Here’s the deal. The human brain, insofar as we know, is finite. It doesn’t ooze out of our ears and go on forever. It doesn’t operate at optimum level for as long as we have it. At some point critical mass sets in and the brain simply stops giving and taking.
This becomes painfully obvious to women who’ve given birth and quickly find that not only did they deliver their child on the delivery table, but most of their brain-cells as well. Post child-birth—especially post several child-births—most women I know have found that simple things that used to snap to their minds are now moseying along, taking time to get a hot-dog with all the fixings before reporting to the prefrontal cortex. Their own children’s names are the first to go: Brad and Bruce morph to become “Brass,” Lorrain and Kurt become “Lurt,” and in the occasional attack of Stutter-Brain, a woman can run through the entire family before getting it right, resulting in something like what I used to hear: “KurKriLoraiLynJaniel!”
Descriptions and place-names are the next to leave, at almost the same breakneck speed—as though they have abandoned their post in your mind for a better paying job at a Thesaurus. Numbers follow. Woes betide me the day I have to call 911 and can only think of the number to my local Take and Bake.
The point to all of this is, when writing a complex novel, with more than one plot thread, character arc, and setting, how the heck are we of the Brain-Cell-Deprived to keep track of it all? Yes, yes. We can write it all down, creating an epic Book Bible for ourselves. But unless the Detail Tome for my current novel is hiding next to the chocolate chips on my baking shelf, I’m never going to find it. Well. Guess that will make for a lot of extra sub-plots. Meantime, have a chocolate chip cookie from the Take and Bake, um, uh, whatsyername.
And THAT'S the truth! I used to tell my kids, "You can relax if I call your name first. You're not the one I want!"
Bwa! That's awesome. I'll have to use that.
Love what RoBin said! I'm glad that I just have two kids — you know — Clily and LiClaire.