Give Depth to Story by Using an Allusion

One way to add depth to your story is to use an allusion.

An allusion is the reference to a character, setting or object from another writing in your own. The reference usually is not overtly stated but layered into the story.

One good example of an allusion is the opening line of J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

This allusion references the opening lines of Charles Dicken’s novel “David Copperfield,” which focuses on the backstory of its main character. Salinger’s narrator, Holden Caulfield, however, wants you to accept him for who he is at that moment, not judge him by his heritage or upbringing.

The advantage of an allusion is it’s shorthand so that a point can be made quickly and economically. Thanks to the allusion, the reader knows in a single sentence that Holden Caulfield is straightforward and demands that he be acknowledged for who he is and his actions. Getting those character traits across in a scene that shows rather than tells probably would take several paragraphs.

Of course, all of this assumes the reader recognizes the allusion in the first place. Because of this, authors are best to stick with references to works from their own genre. A reader of romance is unlikely to get an allusion to a science fiction work, and a fantasy reader an allusion to a western, after all.

Another danger of the allusion is when it doesn’t serve a literary purpose but is primarily used to make the author look smart. The allusion may be apt but probably could be handled better through another form of imagery or an actual dramatic scene.

There are plenty of good reasons to use an allusion, however. Ideally, the allusion helps make the character or scene appealing and believable as it draws parallels with a work that is widely respected. Another reason might be to demonstrate the character’s (as opposed to the author’s) erudition. One more reason is to pay homage to a work that was influential in the author’s writing style or even to criticize a writer or book; the latter often is an example of tuckerizing. Sometimes, the author just wants to reward the careful reader; this typically is an example of an Easter egg.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

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