The Case for Re-Reading
As writers we know we must read a lot, and across a wide variety of genres. For lovers of the written word, this advice isn’t business, but pleasure. It can feel, though, like an endless and impossible dream. If you’re anything like me, you have a bookshelf stacked with books to be read.
The hard work is finding the time to read them all.
When we crack those pages open for a second time, we are no longer looking for the building blocks of the story. We are looking for the complexities that form the how.
The Case for Re-Reading
“To me, re-reading my favorite books is like spending time with my best friends. I’d never be satisfied to limit myself to just one experience each with my favorite people.”
― C.S. Lewis
The TBR stack grows with the constant barrage of recommendations, impulse buys at the local bookstore, and library holds that finally come available. You can organize that TBR stack, but we all know when one book moves from the “to read” shelf to the “read” stack, another one (or five) take its place.
You might contemplate jumping from that perpetually expanding stack when I tell you this:
Actually, re-reading the books you love by authors who have done them well is more valuable than that first, time-stolen read.
I’ll pretend to change the subject for a minute to give you a chance to step down from despair.
When my youngest son was eight, he spent several months taking apart every electronic item he owned. Early one late December morning, I was awakened by loud clanking sounds from his bedroom. I rose to investigate and found him hard at work. The expensive robot we bought him for Christmas lay piecemeal on his bedroom floor. He hadn’t even owned it for a week.
Exhausted and infuriated, I stared at the hundreds of wasted dollars strewn across his carpet, and for a split second I wanted to take my son apart. Instead, I asked him why he’d done it. He replied, “I just wanted to see how they made him. I want to know how he works.” He blinked his saucer eyes innocently as if throwing my money away was a natural and logical exercise.
WHY Re-Read?
Writers need to practice exactly this – looking into how unforgettable narratives are crafted by studying their innerworkings.
Reading lets us in on what an author has done. We read to discover a narrative in its entirety – each character’s motivations. We become acquainted with their needs and wants, witness their obstacles, setbacks, and triumphs. We journey with them as they win (or don’t) all the way through to the end. We see them change (or not) and watch them transform to world around them (or fail at that), for better or worse.
But, as writers, we have to dig deeper. Some books and their characters should move for being our acquaintances to being our besties (or our frenemies). We accomplish this on the re-read. Re-reading a book right after you’ve read it lets you take a walk through the author’s process and discover how they’ve done it.
When we crack those pages open for a second time, we are no longer looking for the building blocks of the story. We are looking for the complexities that form the how.
Deconstruct the Story
Before you re-read, ask yourself why you loved the work. Was it a retelling so fresh you couldn’t predict it? Did you end up hating the “heroine” and loving the “villain”? Was it a thriller so rife with cliffhangers you stayed up way past your bedtime and yawned your way through the next day? Did the deus ex machina wrap up the entire narrative so brilliantly the reading felt like a master class in resolution?
Create a list of the things you enjoy most, the things that surprised you most, or the aspects you just can’t stop thinking about. Then re-read and reflect on the exactly how the author made you fall in love.
See the Details You Missed
When you re-read you are bound to find fine points you missed the first time. Perhaps there were clues the killer left behind? Maybe there was subtle foreshadowing? Was there a character you focused on more than you should have? This time you know to ignore those red herrings. Was there something that seemed insignificant at first, but was actually the crux? Often when you know better, you read better.
Study Plot Devices
Storytelling tools propel our work. Examining how someone has used them to build a brilliant narrative will instruct your use. Flashbacks can be a valuable means to show why characters are the way they are. But, they can also frustrate the reader when wrongly placed. Use them too much and you run the risk of telling. Studying how your favorite authors weave them into narratives in a way that informs without telling, flows seamlessly, and perfects backstory will inspire you to do the same.
What Isn’t Working?
Sometimes what we dislike about a work can advise our practice as writers even more than what we loved. Were there aspects of the narrative that you didn’t care for? Did the ending disappoint? Really dig deep into why. Is it personal taste? Or, is your opinion more objective? Do you believe that aspect you dislike actually takes away from the story in some way? Did a character behave in a way totally inconsistent with her personality? Did the story get tied up a little too prettily at the end? Now, really think about how you might have done it better.
Remember this in your own writing. Walking ourselves through the mistakes of others can help us avoid the same pitfalls. Identifying what could have made a great work even better inevitably propels us into greatness.
Now, back to my son …
After several painful months of disassembly, he was finally able to put something back together. It was just a small, handheld game, and not the super expensive robot (that had to eventually be thrown away). But, the handheld game actually worked again. The sense of accomplishment smeared across my son’s face was almost worth the money thrown away.
That’s the thing about autopsying a thing – you learn a thing (or a million) about how to bring what you love back to life.
