I love quotes. I have folders on my laptop filled with quotes. I have section inside those folders with quotes. And folders inside those sections with quotes. And quotes that go with quotes. I have them sorted by author. I have them sorted by theme. I have them sorted by whether I think the person actually said them or not. Socrates is an interesting one.
What are your thoughts on quotes placed inside pieces of writing? I love them. They help me think.
And I believe that people I don’t think are intellectual or honest or deep have the capacity to say SOMETHING that makes me think and that’s worthwhile. So there’s value for ME.
Quotes are great so long as we always give credit where credit is due. I think they give sort of a historical foundation for writing certain think pieces, which lends to further credibility and integrity of thought and intent.
Quotes are fantastic, but I’ve observed that sometimes they can be overused especially those that are very mainstream. It also seems to be a sort of template that authors quickly resort to. It can work for some audiences, but not all.
Great question! Overuse for me would be for you to believe that you can’t create a piece without a quote. Sometimes a quote gets to the point of what you’re trying to say so the reader easily gets what your point will be, but what if you led the reader there in your own words and in your tone and style of writing?
Quotes are great so long as we always give credit where credit is due. I think they give sort of a historical foundation for writing certain think pieces, which lends to further credibility and integrity of thought and intent.
Quotes are fantastic, but I’ve observed that sometimes they can be overused especially those that are very mainstream. It also seems to be a sort of template that authors quickly resort to. It can work for some audiences, but not all.
One thing I like to do is start a piece off with a quote.
It helps set the tone and give an indication of the nature of the piece itself.
Would that be considered overuse for you? I'm always interested in how those details are perceived.
Great question! Overuse for me would be for you to believe that you can’t create a piece without a quote. Sometimes a quote gets to the point of what you’re trying to say so the reader easily gets what your point will be, but what if you led the reader there in your own words and in your tone and style of writing?
Okay, an attempt!
https://dadexplains.substack.com/p/recycled-wordplay
That sounds like an exercise! A challenge!
I don't think I have done that recently myself.
I write many pieces without quotes, but they cross my mind and I will put them in while editing because they feel like they belong.
So my next piece will not have a quote in it and we'll see if I can write something worthwhile without one!
I am excited. This hadn't occurred to me.