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I wrote short song lyrics to go at the head of each chapter of my fantasy novel, but decided to leave them out when I published on Kindle, thinking that they might look off-putting. I've since started putting them on my website, but I'm still undecided whether I should have included them in the novel. How do members feel about starting chapters with a verse, quote etc. before the main body of the text?
Comments
Not every chapter, but a good few, began with an image of torn bits of paper with handwritten messages. It worked really well, I thought, and is not something I've seen before.
Generally, though, if it's a passage, and especially if it's in much smaller font, I tend to only skim it as I'm eager to get on with the story!
I think the key is to be very critical and only include them if you're sure they add something. The fact you're not certain about putting them in suggests they aren't absolutely vital.