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  • thedancingwriter

  • Fair Use in Novels

    I often get questions from Anons asking me what is appropriate to use in a novel, from song quotes to character names of wildly popular characters from other books (names that are obviously more unique than just Sarah or Alice or Amelia). So I’m going to lay the groundwork of what writers can and can’t use in their novels—or for their novels.

    1. Quotes from song lyrics. You can’t do this. Period. If you want to use quoted song lyrics, you would have to get permission from the artists themselves—and you would likely have to pay a heady sum of money to obtain that permission. A big part of the reason why you can’t do this is because song lyrics are often so short in the first place, and if you misquote even one word, you run the risk of being sued. In fact, you run the risk of being sued period if your book is somehow published with quoted song lyrics from an actual band. 
    1. Names of fictional characters. One Anon asked me if he or she could use a fictional character’s name as a nickname for one of his/her characters. As far as I know, this is not copyright infringement, especially if the character whose nicknamed Harry Potter does not in anyway resemble the actual Harry Potter. It is also not copyright infringement to use a fictional character’s name in passing. For example, in Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick, Leonard frequently mentions Holden Caulfield as a comparison to himself. Holden Caulfield, however, is not an actual character in the book. There’s also the question of cameos, and whether or not a writer can use an actual character as a cameo in the book. This is on shaky ground, because using a published fictional character as a cameo technically is not copyright infringement, until that character actually starts talking. However, from the article I linked to you, you still run the risk of being sued. Fan fiction is an entirely different matter, as most writers don’t profit from this work, and authors want to please enthusiastic readers. (I would both cry and feel EXTREMELY flattered if someone were to ever write a fanfiction of my book, When Stars Die.)
    1. Public domain. Any book before 1923 is fair use. Granted this does not mean you can re-write the entire book. Basically this means you can quote these works, while attributing their authors to them, in your novels. Frenchie,from Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez, frequently talks about Emily Dickinson and quotes her as well. Libba Bray puts a part of Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shallot, in A Great and Terrible Beauty. And when I do revisions for my novels, I’d like for my protagonist to quote parts of Edgar Allen Poe. 
    2. Titles. You don’t need permission to use song titles, movie titles, book titles, television titles, and so on and so forth. You can also include the names of things, place, and events and people in your work without permission. I mention Paula Dean in brief passing in the current work I’m writing, because she owns a restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, the place my character lives. 
    3. Pictures. I’m primarily talking about if you’re self-publishing or are allowed to work with your publisher (usually small press) on designing the cover. ANY stock photos listed on any stock photo website is fair game and can be photoshopped as much as you want to. However, you often have to buy these photos, but once you pay for them, they are yours to do with what you want. Unfortunately, you run the risk of having a similar book cover as another book, especially if you don’t do too much to that image beyond slapping your name and title of the book on it. The cover for When Stars Die received a heavy makeover, so it is not likely that I will find another book using my exact cover. I may find a book using the girl on the cover, but the plum blossoms, the colors, how the girl was edited, and my title and name are probably going to be next to impossible to find on another book. 
    4. Quoting famous people. If the quote from, let’s say, a famous speech in the past, is over 100 years old, that work is likely in the public domain, so it’s fair to use quotes from  Georgie Washington or another popular figure. 
    5. Referencing facts. If you’re referencing facts, like how the universe was made, this is not copyright infringement—they are unadorned facts. For the current novel I’m working on, I did use a website to help Gene’s teacher explain black holes, because Gene uses black holes as a motif to describe how people can have an effect on one another. However, because this is knowledge that you can pick up from any text book or even an astronomy class you took, I don’t need to quote the source I took it from because I did not repeat word-for-word what that website said. The website simply listed facts that you can find anywhere from a legitimate source. 
    6. Using quotes from TV, films, or advertising. These are copyrighted, so don’t use them, unless you want to get sued. 

    For now, these are the only points I can think of on what writers are allowed to use and not use in their novels. If someone can think of anything more, feel free to re-blog and add to this list!

    Ask Box is always open, and I think this is the last day for my book/Amazon gift card giveaway, so you better enter while you can!

  • ofmoonlightandthesun-deactivated

  • Regarding naming (because I had to research this for one of my characters): names CANNOT be copyrighted. At all. HOWEVER. The exception is if the name is recognizable on a brand level, such as Harry Potter or Mickey Mouse. So if there is a character names Joe McShmo and you name a character Jo McShmo, you CAN do that if the first Joe is not 1. the flagship character or the brand and 2. the name/brand is a household name (as in the average person will think of only Jo McShmo #1 when they hear that name). It’s a very interesting caveat.

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  • writers-potion

  • Writing Character Accents in Fiction

    Hey there, thanks for the question! I speak English as a second language; most English speakers I encounter aren’t native (yes, including fictional people); thus, this is a concern I’ve explored personally when I write. 

    I think the core principle regarding accent writing is this: it shouldn’t be distracting. 

    For the same reasons why Stephen King prescribes the basic dialogue tag “said” rather than fancier alternatives like “whispered”, “shouted” or “screeched”, dialogue must be first and foremost easy to read. It must flow like a real conversation – the pace and tone are a lot more important than how specific words are being pronounced by the character. 

    Focus on what effect the accent has:

    Using adjectives to describe their voice in general. Different types of English (American, British, Australian, etc.) will give off a different vibe, also partly dependent on how your character speaks in general:

    • Lilting: Having a smooth rise and falling quality; sing-song like. Welsh accent is often described as singing. 
    • Posh: from a high social class. This is the term generally used to describe the upper-class British accent.
    • Nasal: this happens when the sound goes through somebody’s nose when they’re speaking. North American accents are more nasal than, say, British pronunciations. 
    • Brash: harsh, loud, indicative of sounding a little rude. 
    • Slur: speaking indistinctly; words merging into one another.

