Questions tagged [quotes]
The words a character speaks. Use this tag for questions about how to write quotes, or common practices specific to quotes.
4
votes
1answer
62 views
How should tv broadcast dialogue be formatted in a story?
Supposing a character or characters are watching a show on TV (news maybe) how should that be formatted in the text?
I've found some explanations on how to format TV broadcasts in a screenplay (in ...
7
votes
2answers
476 views
Approach to pop culture quotes in fiction writing
I am contemplating writing a fictional character [nerd] who speaks in a pop culture references. I appreciate this question somewhat overlaps
Referencing modern pop culture in science fiction
The ...
13
votes
8answers
3k views
Quote at the beginning of a chapter, is it advisable for fiction novels?
I have read a few non-fiction works (mostly scientific) where there is a quote at the beginning of each new chapter. Sometimes the quote related to the chapter along with the title, sometimes it was ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Is this attribution clear and sufficient?
My characters are well read and some like to recite poetry. My MC is particularly fond of Paradise Lost and is known to quote a few lines here and there.
In one scene he is thinking some of the lines ...
0
votes
2answers
49 views
Citing and typos
I am holding a book (novel) which I wish to cite, and I believe it has a typo. I do not know whether the typo was a spelling mistake in the original manuscript, or introduced during print. Other ...
3
votes
1answer
56 views
How to include a list of terms (glossary) in a scholarly paper (IEEE format)?
I am currently writing my Bachelor's thesis and I have produced a list of terms that I plan on including in the attachments. The description of each term is directly copied from search engine results ...
3
votes
3answers
83 views
Properly punctuate a quote
I am trying to learn to properly punctuate a quote, for example If I have
I said "Let us go" and we left.
Do I put a comma before or after the quote?
Do I put a period after the word go before ...
2
votes
2answers
79 views
Using a pronoun outside of quotations to refer to a person mentioned in quotations who hasn't been introduced yet
Would the line:
"Peter!" cried his father.
make grammatical sense? It seems to work intuitively, but I'm just not sure. It's also a tough question to google, as it turns out, so any reply would be ...
6
votes
1answer
236 views
Can I quote an infamous line from a satire written in the 18th century in my novel?
I marked it with a footnote containing the writer's name, the work's title and copied the "Publisher" section from Wikipedia so far.
What about the English translation of the original French quote?
...
3
votes
1answer
54 views
Term for when you split a quote to say 'said so and so' in Journalism and Reporting?
I'll make this short. I'm writing a personal profile for a news story and I'm looking for alternatives to this type of phrase:
"Apples", said Bob.
"Apples", Bob said.
"Apples", Bob ...
4
votes
2answers
82 views
How to quote something somebody was told by someone else? (Third-party, hearsay)
THE ISSUE
There must be a catch-phrase or soundbite to describe this scenario, but so far, I've been unsuccessful locating that term, and my efforts to answer this question have been flat as well. I ...
4
votes
1answer
34 views
How do I format inline quotations for a news story?
Let’s say I’ve interviewed a CEO and now need to quote her for my story. I’m not sure if her name or title would come first after the closing quotation and comma. For example:
“Fiduciary duty is a ...
4
votes
1answer
181 views
In a novel that I'm writing, can a character quote a line from a movie or TV show?
I've recently noticed that in a lot of pop culture reference heavy shows or movies, like Community, Suits, Deadpool... they always mention the movie they took it from. As in, another character is ...
3
votes
3answers
119 views
How do I credit a quote if I am uncertain of the source?
If I am writing a book and want to use a quote, but I either don't remember who said it or I am uncertain, how should I credit the quote?
7
votes
1answer
64 views
How to use a quote with frequent changes
I am editing a manuscript in which the author frequently wants to change words within a fairly long quote (two sentences or more), and believes that if he does so he no longer needs to put the rest of ...
28
votes
17answers
6k views
What English version of the bible should I quote from?
Say I want to quote from the bible in something I'm writing (think the famous passage in Pulp Fiction). What bible version should I quote from?
I've done some research but only ended up more confused ...
