Thread: Memories

The MS I'm working on right now is YA fiction based on a secret society of people with special abilities and is told in alternating first-person POV between the two MCs. I am at a segment where there is memory sharing, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this. Character A is sharing some memories with Character B. These memories are chunks taken from conversations Character A has had with other people. I guess the first thing I'm wondering is how detailed our memories actually are- do we remember someone else's facial reactions during conversations, subtle body shifts, our own facial movements, etc? Also, it would seem sort of weird for it to be written the same exact way it actually happened, right? I'm thinking it the whole point of this memory sharing exercise would be lost if I just summarized each memory that was being shared, so I'm not exactly sure I want to do that. The only thing that really pops out at me with memory sharing is from the Harry Potter books, in which Harry dives into the pensieve. But that would be different because those are memories that have been removed from someone's mind and placed in a vial for safekeeping, not someone actually remembering a conversation while someone else watched in. Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, funny jokes?

Well, really, the only advice I can give you is to think of your own memories. Do you remember every detail? I'm guessing probably not. But I'm sure you remember some of them, right?

Let me try to think of an insignificant memory and see what details I remember.

OK, back in my junior year of high school (roughly 10 years ago), I remember we had just watched Dead Poet's Society in my English class. The lights were turned back on and we were filing out of the room. I remember there being a 50/50 split on who liked it and who didn't. A friend and I were discussing that people that see the movie only as a bunch of kids that head into the woods to smoke cigarettes and giggle about old poetry are typically shallow people.

My English teacher picked up on part of our conversation involving discontent towards such people. She butted with something to the effect of, "Trouble with boys?"

I corrected her. "No," I said. "Shallow people."

I remember the taken-aback look that registered on her face for a brief moment before it started to dawn on her that perhaps by jumping to the conclusion that two female high school juniors would only be complaining about boys, it might actually put her into the "shallow" category. You could really see the slow transformation on her face that began with shock and morphed into chagrin.

I remember that most clearly. And that's just an insignificant memory.

Now I'll try to think of an important memory from about the same time period. (Recent memories are too easy, after all.)

The day my house burned down, which was roughly eleven years ago. I like to think I remember everything, but really I only remember it all in scenes. I remember being in the band room during the last period of the day. (Yes, I was a band geek, and I was a darn good one, thank you very much! ) I remember being told that my dad was picking me up from school that day. It struck me as odd. My parents never picked me up at school, and on the odd occasion that it did happen, it was always my mom. Then I was told that I had to leave now, that my dad was in the office.

I don't remember walking to the office, only seeing my dad waiting for me there. He looked pale. Worn. Drawn. I remember thinking something had happened to my mom. I asked what happened.

He said, "Well, they're putting our house out right now."

Again, I don't remember the drive home. It's funny how we tend not to remember transitions during times of fear. I remember the small crowd gathered on the street. I remember not seeing my mom in the crowd. I remember thinking the worst. I asked somebody--I don't remember who--where she was and they told me she was at the neighbor's house. Relieved, I stood there and watched my house burn with everyone else. When my dad's illegal collection of fireworks finally exploded, I started laughing and I couldn't stop.

I don't remember anything else until later, after the fire stopped. I went inside even though my mom told me not to. My house was gutted. The kitchen, the dining room, the hallway, and the bathroom were all one very charred room. My bedroom door looked melted, more than burnt, but the inside of my room was untouched. I filled a duffel bag full of books and little else, and the bag and its contents stank for weeks. I remember the smell, even now. The smell of charred wood and carpet and plastic and burnt wires all mixed together. I couldn't eat bacon for almost a year because somehow the smell reminded me of the fire. I don't know why.

But that's all I remember. I don't remember anything else about that day.

So there you go. I don't know if any of that will help you, but I hope that maybe you can use those examples and come up with the right amount of detail to share on your own.

Apparently memories are stored with a strong emotional component. People usually remember how they were feeling at the time when they recall the memory.

Also there is a lot of evidence that memores can mutate over time, so that the memory becomes less like the real event the more it is remembered! I saw this on a documentary. I believe that my memories are not always exactly as they happened and often I think I remember what I want to remember rather than the exact details of what happened.

My take on memories is that their purpose is to help us make decisions in life, so if we remember the main/important aspects the details do not matter.

Originally Posted by Robdemanc

Apparently memories are stored with a strong emotional component. People usually remember how they were feeling at the time when they recall the memory.

Also there is a lot of evidence that memores can mutate over time, so that the memory becomes less like the real event the more it is remembered! I saw this on a documentary. I believe that my memories are not always exactly as they happened and often I think I remember what I want to remember rather than the exact details of what happened.

My take on memories is that their purpose is to help us make decisions in life, so if we remember the main/important aspects the details do not matter.

Very interesting! Thanks! That does help quite a bit!