posted
In my NaNoWriMo effort, one of my main characters is an AI who weaves Mae West quotes into her speech fairly often. Should I put the quoted phrases in quotes or just leave them woven in seamlessly?
I know its hard to tell without reading it, but a general theory discussion will more than suffice to meet my procrastination needs today.
posted
Quotes within quotes are designated by single quote marks ' that follow the same rules as double =quote marks.
Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Honestly, Robyn_Hood, I think the italics would just confuse me. I know italics tend to get thrown out there as the answer when you can't figure out what else to do with text, but in reality they do have a few broad purposes that we expect to see them used for. And a quote within a quote is not even close to one of them. I would be more likely to think that was a character thought put into dialogue rather than a character quoting someone else. First, because there is such an established and accurate method of quoting a quote within a quote. Second, because italics are used primarily for emphasis and character thoughts. Also, sometimes the written word. I might even think that the italicized portion was an angry voice rather than a quote in a quote.
posted
Sorry, I should have been clearer in what I was asking. I know the correct grammatic way to distinguish that a character is quoting another character. It might be better to ask it this way.
If I have a Mae West impersonator, do I need to identify the places where she is quoting lines from films, or do I let them blend with her dialogue as part of her rhythm?
posted
I think it would depend on how big a shift it is in her dialogue. Does she speak in a normal tone and then suddenly change accent and phrasing? Or does the phrasing change gradually with just a general "feel" of Mae West's voice and not specific quotes from the actress?
If it's the former, I say go with quotes. It would make the shift easier for me to read, if I were reading the story.
[This message has been edited by Keeley (edited November 09, 2004).]
posted
Hm...I think the only way to answer this is to post a section, but that will tempt me to rewrite and that's not in the spirit of NaNoWriMo. Still...I'm strong enough to resist that temptation, aren't I?
posted
Go ahead and post a bit. As far as I'm concerned, NaNoWriMo is about learning and exploring as well as typing your fingers off. I don't go back and make changes, but I've got a running list of notes...things I'm going to do different in the rewrite, thigns I've learned about my characters, etc. Little grammar fixes could go in the notes too, if I looked hard enough to care. Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I think I might be tempted to make mention of the fact somewhere at the start of the story that this AI is an impersonator and then not make any more note of it. Just run the dialogue as straight dialogue and let the reader figure out which bits are direct quotes and which are not.
Posts: 497 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
Robyn Hood! You rock, that's been one of my favorite West quotes since I started working on this.
I'm still looking for the place to drop
quote:"I'd give me half my life for just one kiss." "Then kiss me twice."
Goatboy, I'm currently not delineating which are direct quotes and which are just 'in character', but I'm starting to doubt my decision. I'm posting a sample 13 lines over in F&F
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited November 09, 2004).]
posted
I'm actually not that familliar with Mae West or her quotations so I looked a few up before posting. When you mentioned temptation, I remembered that one. My personal favourite is:
quote:Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried.
posted
If the character is clearly quoting, then the statement should be treated as a quote.
If the character is merely alluding (don't you just love the adverbs in this post?), then you don't need to treat them as a quote.
So, I vote with goatboy that you let the reader know this character is heavily into impersonating or quoting Mae West, and let the reader figure out what the allusions are.
Unless, of course, as Keeley said, the character's voice and demeanor change to indicate that "Mae West" is now speaking. Then I'd say so and treat them at quotes.
posted
Mary, I agree with the others who said you're doing it just right (now that you've posted the section in question).
Posts: 8826 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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posted
I'm with goatboy. Let the Mae West afficianados recognize her when they read her and let everyone else figure it out. Just give them a hint, that's all people need.
Posts: 284 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
Okay, thanks guys. I needed some reassurance because I had started doubting my decision after reading the other quote discussion.
Posts: 2022 | Registered: Jul 2003
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