    Using metaphors.

    • Her voice was cotton and fluffy clouds. 
    • When he spoke, the ‘r’s scratched the insides of his throat. 

    Mentioning their accent with a brief example(s). 

    • “Would you like to drink some wine?” she said, though her Indian accent gave extra vibration to her ‘w’s and ‘r’s, making the words sound more like ‘vould you like to drrrink some vine’.
    • “I want some chocolate.” His syllables were choppy and ‘l’s rather flat, saying ‘cho-ko-lit’. 

    Some Tips:

    Don’t phonically spell out everything. Perhaps give a few examples in the beginning, but stick to standard English spellings. 

    Pay attention to word choice, slang, and colloquialisms. 

    • An Australian person would say “tram”, not “trolley; “runners” instead of “sneakers”
    • A Canadian may refer to a “fire hall” – what Americans call a firehouse or fire station

    If your character comes from a non-Enligsh background:

    Use vocabulary from other languages. 

    • “What time was the exam, ah? Two o’clock? Jiayou!” → putting “ah” or “la” at the end of sentences + Jiayou means “break a leg” in Singlish. 
    • “I can’t believe that 4-year-olds have their own SNS accounts now.” → “SNS” is short for “social networking service”, a term used to refer to social media in Korea. This would a subtle difference – even though it isn’t technically Korean at all!

    Transpose grammar from different languages. 

    • For example, in French, plural nouns take plural adjectives (whereas in English, you would speak of ‘white cars’, not ‘whites cars’).

    ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

    💎If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! Also, join my Tumblr writing community for some more fun.

    💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

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  • certifiedwerewolf

  • No offense but I think some of you would be a lot happier writing a fictional atlas or encyclopedia instead of a narrative story

  • ramshacklefey

  • Concur! Go forth and write your Dragonology and your Guidebook to Fairyland! Write a traveler's diary of a setting! These are fun and legitimate things to do!

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  • -deactivated

  • STOP DOING THIS IN INJURY FICS!!

    Bleeding:

    Blood is warm. if blood is cold, you’re really fucking feverish or the person is dead. it’s only sticky after it coagulates.

    It smells! like iron, obv, but very metallic. heavy blood loss has a really potent smell, someone will notice.

    Unless in a state of shock or fight-flight mode, a character will know they’re bleeding. stop with the ‘i didn’t even feel it’ yeah you did. drowsiness, confusion, pale complexion, nausea, clumsiness, and memory loss are symptoms to include.

    blood flow ebbs. sometimes it’s really gushin’, other times it’s a trickle. could be the same wound at different points.

    it’s slow. use this to your advantage! more sad writer times hehehe.

    Stab wounds:

    I have been mildly impaled with rebar on an occasion, so let me explain from experience. being stabbed is bizarre af. your body is soft. you can squish it, feel it jiggle when you move. whatever just stabbed you? not jiggly. it feels stiff and numb after the pain fades. often, stab wounds lead to nerve damage. hands, arms, feet, neck, all have more motor nerve clusters than the torso. fingers may go numb or useless if a tendon is nicked.

    also, bleeding takes FOREVER to stop, as mentioned above.

    if the wound has an exit wound, like a bullet clean through or a spear through the whole limb, DONT REMOVE THE OBJECT. character will die. leave it, bandage around it. could be a good opportunity for some touchy touchy :)

    whump writers - good opportunity for caretaker angst and fluff w/ trying to manhandle whumpee into a good position to access both sites

    Concussion:

    despite the amnesia and confusion, people ain’t that articulate. even if they’re mumbling about how much they love (person) - if that’s ur trope - or a secret, it’s gonna make no sense. garbled nonsense, no full sentences, just a coupla words here and there.

    if the concussion is mild, they’re gonna feel fine. until….bam! out like a light. kinda funny to witness, but also a good time for some caretaking fluff.

    Fever:

    you die at 110F. no 'oh no his fever is 120F!! ahhh!“ no his fever is 0F because he’s fucking dead. you lose consciousness around 103, sometimes less if it’s a child. brain damage occurs at over 104.

    ACTUAL SYMPTOMS:

    sluggishness

    seizures (severe)

    inability to speak clearly

    feeling chilly/shivering

    nausea

    pain

    delirium

    symptoms increase as fever rises. slow build that secret sickness! feverish people can be irritable, maybe a bit of sass followed by some hurt/comfort. never hurt anybody.

    ALSO about fevers - they absolutely can cause hallucinations. Sometimes these alter memory and future memory processing. they're scary shit guys.

    fevers are a big deal! bad shit can happen! milk that till its dry (chill out) and get some good hurt/comfort whumpee shit.

    keep writing u sadistic nerds xox love you

    ALSO I FORGOT LEMME ADD ON:

    YOU DIE AT 85F

    sorry I forgot. at that point for a sustained period of time you're too cold to survive.

    pt 2

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  • she-who-fights-and-writes

  • Hey guys. Sorry I haven’t been as active lately. I’ve found that my engagement on tumblr has been pretty low, and that a lot of people don’t reblog anymore. A post I can spend hours on will get maybe 40 notes altogether, so I’ve lost a bit of motivation.

    I have been focusing more on my art account on Tiktok (maddyc_drawings) since engagement is pretty high on there. I definitely will try answering more asks to keep active, but I’m wondering if any other people have been noticing the same thing.

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