0
votes
3answers
88 views
What would be a good way of electronically organizing my aphorisms?
I have been writing aphorisms for the most part of my life. Up to now, I noted them down in (real-life, paper) notebooks. From time to time I copied them to a MS-Word-file, which has now swollen to ...
1
vote
0answers
63 views
How to generate thesis or a question out of a quote/quotes? [closed]
In an effort to overcome my writer's block, I've come up with an exercise, which I've pieced together from all the material I've read on dealing with writer's block.
However, now I am struggling with ...
2
votes
2answers
204 views
Typo correction when citing an external source
Good evening,
I'm in the process of writing a small research paper for my college and im facing the following dilemma.
One of my sources has a typo. More specifically instead of the word "Christians"...
1
vote
2answers
81 views
How should a narrative parenthetical remark be placed in reference to a dialog quotation?
I’m wondering how to place a narrative parenthetical remark in dialog. I’m proofreading a book with a quote that doesn’t look right to me:
He whispered, “I think she will have a child in Raspberry ...
1
vote
4answers
2k views
Why end sentences with commas instead of periods when the sentence is in a quote?
I've seen styles where writers end sentences with commas if it is inside double quotes and styles where writers end sentences with periods.
For example:
"She's late again." mumbled Jason.
...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
Where to put a reference to a figure or literature
I am writing a master thesis and got confused by the location of the reference details.
Example 1 :
Should the reference be before the dot or after a dot in this case?
The exploratory analysis of ...
4
votes
2answers
71 views
How can I include my own words within the quotation?
How can I include my own words (of an extra information) within the quotation? Can I do it in the following way, with the words in bracket being my own?
To quote the words of the Buddha:
“Here, ...
0
votes
2answers
966 views
Do I need to cite quotes when conversing casually with friends?
If I'm speaking casually with a friend and quote something I heard, do I need to cite the source of that quote/saying?
Ex.
"After all, we're no strangers to love."
"Well, when in Rome..."
Does this ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
First page of the Diary - Quote [closed]
am gifting some one a diary I want to write something meaningful in the first page of it.
All I could come up with is...
In the most ammaaazing journey that you are yet to embark upon, Called Life!
...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
Correct punctuation for he said, she said
It was recently suggested to me that when attributing dialogue after a quote it should always end comma close quote lowercase, as in:
"That's what," he said.
However, if the character speaks in ...
4
votes
1answer
872 views
Having a character quote an entire stanza of a poem
I am working on a long form fiction item.In this one of the characters will quote the first Stanza from a poem. Normally with speech one opens quotes, adds the text, and closes quotes. However I do ...
5
votes
1answer
92 views
How does one indicate uncertainty in a quote?
When quoting the spoken word, and if one particular word is difficult to distinguish, how does one properly indicate the uncertainty if that particular word has been quoted correctly?
The following ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Quoting a Nursery Rhyme
I'd like to quote a nursery rhyme at the beginning of my chapter, but I'm not sure the proper formatting for this.
I've seen a lot of authors quote passages from books, songs, and various other ...
3
votes
0answers
111 views
What is the original source of the Lawrence Durrell quote starting with “My spirit turns more and more […]”? [closed]
This may be more appropriately called a "Literature" or "History" question but as it's about a writer, I thought I'd try here first. I'm seeking more information about the origin of the following ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
How to mark own translation?
In a thesis written using the Author's "We", how do you mark a translation of a quotation as your own?
"My translation" violates the pluralis auctoris.
"Our translation" also doesn't fit with the ...
2
votes
2answers
66 views
Spacing for quotes within quotes
Character A is quoting characters B and C. Since character A is talking their words are enclosed in double quotes. Their rendition of characters B and C's speech is enclosed in single quotes. ...
0
votes
3answers
65 views
academic writing: direct quote
I have a simple question regarding scientific quotes. Which of the following alternatives is correct?
Alt. 1:
The literature has made substantial strides towards identifying causal effects of X on Y ...
5
votes
8answers
2k views
Is it appropriate to use real-life quotes in fantasy/sci-fi novels set in alternate worlds?
