Back to Basics: Rereading

Reading is important. Yeah, that’s a real shocker, I know. It’s a fundamental skill not just for writing, but for everything. For this Back to Basics course, we’re… well we’re actually not talking about reading. That's because already did a Back to Basics all about Reading.  

But why open with a whole paragraph hyping reading when that's not today's topic? What are we really talking about instead? Well I’m glad you asked (I’m assuming that you asked this out loud to your screen anyways). In this Back to Basics course, we’re talking about rereading.

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What’s the big deal with rereading?

First off, I just want to say I think repetition gets a bad rap. The idea of doing something over and over again sounds like torture to a lot of people. Heck, I’m pretty sure that’s a definition for insanity. But there’s a lot of value in doing the same things over again.

The show “Severance” is a compelling series about why work ultimately sucks. This isn’t going to segue into a “Severance” appreciation post but I’m going somewhere with this, I pinkie-promise. I watched the first season in August of last year. Not long after that, I re-watched the season. I wanted to relive that experience of watching the show since season two was on its way. When I did, I picked up on new things. I'd noticed some major revelations about characters in the finale of season one that, when rewatching, completely changed how I saw the show. Sure, we're talking about a show in a course about rereading but this analogy emphasizes my point. 

Rereading is recontextualizing the story. I saw elements of “Severance” in a completely new light. If you were to reread your favorite novel or short story, I bet there are some solid easter eggs or nuggets of foreshadowing you’ll pick up on that you wouldn’t have in a first reading. So in a way, rereading can help you better appreciate a story. That’s not all though.

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How can rereading help with writing?

So you’ve done some rereading, now what? Well, rereading isn’t just good for catching up on your favorite stories, it has benefits for writing too. A common piece of advice for beginning writers is that they should read a lot, and rereading carries the same principle. Rereading allows a writer to further identify what makes a specific story work or not work, and by figuring that out, you can sharpen your own writing skills. Let’s say you reread a story and pick up on how a certain character arc was perfected or how a major plot beat was foreshadowed; by understanding how an author did that, you can take that knowledge and apply it to your own story. We’re not saying you should copy how an author does something but you can absolutely learn from their style of writing. Rereading isn’t just what you learn from other writers either, rereading can also help you learn from yourself too.

Let’s say that you’ve reread every one of your favorite books. Well, Now’s the time to reread your own writing. Sometimes that can be a challenge because we are often our own worst critics. However, if you want your writing to improve then you know that revision is super important, and you really can’t start the revision process without first rereading. When you reread your writing you’ll automatically begin to pick out the things that are working and not. I can’t pinpoint if there’s an exact science to this or not but when you’re looking at something you yourself wrote, you understand it in a way only you can. I reread everything I write, whether it’s a Back to Basics course, a freelancing assignment, or a personal creative project. It helps give me an idea of what can be improved.

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Check out this talk from Tim McKay about the Hidden Power of Copywork.

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In short, rereading is the tool that lets you step back and really deeply inspect the thing you care about. I’d seriously recommend you give it a try, it might just surprise you what new things you find out! 

Thanks for joining us for this Back to Basics course! No specific challenge for this one, just reread your favorite book share it on our discord.

For further reading on this subject, check out this post from Fictionate: https://fictionate.me/blog/writing-tips-rereading-benefits

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About the author:

Izhan Arif is an English graduate from the University of Illinois, Chicago. His interests tend to revolve around all things superhero, whether it be comics, shows, or movies! He also loves to write (go figure) and when he's not working on Back to Basics, he's also writing videos for WatchMojo!