: Re: Quote at the beginning of a chapter, is it advisable for fiction novels? I have read a few non-fiction works (mostly scientific) where there is a quote at the beginning of each new chapter.

@Nickens642

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I would disagree with most commenters here (save WhatRoughBeast and user57423), and say it depends entirely on your writing style. Common sense dictates that anything and everything you add should make sense and serve a purpose, so then the only argument left is, "to what degree should it make sense?"

So it becomes a question of style; do you want to cause your readers to ponder, to feel wonder or suspense or about the following paragraphs they are about to read, or are you just trying to add somebody else's cool prose to make yours look better? I would argue that all reasons are valid reasons, after all your novel should be a piece of art, or else why bother?

I really like the way Katherine Neville used quotes to kick off each wonderful chapter of great masterpiece, "The Eight." If your writing style can entertain one half as much as hers does, then you can't go wrong,

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