Situation: You have an imaginary world, fantasy, sci-fi, whatever, and you are at a point where, as an author, you know a suitable quote for the situation a character is dealing with. Is it ...
3
votes
2answers
506 views
Can I publish excerpts from a letter without permission?
It will be my pleasure to cite the author of the letter. I'm looking at perhaps ten sentences out of a four page letter.
I have the actual letter, so the quotes will be accurate.
The letter is from ...
4
votes
4answers
171 views
Quoting lyrics in a book of film criticism
I'm writing a book of film criticism, in which I refer to lyrics from the soundtrack as a way to empathise the narrative.
Am I required to obtain permission for use of these lyrics? Or, because this ...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
Citing someone's work, copying and pasting fragment. Is that OK?
I found the original manuscript of a very celebrated English botanist on the internet (in pdf format of course) Here it is:
http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/pdfs/dws/Brownian.pdf
The reason is that in ...
3
votes
2answers
163 views
How to show that a character is quoting from a book?
I am editing a text in which the characters use quotations from the Bible quite often.
Example:
Jeremiah turned toward him, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to ...
5
votes
5answers
970 views
Attributing a real quote to a fictional character
I've looked at a few fictional character quote questions on here but none seem to hit onto my question:
Can I attribute a real quote to a fictional character?
That is, can I take a quote that was ...
2
votes
1answer
952 views
How to cite a film quote using MLA in text citations
I am working on an essay, and one of my sources is a film. (The Matrix) What would the in-text citation for the film look like, and would it include the time that the quote occured?
7
votes
4answers
10k views
How to indicate that a single letter was removed from a quotation
Suppose a source text says:
1 Timothy 2:4 says that God desires all people to be saved.
Now suppose I want to quote it like this:
It is possible for God to "desire all people to be saved."
...
2
votes
3answers
97 views
Quote a sentence with references
I'm currently writing my bachelor's thesis and I'm using the IEEE citations. Now lets say I want to directly quote the following sentence:
The barn was on fire1 so I ran away.
with something like ...
2
votes
2answers
596 views
How do I cite a standalone quote at the beginning of a doctoral thesis?
The book which the quote is from is also being cited throughout the thesis, so naturally it is included in the bibliography.
What should the citation look like? Should it be consistent with the ...
7
votes
3answers
32k views
Changing Capitalization in a Quote - MLA
I'm writing an essay (MLA style) for class and I am quoting a whole sentence within my sentence.
For example:
They published a “manifesto” proclaiming that “[a]ll are welcome to walk through our ...
2
votes
1answer
256 views
Attributing Quote to Fictional Characters (Who are based on real people)
I'm making a poster of one of my favorite quotes from Almost Famous:
You'll meet them all again on their long journey to the middle.
The quote was spoken by the character of Lester Bangs, who was ...
1
vote
3answers
320 views
How similar is too similar?
I have used the phrase:
"There are not enough words in the tongues of men, elves, dwarves, trolls, goblins, or beasts to describe how disgusting..."
in a couple of reviews of mine, which someone ...
2
votes
3answers
17k views
Using quotes for sarcastic text
Are quotes only for spoken text? Can I use quotes to emphasize sarcasm, like when somebody physically makes quote symbols with their fingers while reading?
2
votes
2answers
214 views
Should this introductory quotation be translated, untranslated, or dropped?
When I first wrote "Gawain's Guilt-Girdle" (14 lines of verse) I introduced it with a short (modernized/translated) quotation from the Middle English work Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I think my ...
2
votes
1answer
614 views
When writing a formal report should citations be used in the glossary?
First of all hi everyone :-) In a formal report should the words and phrases defined in the glossary contain citations? Some of the phrases, that are going to be in the glossary, I know so well I don'...
12
votes
4answers
59k views
Attributing quotes to fictional characters
Let's say, for example, that I want to post my favourite quote from Babylon 5 somewhere:
"I'm not saying what I'm saying. I'm not saying what I'm thinking. As a matter of fact, I'm not thinking ...
