I want to do a character arc that begins with a science experiment and deals with identity and what it means to be human. I feel like some degree of amnesia does add to the character because it intensifies the *need* for the character to define their identity and removes any assumptions about what is human, right, and wrong. But amnesia and "finding one's self" is so cliche. Normally my rule is, if it can be taken out, it should be. The character would technically still work with an intact memory. It's more of a starting point and undercurrent than a main point. However, it would lose some of the frantic emptiness I really like. Is there another way I can accomplish this that would be less overdone?
How about false or distorted memories? Memory implants perhaps? You have given yourself a few outlets to explore outside of amnesia being the cause for memory loss. You could have someone steal them instead. I have an MC who doesn't even know where she came from, but that might have been by design when she was created along with a few other things. Problem is no one else knows much about her either, so she will never know an important chunk of her own life.
Your character is an AI that has been given a learning program and some data about basic stuff (language for example) to crudely interact with their makers. The rest they have to learn.
Can you give a bit more context on the plot? Amnesia can be fine and not cliched, depending on the way you use it. And you can explore medical conditions that cause memory loss/amnesia, it may give you some ideas. =)
I read through some of my old ideas today. One of which had a amnesia plot line. Now, x years later, it felt really boring and done. That doesn't have to be the case in your story. Sure, if things work as well without it, then maybe it's an good idea to skip it. But if you feel like it would be a stronger story if the person had amnesia, then that is probably the route to go. It's a non-answer, but I don't think you should cut it on just the notion that it might be cliche, not if you feel that it has a worth.
Thanks, that was actually super useful. The context is the character underwent large (say +50%) reconstruction and the technique was experimental and also affected his brain. He would have died without it, so the mad genius who developed the procedure was less interested in steeling memories than playing god. The memory thing was a surprise to everyone. I played with the idea of total clean slate, but that asks the question wouldn't that revert him to infancy or at least a much younger stage of development? Interesting, but not this story. So what I've been doing is he's missing random chunks. It's like how most people remember their childhood. You might remember the game you played with your best friend but not their name, not for certain. I like that it's enough to give him hope, but also has plenty of room for doubts like false memories. Because I'm basically a horrible person. How does that hold up?
Technically the only part of your brain you need to be deemed alive is your brain stem, which regulates involuntary function ( breathing, heart beating, etc.). There have been a few cases of people living with half of their brain, but they have to learn to compensate for the lost half. Perhaps a deep look into neurology is where you should be looking.
Have you considered just giving your character what they consider a wasted life? Failed relationships, neglected children, dreams unfulfilled, etc? Essentially the near-death experience is a wake up call for them, and they suddenly have this insatiable desire to become someone they can face looking at in the mirror. But that raises the question, who are they? What do they want to be?
My knee-jerk response to this question is yes, always yes. But that's thinking about too much bad stuff I've read and not considering the fact that basically any concept can be executed well, or executed brilliantly. (Thinking about it, one of my favourite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which has characters who lose their whole memories of each other, and I'd argue that that story itself is as excellent as the technical artfulness of the film. It helps, I think, that there are other interesting questions being explored than just those of mind/memory.) A bad example would be starting out with a character who wakes up in a room and asks 'Who am I? What is this? How did I get here?' That's one of those cliches that's not really relatable, it just feels like fiction imitating fiction instead of life. But there are some really interesting things you could do with it, and it sounds like that's what you're considering. Like if your main character doesn't know that they're missing information and has to discover it. That could make for a great gradual revelation that slowly hints at questions of who we are if we're missing parts of ourselves, without wielding that theme like a blunt instrument. Plus, real people who miss some 'chunks' of their life can and do go without noticing it for at least years of their lives. Some people with severely repressed memories don't notice loads of lost time and a lack of specifics until something reminds them of something buried, and then it can all start coming back. But if the memories are actually gone, your character might never realise they're gone, never have to notice those gaps unless someone actually points out to them that things are missing. Even then, she might still 'feel' complete and can't really imagine that there is stuff missing, though she can intellectually understand it, because of the way our brain, whatever state it's in, is us. (There are plenty of people of who might objectively be argued to be 'lacking' something mentally, when compared to the average person, who don't like the idea of their brain being 'fixed', because their current mind and experience is who they are. That's one interesting aspect of mind/identity consider.) I'd go with @Cave Troll's suggestion to look into some neuroscience to find out some of the interesting things that actually happen to people when there's problems, complications or weirdness with the brain, because there's always great stranger-than-fiction inspiration there. Should give you some interesting ideas to explore, if you do want to go this way, and it might help you work more specifically what you think is going on with her mind, even if it's still a completely speculative scenario. So yeah, don't worry about the ideas themselves being cliche unless what you're actually writing starts to feel stale and dull. That's when you should be mindful of it.
I think it sounds good. It feels like it points out how weak the memory can be, and memories and past experiences is a good chunk of who we are. So you get the confusion and maybe vulnerablility of not exactly knowing who you are. Sure, as you say it might get hope, but I'm also sensing it would be frustrating and perhaps scary at times. So I think you've figured it out quite well, and you make it more your own than just having the characters memory wiped clean.
I avoid amnesia backgrounds because it's more fun to sprinkle in the protagonist's background details at the story's start to tantalize the reader. It's like getting to know someone face-to-face. But with amnesia plots, to me, it's like you say hi to someone, they say hi back, and they go mute. I'd rather peel back layers right from the start. And yes, I think amnesia is a total cliché of stories and movies. Except for psychological thrillers or something, where deep suspense and mind games are the whole point! Otherwise, it feels shoe-horned in.
Did you ever see the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? There's a scene where Buffy sees a friend wearing a gorgeous jacket that the friend had talked Buffy out of buying. Buffy: I thought that look was over. Friend: Well, it's retro. I think that certain cliches are retro. Vintage. Classic. For me, amnesia is one of them.
Amnesia does sounds like cliche, although if you use it right it can be nice touch or plot starter. You could consider disorder called fuga (lat.) What is it? Pretty rare mental state in which person who suffers from it runs from it's old life and makes new identity completely unaware of past life.
You can discuss identity and what it means to be human without amnesia, if you're worried about that. The character could have grown up in a sterile, shut-in environment, not being allowed into the outside world. They haven't lost their memory, but their life up until that point was such a white slate they don't know what they want out of life. As others have said, you can do amnesia without it being cliche. But it should have a huge impact on the character. They should be majorly distraught and worried. And they should question everything people say about their life before. I've seen so many amnesia stories where the character's thoughts on it revolve around determination to discover their past.
My two-cents its that "too cliche" just isn't a thing. At this point, near anything you could think of would be a different cliche in a different coat of paint, so to speak. Amnesia on its own isn't "too cliche". All that matters about any particular trope is how you use it. The rest of the story is also important, and how the cliche fits in with the context surrounding it is also something to consider. Don't worry about not writing cliches. Worry about writing cliches well.