While starting the new project I hinted at in my newsletter, I realized that I’m always making jokes in my writing. These are secret jokes, things that amuse me while I write.
How about an example?
In my dystopian novel Vitamin F (Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo ), the lead character is Bridgett Grey. Her grandfather’s last name is Summers. There’s another character of note named J.P. Beaubier who has a sister. There’s also an old poster in one scene that features a heavily armed man with white hair and lots of guns. That poster also has a woman in black with a black dot over one eye.
Sometimes, writers have to make secret gags to write dark stories. With so many oppressive themes, Vitamin F is quite bleak. So why not wave the flag of “Len Loves X-Men?”
In other cases, the secret jokes are a bit more indirect. “There Are Always Three Of Them” features this opening line:
“The thing about those Thompson Twins,” Uncle George said, “there are always three of them.”
I know I’m not alone in this. Christopher Ruocchio used a curse from Pirates Of Dark Water in his second Sun Eater novel, Howling Dark. Also, there’s a video game reference on the cover of that book. I’ll give you a hint: “Fear The Old Blood.”
There’s a passage in Frank Herbert’s Children Of Dune where Leto II thinks:
Here’s your challenge. When you read, ask yourself if the author is pulling at another reference to make a point? Or are they just amusing themselves to keep the story going?