So why doesn't fiction use footnotes?

[beccaelizabeth]

So people get worried about plagiarism in fiction, like if they want to use a line from a poem or something.
In essays we use the line and then [say so, 2008]. Or put a little number in superscript but I can't remember how to do that in html.
So why not do the same in fiction? I've read a fan author who did, but I think only the one. I liked it, they had research in the footnotes and interesting facts. I could read porn and learn stuff at the same time. You know, aside from anatomy.

There's other stuff, like when I apparently used a line from Star Wars without noticing. It was noted by someone as an anachronism because the fic was set before the film came out. But since in my lifetime there has always been the film it's just loaded in my brain as how language works, so that phrase popped out. And is that stealing or quoting? Or just how words get meaning in the first place, being used?

But that stuff, on account of not noticing, I can do little about.
If it's actual quotes, there could be [notes].

A reason not to could be like when I was reusing Buffy quoteage in a new context to highlight how creepy it could sound. Picking out that it was a quote would make the point but also make it kind of loud. Yet not pointing it out could look like I'm trying to count the quote as my own brilliant characterisation. Since it was Buffy fic I was assuming everyone had the source text as memorised as I do, but still, might not be noticed.

Another place to put 'I used these words' would be acknowledgements, yesno? A page at the end or start for it? Or make your own bibliography and let people draw their own conclusions?

I'm just vaguely wondering it anybody actually does any of that.

Comments

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

I did at least two HL "fics" (iirc it was drabbles) that quoted Good Omens openly. I said so, I don't remember if in the header or a note.

I did a SV one (not proud of) that uses Joss quote, and credited.

I did many Buffy ones based on lines from canon but, you know, that's... there.

Probably more examples but I always credit somewhere.

[beccaelizabeth]

*nods*

also people quote from songs and say so. and put in the disclaimer bits all the fandoms they're using bits from. I remembering more as I actually think about it.

Plus people credit if they get ideas from other people, specially fans or challenges.

I guess it's just [numbered footnotes with links] type thing I don't see so often.

[anne_d]

Footnotes distract me from the narrative. As a reader, I'd prefer an acknowledgement at the beginning or end of the story (or section of story). If you're worried about people calling plagarism, put the note at the beginning. In big red letters, so they can't miss it.

There was some mystery author who used Jane Austen as the protagonist (*big eyeroll*) - footnotes practically every page, some of them taking up half the page, just to show off his/her (can't remember) mad research skillz. I read half of one of the novels and gave up in disgust.

The Discworld novels have footnotes, but since they're usually as funny as the ongoing story, that's okay. It's part of their charm.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

[via friendsfriends]

I wrestled with this for my Yuletide story, and eventually settled on putting the attributions at the bottom, sans footnotes. You can see it here: An Ideal Marriage (http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/archive/48/anideal.html). It's fic for The Importance of Being Earnest, and I used a lot of bon mots from Wilde's other works, and from those of his contemporaries.