# Re-readability? Is that what it's called?!



## blitz (Sep 9, 2013)

Hi friends.

I'm curious what the writing technique is called when your story has multiple 'layers', where each time you read the story you uncover another question to ask yourself. Take the movie The Matrix as an example, there are tons of Philosophical metaphors throughout the movie. Granted it is a movie and the book would be much longer than the script as it would have to describe the imagery from the movie.

Most books I've only read once, but most if not all of Steinbeck's work is like that, I even remember Catcher In Rye had more meaning to it the second and third time I read it.

My question is, is there a technique/book on how to write multi-'layered' stories that during the first read you simply overlook these metaphors to questions, that should be asked, and may or may not have an answer, but during the second or third read you start to notice them?


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## philistine (Sep 9, 2013)

I think one of the definitions of 'timeless' literature is that it can be read repeatedly, and will lend its complexities and more subtle meanings to the reader when he or she does so.

And if you have to ask, you probably can't do. Creating complex works of literature isn't a paint-by-numbers game; it's a skill honed over many years, over many novels, over many ballpoint pens snapped and stomped into the ground in rage.


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## Jeko (Sep 9, 2013)

If you want the narrative to be denser, invest more time into it. Studying poetry can also help. But as philistine said, there's no formula. Want to be a super-duper-complex storytelling? Spend a super-duper amount of time telling stories. The more you do it the better you'll get, until you're juggling multiple meanings like a literary circus performer.


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## Morkonan (Sep 9, 2013)

blitz said:


> ...My question is, is there a technique/book on how to write multi-'layered' stories that during the first read you simply overlook these metaphors to questions, that should be asked, and may or may not have an answer, but during the second or third read you start to notice them?



What?

Do you mean that is there a way of writing that creates a work that changes, itself, over time in order to become some "new" work every time a reader re-reads it? 

No.

The point of my question should illustrate the true answer to yours. If not, then it's here: Some works are "timeless" in that they allow their readers to find new appeal in reading the work, each time they read it. Good books are often like that. They're just like good movies. A good book invites you to read it again, every time you pass it on your bookshelf. Many books demand to be "re-experienced" by their readers and not every book will inspire that in ever reader. The point is - It's not the book that changes or a secret ink that a writer uses which transforms the book over time. It's simply that the readers, themselves, either change and continue to find new and relevant thinks in the work or that the work is so well written that it continues to offer its readers the promise of a good read, no matter how often they've read it.

I'm an avid re-reader. I re-read for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it's to re-experience what I felt when I first read the work, sometimes its a result of discovering something new in the work that is appealing. But, it's not as if it wasn't there before, it's simply because I was not either prepared or armed with the appropriate tools to fully experience it in previous readings.

Write well, provide your reader with a good mix of experiences, make your characters enjoyable and only as complex as they need to be in order to support the story, create subplots that support the work, as a whole, without detracting from the main plot and write a high-stakes, blockbuster ending. That's not too hard, right?


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## Tettsuo (Sep 9, 2013)

There's no formula, there's just the writer desiring to convey their theme or the reader in a way that's most palatable.

The Matrix is a very simply... It's the messiah story.  That tale has been told over and over again in thousands of different ways.  What makes the Matrix different, is the world created around the theme.  The writer had a point, an idea they wanted to get across to the reader and used writing as the media to present that idea.

So what are you trying to say to the world?


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## blitz (Sep 9, 2013)

philistine & Cadence: Yes, I know that if I must ask what this magic is that causes different ideas to jump out at me when re-reading a book, then it is far beyond my comprehension at the moment. I like having goals for myself that are unobtainable, but keep me motivated to succeed.

Poetry and short stories, that's all I'm concerned about writing at the moment. It does sounds poetic that the more time you spend working on your story, the more intricate that you can make the concepts intertwine with one another, like a spiders web.

Funny how in normal conversation, when I'm making a point, that after I say something just a minute or two later, I can think of two hidden meanings behind my spoken words that also prove the same point. I get so pissed that nobody else realized it except myself. But now I see that it's nobody's fault, hell, even I didn't understand the multiple-meanings behind my words until I soaked it up for a while. Yet I was was only able to do that because I was asking myself if there were any hidden meanings behind my words, similar to mindset that you're in when writing & reading poetry. When you read something for the first time, you're not asking or trying to find these hidden meanings, you just want to see how the plot turns out for the main character. Hopefully along that journey you find some seed that either you or the book plants that makes you question if the story really did have more meaning behind it and drives your curiosity to flip the book over and start at page 1 again.


Tettsuo: You're absolutely right. Focus on what is most enjoyable for the reader, and if you're able to drop in multiple meanings it's like bending over and saying 'Oooh, a piece of candy'

Yes the Matrix was mainly about the Messiah, yet there were some other, mainly Philosophical, ideas that I found interesting: Philosophy and the Matrix - Return to the Source (Full Documentary) on Vimeo

What am I trying to say to the world? 
What else other than :highly_amused:


Morkonan nailed it. It's not the content or the concepts in the book that changes, it is we who change. We choose what is most relevant to us at the time.

I wish I were able to re-read more of the books that I've read like yourself, but as stated above, it's hard to tell if I'll find additional meaning in the book again without performing the re-read. When justifying that decision it's more of a 'the book is calling out to me again' type of feeling or 'I remember reading this awesome book 5-10 years ago and I don't remember the plot'.




Morkonan said:


> The point of my question should illustrate the true answer to yours. If not, then it's here: Some works are "timeless" in that they allow their readers to find new appeal in reading the work, each time they read it. Good books are often like that. They're just like good movies. A good book invites you to read it again, every time you pass it on your bookshelf. Many books demand to be "re-experienced" by their readers and not every book will inspire that in ever reader. The point is - It's not the book that changes or a secret ink that a writer uses which transforms the book over time. It's simply that the readers, themselves, either change and continue to find new and relevant thinks in the work or that the work is so well written that it continues to offer its readers the promise of a good read, no matter how often they've read it.
> 
> I'm an avid re-reader. I re-read for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it's to re-experience what I felt when I first read the work, sometimes its a result of discovering something new in the work that is appealing. But, it's not as if it wasn't there before, it's simply because I was not either prepared or armed with the appropriate tools to fully experience it in previous readings.
> 
> Write well, provide your reader with a good mix of experiences, make your characters enjoyable and only as complex as they need to be in order to support the story, create subplots that support the work, as a whole, without detracting from the main plot and write a high-stakes, blockbuster ending. That's not too hard, right?



Beautiful.
Your comment had much replay-ability for myself, I've already read it 3 times! haha


Thanks to everybody for their help schooling me. I really enjoyed it.


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## blitz (Sep 9, 2013)

Sigh. I am now experiencing a case of re-write-ability as I am forced to re-write what I have spent 45 minutes on because the my login timed out. Sigh...Just believe that the old writings that are now lost forever, like the only copy of a book that was purposefully burnt, were filled with joy, happiness, and thanks to each of you for your help.

I know the concept is above my head if I must ask, "What magical force has allowed me to discover more meaning in these words?" - Your answers have cleared up the magic.

Tettsuo
What am I trying to say to the world?
What else other than :congratulatory:

Morkonan, your point nailed it. It's not the writings or concepts that changes, it's the reader who changes and deems what is useful to them at the time. Your post had much re-readability for myself as I've read it thrice over.

Thanks for all of your help in schooling me, I enjoyed it!


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