phase of this idea is this: rather than create a character who has a blank template, trying to get the reader to insert themselves in, I only want emphasize the fact that his origin will always remain a mystery. There will also be mention of other cases such as his-- people who have been found with no recollection from where they came, whose mysteries are never solved. Perhaps not a common occurrence, but enough for some people to connect the dots. So, while being able to create a full flavored character for my readers to enjoy, I can still impart the idea in them that some people enter into my world in a mysterious way. That there is always the possibility that at some point in time they could find themselves mysteriously transported to my world.

Any other ideas of your own you might have, or refinements to the ones I've set down here are very welcome! Thank you again for your thoughts!

Hi.

You've got an interesting idea here and if you feel that it's right, you should pull up your frilly sockings and go for it!
Now seriously, a character with amnesia creates as many problems as it has captivating points. The hero of the story with full-blown amnesia will become a citizen of your fictional world with no Earth traits. He could have an interesting heritage though, like being a member of some evil race.

Maybe your readers will find it easier to relate to the character if you leave him/her some fragments of memories and equip with personality. It would be like: "I don't know why, but it's wrong." or "Funny scene, just like in some TV show. Wait, what is a TV show?"

I hope I gave you some ideas. Good luck with creating your character.

There is always a challenge to something that has never been done before. You don't really have anything to work off of here, so give it a shot, and do your best to make it interesting. I decided, for example, to write a high fantasy novel from first person. You have no idea how frustrating that is when your readers don't already know the world. Thankfully, my story line has helped me out a bit in a similar fashion to what you plan on doing. My main character is blind and sheltered by a menacing society, and once she discovers the truth, she breaks free to learn what the 'real world' is all about, and her learning experience is also my readers learning experience. I think you may have something going for you though. Just PLEASE be original. Haha.

Wow, just reading the ending bit of 'phase two' gave me chills, I can only imagine what the actual story will be like.  It sounds like a spectacular idea, especially the mystery of all these amnesiacs popping up all over your world.  Do you plan on ever revealing/ solving the mystery of why this happens to prevent it from happening to others, even thought the amnesiacs and the main character will never be able to recover their forgotten past or, I assume, return to their world?  Or is there a completely different plot with the amnesia thing as an aside, like 'oh, it's raining today''?  Also, I was thinking that, if anyone could have their memory wiped clean and appear in your world, then wouldn't people who knew each other on Earth theoretically be able to all have amnesia in your world?  Of course, I wouldn't expect you to do this because you want nothing known of his origin.  Again, great idea.