If My Head Weren't Attached...

Lose it, I would.



So do you want to talk about memory?



Look! A Squirrel!



No, but seriously. I used to have one.



I no longer do.





I blame motherhood. Specifically, I blame my son. Child 2. I had one until he was born. Call it a testosterone incompatibility. Call it direct transference (he's a very smart boy). Call it the stress of two children. But it's GONE. Se fue. Finite. Kaput.





What were we talking about?





Oh, right. The trouble of memory insufficiency and writing. (Well, not really, but I forgot my original point, so this one will do).



Did you know I've had scenes turn up three times in the same manuscript? They were REALLY GOOD SCENES. But probably once was enough. I just forgot I did it already. Twice.





So what's a girl to do? (boys, too, though I don't see as many guys with memory issues—I think they tend not to be torn in as many directions... just to stereotype and generalize a bit)



1) Beat Sheet. Now I hear people use these and don't know if mine are the SAME, but what I do with mine is write one line for each scene... what is the MAIN action of that scene. (it helps trigger my memory as I go on, and it helps me FIND something if I need to go in and change.



2) Character list. Just like it sounds. Because the BIGGEST memory snafu I have is forgetting what I've named all my secondary characters. (and plot notes)





3)  Write FAST. Memory is far less an issue in a WriMo, where the novel is finished in a month than it is if the novel takes six months or nine months.



4) RE-read. I do this for revisions. Oh yeah... I can't resist keeping a pen in my hand for simple typo/wording stuff, but before I make plot changes, I read beginning to end so I know what's what.



5) Critter help. TELL your critique partners you could use help spotting inconsistencies. This is easier to spot the first time you ever read a book than when you know the thing inside out. When you KNOW it, then the right way is in your head and you will just think you did it that way.



Any of you have tricks for faulty memories?