A quote to start your book

Do you or don't you?

I have done occasionally, when I've written a piece based on or inspired by a quote but in general I don't.

For my most recent joint novel, we're pretty sure that we're going to use a quote but a quote of our own fabrication rather than an existing one so I'm not sure if that really counts...

I may do, but I would make a quote up frm one of my characters, never frmo ther real world.

I did on Midnight Darkness. I used the definition of 'werewolf' to begin it... yeah. Not really a quote, but it got it's own little page. XD

-Jared

I don't usually, but there are plenty of great quotes I have if I wanted to. In fact, I may, on The Cossack's Ride. I have the perfect quote.


"If I had Cossacks in my army, I would have ruled the world."- Napoleon Bonaparte


It really fits in with the story.


-Pros

Generally don't, but I'm kind of strange and do odd things in odd places. I think Death Machine needs to have quotes scattered randomly through it, but then you can't do things randomly, they have to be proper and systematic and with reason (bah!) so I need to work that out, hah. Having quotes in it would help ground it to reality. It's an historical fiction pieces, so if I have quotes from the era it will make the truth/reality of it stronger.

I quotes to start things a lot, whether it be a story or a piece of philosophy, and essay or a blog entry. They serve to set the mood for a piece very effectively - the beginning of John Irving's classic novel, A Prayer for Owen Meaney, for example, has a quote from Leon Bloy that says, "any Christian who is not a hero is a pig." The tension between the two sides of that quote are the perfect intro to the book, especially considering it's paired with two equally excellent quote from St. Paul's Letter to the Phillipians and Frederick Buechner. Snatches of songs, philosophical one-liners, pieces of poetry: all of these find their place at the beginning of my writing, and I really think they serve not only to enhance my work but also as a homage and a tribute to some of the brilliance of other people's work that has inspired me.

I do, but more often than not I take it away by the end. Usually I just use it for inspiration. And more often than not it's a song lyric that I feel has something to do with the story, or the characters, or the feelings I'm trying to convey.

But yeah, I'll only keep one if it absolutely fits and I don't feel lame about it. D:

-:pirate3:

Yes, I have. It used to be a habit, probably still is. I used quotes in my younger days, either my own or using another's than putting their name next to it.

Bound for Glory: Our Brethren will have a quote by Patrick Henry at the very end, if I choose to follow through with it. And with the Epilogue, my own person quote that I've carried for years will finish it off, and that's it. My three year work will be completed.

I never have used a quote to start things off. I'd rather kick things into gear by giving a vivid description of the scene instead..

I've seen some that start every chapter that way. In some cases, it's from fictional books that only exsit in the author's imagination. In one case, though, it was quotes from real poems and a few informational pieces that were relevant. It can work, but you have to be careful. In the non-fiction book I'm working on, I do use a quote from a song. The reason I use it is because the book is about my year in the college residence, and they had made a video yearbook with the song I quote.

I don't know about using it to start every chapter, but the one to start my book is this

"We are, what we believe we are"

C.S Lewis

I use them frequently. I think they help to inspire and shape the piece if they match up perfectly, and is a great starting point when you're not always sure on the beginning. Good quotes at the start of stories always get me excited.

Mmm, quotes yummy. I love quotes. I collect them, really, and I love using them at any opportunity. Done well, they really enhance the poignancy of a piece. Especially, as others have said, to create a sense of legitimacy in historical pieces.

I love quotes, hoard them in my computer and quote them to other people whenenver I can, but in my writing, no, never.

I don't want to rely on other people's words to say what I want to say.