: In general, I'd say that clear references to another work of fiction are a bad idea. It makes it sound like you're writing fan fiction rather than an original work. You can refer to particularly

@Annie587

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In general, I'd say that clear references to another work of fiction are a bad idea. It makes it sound like you're writing fan fiction rather than an original work.

You can refer to particularly well-known works of fiction AS FICTION. Like if in your mystery novel the detective says, "Hey, I'm no Sherlock Holmes", well, that's the sort of literary reference that a real person might make. But if in your story of 21st century soldiers fighting terrorists you say that the terrorists attacked Narnia, that's just going to be very disconcerting to the reader.

Even if you keep such references within the genre, like if in your fantasy novel you mention a character having come from Narnia, it's likely to be distracting. As a reader, I'd immediately be thinking, "Wait, is this story supposed to be tied to the Narnia stories?" And frankly, I always start out with a bad opinion of someone who tries to piggyback on another writer's success. Just because JK Rowling wrote some very good books about magic at a place called Hogwarts doesn't mean that setting your book at a place called Hogwarts will make it any good.

As with almost any rule of writing, you can break the rules if you do it well. But you should really avoid gimmicks. If you're thinking, "I'll use this other writer's place name because then readers will remember that other book and I can get all the associations that go with the place for free" ... no, you won't. You're just being lazy and I think most readers will know it and look down on you for it.

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