What’s this story about again?

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I don’t know if anyone else deals with this problem, but I always find that about three-quarters of the way through writing a book, I’ve forgotten how the whole thing started. I more or less remember what has happened, it’s the how that alludes me. At this point I start panicking that the tone and characters of the story might have wildly changed and that what I have now doesn’t even resemble what I started with.

The fact that the book I’m writing is a rewrite where the character and tone differs greatly from the original version doesn’t help. I can’t remember which details come from which version and the character’s differences have become all muddled in my head.

What is my solution? To read my own book, of course. The best part is, at this stage, I’m not worried about doing much editing. In fact, I’m not going to do any other than perhaps write down some notes for later. That means there’s a chance I can actually enjoy reading my own story. Since my memory’s so bad, I’ll probably even be surprised by some of the things I wrote. I always know I’m on the right track when I laugh out loud at my own jokes.

Do you ever forget what you’ve written? And if so, have you ever been able to read and enjoy your own book without the pressure of making it better?