Obscure References

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Though she was well into her fifties, rapidly approaching sixty, her body belied her age leading many to guess she was ten to fifteen years younger. No one knew how she did it, but we all suspected there was a portrait stashed in at attic somewhere nearby.


How many readers today would pick up on it? Not so much people of what seems to be the typical age group of the AH, but the younger readers.

I remember once applying it to Stacey Dash before she went .... well ... nuts is the nicest word I can use here.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Well, that largely depends on whether Oscar Wilde is a mandatory read in highschool. It's highly unlikely that young people would read the book on their own.

 

[forgotmyantidepressants]

Did i mess up the game? I'll delete my answer sorry.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

You know something? It doesn’t matter.

It’s said that a semicolon is a compliment to the reader. IMHO, so are cultured references like that. Worst case, a reader will pass it by. Best case - an ignorant reader will get curious and become less ignorant.

 

[WittyUserName]

Though she was well into her fifties, rapidly approaching sixty, her body belied her age leading many to guess she was ten to fifteen years younger. No one knew how she did it, but we all suspected there was a portrait stashed in at attic somewhere nearby.


How many readers today would pick up on it? Not so much people of what seems to be the typical age group of the AH, but the younger readers.

I remember once applying it to Stacey Dash before she went .... well ... nuts is the nicest word I can use here.

Yeah, I completely missed the reference. Sorry!

 

[SimonDoom]

I wouldn't consider that an obscure reference, but that's a matter of perspective. My guess is many would not understand the reference.

I think it's fine to drop elements into your story that a more educated reader might understand but another might not, AS LONG as understanding it isn't essential to knowing what's going on in the story. Then they're like easter eggs. Some will get them and enjoy them and others won't ever know and won't care.

 

[alohadave]

Well, that largely depends on whether Oscar Wilde is a mandatory read in highschool. It's highly unlikely that young people would read the book on their own.

I've never read it, but am familiar with the story just by cultural references.

 

[Writer61]

How many readers today would pick up on it?

I am tempted to say that it is the reader's loss if they don't.

To be more constructive, does it matter if they don't? If it does, then can somebody else make a reference to Dorian Gray or Oscar Wilde?

I think Easter Eggs in a story improve it.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I've never read it, but am familiar with the story just by cultural references.

I've never read it, or most other books. I saw a televised interpretation of it somewhere though, maybe Night Gallery?

 

[THBGato]

No one knew how she did it, but we all suspected there was a portrait stashed in at attic somewhere nearby.

I would. I got this comment on a story once:

It feels wrong, somehow, to focus on trivial details after experiencing the deep emotional impact of your lovely story, but I wanted to tell you how thankful I am for the perfect preciseness of the references that add so much authenticity to your work, even though you often force me to look them up. For instance, I had to scroll through many, many Google pages before I had any result for "Griselda" that wasn't centered on the character played by Sofia Vergara. Curley's wife was easier and more familiar to bring to recall even if it has probably been at least 40 years since I've read any Steinbeck.

Anyway, these references serve as connectors between the fictional world you've created and the familiar world we have all been living in, making your world more real to us. It's very skillful writing.

Basically, readers who get it will admire you for it, and some will even be inspired to do some research. Those who don't get it probably won't realise they've missed something, so it won't affect their response.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I would. I got this comment on a story once:

I got the reference immediately. I've used it myself, somewhere.

Basically, readers who get it will admire you for it, and some will even be inspired to do some research. Those who don't get it probably won't realise they've missed something, so it won't affect their response.

I've got several stories with song lyrics from The Doors embedded as reference points for an emotional highlight within the story. They've all gone through to the keeper, not spotted; or if they have been seen, not commented on.

Fair enough too. Jim Morrison has been dead over fifty years, so I wouldn't expect folk growing up on Taylor Swift to know of him.

It's no different to all the folk around here who consider Star Wars to be a cultural peak, and drop their Easter Eggs into a story. Other film references I'll spot, but generally not SW minutiae.

 

[Writer61]

I am starting to think that we need some way to signal 'look it up'.

After all, we have never had such easy access to information as we have now.

 

[THBGato]

Well, that largely depends on whether Oscar Wilde is a mandatory read in highschool. It's highly unlikely that young people would read the book on their own.

But they might have seen "the league of extraordinary gentlemen" or read the graphic novel.

 

[crookedletter]

If I come across such a reference in something I'm reading and don't understand it -- often if I read something from a previous generation -- I recognize that it's on me to either look it up or accept that I don't know it. Whether or not I look it up depends on my level of curiosity, my level of engagement with what what I'm reading, how lazy I'm feeling, and how essential the context seems to what's going on.

I would never for a moment imagine that my ignorance was the writer's responsibility, unless it's something in-world that hasn't been sufficiently developed.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

If I come across such a reference in something I'm reading and don't understand it -- often if I read something from a previous generation -- I recognize that it's on me to either look it up or accept that I don't know it. Whether or not I look it up depends on my level of curiosity, my level of engagement with what what I'm reading, how lazy I'm feeling, and how essential the context seems to what's going on.

But would the line above cause you to look it up if you didn't know? Is it even clear that it IS a reference?

 

[crookedletter]

But would the line above cause you to look it up if you didn't know? Is it even clear that it IS a reference?

I think if I didn't recognize that I would infer that it's some kind of reference. At worst you get a moment of confusion before the reader moves on. If you're not leaning on the reference longer than that one sentence then I think it's fine as a throwaway line, you either catch it or you don't.

 

[AG31]

Though she was well into her fifties, rapidly approaching sixty, her body belied her age leading many to guess she was ten to fifteen years younger. No one knew how she did it, but we all suspected there was a portrait stashed in at attic somewhere nearby.


How many readers today would pick up on it? Not so much people of what seems to be the typical age group of the AH, but the younger readers.

I remember once applying it to Stacey Dash before she went .... well ... nuts is the nicest word I can use here.

Just read a long article about how school kids are no longer assigned whole books. Sigh...