Does anybody here employ this technique of using a lot of these sort of things for the sake of interest? Do you think it's a good idea and can be employed well? Because it seems to me that when people gather to discuss stories, an often glaring discussion point is rumours, mysteries, hidden meanings, eastered eggs, unanwered "subtle" points and so on; not "glaring" or cheesy stuff, but just subtle things throughout the story. It seems to be a way of gathering interest and when people find out about these there's a general "that's awesome, I wanna grab the book and check that out" reaction. I think that, while it alone is obviously not enough to get people into the book, it probably reinforces the book to people who have read and enjoyed it. Thoughts? Anybody do this?
It depends. I do throw in a couple of in-jokes for my friends, but I think they're pretty subtle - just a chosen turn of phrase that 3 people in the world would find hilarious, but normal people would just pass right over without stumbling. Anything else I include would be mysterious expressly because it needs to be for the plot. I wouldn't have characters saying or doing things that are never resolved, because I believe in narrative neatness where possible.
The most I do in this regard is references to other pieces of entertainment. For example, my narrator is a gamer, and the story takes place in 2008--one year after the release of Bioshock. In my mind, he is a big fan of that game, so every now and then I force him to say "Would you kindly..." at the beginning of his requests. Little things like that, which fellow fans will recognize but won't make strangers stop and scratch their heads. I only do it when it fits, and I think it gives the stories a bit more of a real world feel.
