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- Aug 29, 2014
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I just learned that I can't quote contemporary song lyrics, which sucks, because I like using lyrics to set a mood or to tie into a character's state of mind. I coulda sworn that I read more than one novel with this technique; I seemed to remember reading something that used the Stone's Sympathy For The Devil, but I couldn't find it on Google.
So what can I quote, and who can I quote? I have a stanza of an ee cummings poem in my WIP, and it is kind of pivotal to a scene with my heroine... cutting it kills the whole scene. Does that need to go?
Can I use the title of a song to set a mood? For example, if the main couple of your story walk into a smoky bar and the band is playing "Welcome To The Jungle", that paints a different mental picture than "The Boy From Impenema"...
Is there a primer on this somewhere?
So what can I quote, and who can I quote? I have a stanza of an ee cummings poem in my WIP, and it is kind of pivotal to a scene with my heroine... cutting it kills the whole scene. Does that need to go?
Can I use the title of a song to set a mood? For example, if the main couple of your story walk into a smoky bar and the band is playing "Welcome To The Jungle", that paints a different mental picture than "The Boy From Impenema"...
Is there a primer on this somewhere?
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