I have no idea where this should go, but my greatest fear is stepping on somebody's toes with this kinda stuff, so I figure it needs to go somewhere.
In Marisha Pessl's Night Film, one of the (fictional) films discussed is "At Night All The Birds Are Black." The phrase has stuck with me and I really want to use it in a different context - in my fictional cult, I want it to be like a "password." If I make it clear that they got it from somewhere else, is it still a rip-off? I really don't want to pass somebody else's work off as my own, though. The internet is not very clear on what qualifies as a homage and what is a rip-off. The fact that I feel uneasy about doing it maybe tells me something, though...
In Marisha Pessl's Night Film, one of the (fictional) films discussed is "At Night All The Birds Are Black." The phrase has stuck with me and I really want to use it in a different context - in my fictional cult, I want it to be like a "password." If I make it clear that they got it from somewhere else, is it still a rip-off? I really don't want to pass somebody else's work off as my own, though. The internet is not very clear on what qualifies as a homage and what is a rip-off. The fact that I feel uneasy about doing it maybe tells me something, though...
