One of the reasons I love writing fiction is that I can pull from other sources to enrich the texture of my narrative. But I’ve had to learn restraint.
I was poking through the attic the other day and unearthed some ancient fiction I wrote during my one year at Columbia University (my “junior year abroad”). There was a long fragment, possibly the beginning of a novel, in which the character–coincidentally a young male student in New York–was powerfully affected by hearing Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War.” To reveal this, I quoted the entire song.
It was a mistake. Why? Because it didn’t blend in. As apt as it may have been, because in its entirety, “Masters of War” stood powerfully tall on its own, and would have drawn attention away from the story, nullifying the very reason I wanted to use it in the first place.
By contrast, a fragment would have played nicely, as a component of the whole.
The danger is that, dropping in complete songs, poems, entries from diaries, even dreams look like an anthology entries.
You don’t want a story element to look like an anthology entry, dropped in whole and undigested. So quote away, but selectively; that’s where the power lies for your novel.
PS
Click here for another, maybe even more compelling reason not to quote an entire Bob Dylan song,
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Uhm. Click where?
My bad. The link is there now.
Uhm. I still don’t see it?
Like this one – can you point me to a link that may have good technical advice about the use of quotations to begin as short story? I want to use a few lines of TS Elliot as prelude to the story.
Thanks,
Lisa, apologies & thanks for sticking with this. I must have previewed the link but stopped without updating the post. Late night.
SBM, I’m not sure what you mean by technical, but my advice is to go ahead, making sure it’s ONLY a few lines and that Eliot gets attributed in some way (even if a character “thinks” it). The Fair Use clause in copyright law allows for this. If you want links, do a Google search on “fair use, poetry” and you’ll find more than you’ll ever want to know on this. But in my personal experience, it boils down to: will the source feel unfairly used. If not, where’s the harm?
Ah yes, I see it now.
I’ve just read “The stand”, Stephen King. He quotes everything, all the time, mentioning brand names and all that sort of thing. And to me it makes the universe to realistic and dense. And especially because different people quote different things.
There’s a term “brand name fiction.” It was stylish for a while–you establish a realistic contemporary setting by grabbing actual quotes from current songs, mentioning actual brand names, quoting snatches of current TV, etc. It’s actually an effective way to orient the reader in a fictional setting that is meant to be as “up to the minute” as today’s 6 oclock news, and I’ve gotten good use out of it myself. But you have to be aware of the tradeoffs: (1) there will aways be some readers who won’t know what you’re talking about; (2) it will date, inevitably; and (3) if you overdo it, readers will become conscious of what you’re up to and be distracted by it.
I think that quotes can really make a piece of writing whether that be a novel, news story or press release. I do agree that going overboard with quotes can be a mistake but one or two small one-liners can really back up a piece of writing.
When using quotes at the begining of book chapters, can I use only part of a sentence my source. If so, what is the correct puntuation at the end of the quote. If the quote starts in mid-sentence, do I need to use a capital?
When using quotes at the begining of a book to power my novel. Can I use only part of a quote from my source (another author’s book) If so, what is the correct punctuation at the end of the quote, do I need to put a period even if the quote used did not finish at the end of the sentence? If the quote starts in mid-sentence, do I need to use a capital?
This is the second time asking the same question because the first time was not worded properly … I think…