Quote at the beginning of a chapter, is it advisable for fiction novels?

Question

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 difficult to make out why its there.I am assuming this is to set-up a mood for the chapter or even summarize. I had followed suit for my novel. For an e.g. for the chapter where my MC recovers from divorce and starts a new life I have put the following quote at the start of the chapter. This quote I selected after googling quotes, I don't know much about the author but the quote suggests that she will recover in this chapter. > Her fetters burst, and just released from prison, A virgin phoenix from her ashes risen. - Christiana Baldwin Is this advisable for fiction novels?

Answer 1

Any quote can be used in a piece of fiction--the matter is how it is being used. Quotes can either make or break a piece of literature all in how they are being used. If you are going to use this quote, it must have a solid connection to what you are writing. In the novel I am writing, my characters use a lot of quotes from sources in metaphorical terms--I know by whom, what, where, when, and why I'm using them because I have thoroughly planned the layout of my novel. For example, in chapter one, I am weaving together Charlotte Perkins' short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," and Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow," for my first chapter, using Perkins as one of my main characters. In using her quotes from this story, as parts of my chapter, citing her is simple because she is a character. This poem you are using, however, must be tied somehow; be it a clue to what is to come, be it an introductory of a sentence--it must have some tie to what you are saying. You will have to cite it, somehow, on this page where you use it, too. You chose a good topic to discuss. I hope I have helped you. Kyle