I enjoyed the post last month by my fellow blogger Renee Roberson about her family being captivated by the streaming show The Summer I Turned Pretty. I was also escaping into author Jenny Han's world of young love, heartbreak, and beautiful beach houses.
Then I went online.
Sure, there was the standard debate of the love triangle. Were you Team Jeremiah or Team Conrad? But it was more than just that simple question.
Social media was flooded with discussions of every detail of the show and books from the use of color to movies (Sabrina and Bye, Bye Birdie made several appearances) to the symbolism of numbers, food, music, clothes, home decor. These super fans were investigating even the smallest detail as they went over each scene, each word, each pause with a fine tooth comb. What was the meaning behind that song, that dessert, that seating at the dinner table?
It began because author Jenny Han confirmed in interviews that there were "little breadcrumbs" giving hints to the final outcome as well as some that were tributes to her favorite songs, her other books and more. I think for many people "the hunt" to try and decipher what was going to happen before it happened was as fun as watching the actual show.
Could authors do this in written works? Leave easter eggs that are so subtle they are almost unnoticeable but when they are revealed produce an "ah-ha" moment? As writers, we dream of people not only reading our words but remembering them, recommending them to others, interacting with them. Hidden puzzles could be a way to make that happen. An extra to keep readers anchored in your world even after they've read the last page.
I often place my own version of easter eggs in my writing but they are only noticeable to my family and close friends. My fictional characters might have the initials, favorite foods or quirky habit of a loved one. Many are secret little tributes to each of my children.
Many books through the ages have included that hidden layer that are easily overlooked on the first read through: The Great Gatsby, The Narnia series, Alice in Wonderland, the books of Dan Brown and Stephen King. That hidden layer encourages you to hold on to a book - reading it multiple times, searching for the hidden. It becomes more than just a book - it becomes an experience.
What do you think about literary easter eggs?
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Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains about everything from DIY projects to tea to butterflies. She's also a blog tour manager for WOW-Women on Writing. Get to know her blogging at Words by Webb.
3 comments:
I love this post, Jodi! It's exactly what I've been thinking about lately. I've been reading several treasure hunt books, both fiction and memoir, that serve as treasure maps. What I've noticed is the community will read them over and over, at least twenty times, to decipher clues. You can't pay for that type of reading engagement! The interactive text inspires research and your own method of puzzle solving. I'm totally hooked! On a smaller scale, I can see how weaving puzzles into a novel would add such richness to the read. I'm going to try it out in shorter pieces, like my CNF essays. :)
Hey, thanks for the shout-out, Jodi! Did you happen to stumble onto all those fan theories on Reddit? Some of those were crazy, and there were more than a few on Tik Tok that had absolutely no merit. I do think there were more "easter eggs" in the show writing for "The Summer I Turned Pretty" than the actual books. But I love the idea of literary easter eggs and I've definitely seen them in books before, like mysteries. Personally, I'm not organized enough to do that in my own writing but I would love to see more examples of it, especially in CNF, like Angela mentioned!
I don't tend to include easter eggs but I love finding them when I read or watch something.
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