From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Mon Jul 31 2000 - 10:16:28 MDT
Adrian Tymes wrote:
>
> Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> > "Everitt Mickey" <evmick@pnv.net> wrote,
> > > Hopefully noone will despise me for it but.....I read all (i think) of
> > > Louis Lamour's works.
> > > I'm convinced he had early access to "advanced" technology.
> > > Many, many, many of his novels contain the SAME sentances.....
> > > I think he had an AI write his novels using a data base as a source......
> >
> > Actually, this is a pet peeve of mine. I swear that HALF the fiction books
> > I read suffer from this problem. They repeat a particular paragraph of
> > exposition, or have a minor character exchange repeated in different parts
> > of the book. I know it is just an editing problem, where cool bits of fluff
> > are accidentally inserted into the story multiple times.
>
> Having noticed this same problem in some of my own stories...
>
> You need a phrase to describe something. Having no memory of it, you
> come up with one that works. You use it. When the time comes to say it
> again, this time you remember it, so you use it again automatically; few
> if any of your readers and editors care enough to say something, if they
> even notice. Perhaps you notice, but when you try to describe it again,
> your language module spits out the answer it's already come up with.
>
> At least, that's how it is for me. Anyone know how to overcome that?
I've seen in SM Stirling's SF that while phrases are repeated occasionally, he
seems to keep it organized, such that any repeated phrases are done so by the
same characters, as if they are pet phrases of those characters. For example,
Commodore Alston-Kurlelo, in _Island in the Sea of Time_ and its sequel, has a
habit of saying,"needs must when the devil drives," when stuck between a rock
and a hard place.
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