This week: Redundancy Edited by: Gaby  
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Some people are born for Halloween, and some are just counting the days until Christmas.
~ Stephen Graham Jones
If human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween.
~ Douglas Coupland
I love that in celebrating Halloween, we can get lost in the magic of make-believe and fantasy no matter what age we are!
~ Natalya Neidhart
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There aren't any good quotes for Friday the 13th that I could find - which is rather a shame but Halloween will do. Besides, I'm so accident prone that it doesn't even matter what date it is. I'm very capable of stubbing the same toe twice in the same day or walking into walls or doors without meaning to. I'm a bit of a walking Halloween joke without the bells and whistles. No fancy makeup necessary.
So, let's talk about Halloween. Let's talk about witches and ghosts, the monsters under the bed; old, dark, creaky houses with basements that give you shivers. All the things that go bump in the night. We can also discuss the subjects that we read about and get similar ideas that we feel are different. Same subject, stretched and pulled in different directions like a giant bubble gum stuck to your fingers as you try to pry them free.
Aren't some of the stories redundant?
How many stories are there about, let's say, witches? Ghost stories?
At what point do we stop?
First of all, I love those kinds of stories. I'd read anything related to witches as long as it's a decent read. It might be considered supernatural, but then again, isn't a large amount of horror entwined with it? Not all horror is blood, gore, and gruesome death. There's always more to it. Those same redundant subjects are like a cozy cocoon of comfort. You can snuggle right into its familiarity with ease, feeling at home.
If that's not the redundancy I'm talking about, than what is?
It's the refurbished version of what has already been written. The similarity of one story forged into the next. The main character might be similar but when a story follows another story's footprint, then it's redundant. It may not be plagiarism exactly since it's not word for word, but it borders on it because they ring similar.
How many times have you read a new book and your brain kept telling you that it sounds familiar? You've read it or something like it before. We tend to dismiss that, but that's exactly what it is. If writing isn't about originality and creativity, then I don't know what it is about. We draw our ideas from life, the every day. The things we see or even read. That doesn't mean that we have to use what we read in the same context in our writing. Use your own imagination and do what you're good at. It's the reason why reading someone else's work in order to come up with an idea of yours may not be such a great idea. Their words start mingling with yours because it's the last thing you've read so you draw from that and could possibly write something very similar.
To be honest, I haven't seen much of that on the site. The creativity of the Writing.com members amazes me. When you look at the contests we enter, especially the ones who have a specific prompt, no two stories are alike. Imagination flows from the writer's fingers onto the page and nothing is the same. So, is the problem with published writers that they ran out of ideas? They use a few different books and jumble up a mixture of them in one to make it seem like new? I'm not sure. Perhaps the well of creation dies out and they're stuck reusing what's been done before. I could ask those particular writers but I doubt I'd get an honest answer.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you come across a book or a story where you feel like you've read it before even though you know you haven't? Does actually stuff like this affect your personal writing? I'd love to know!
'til next time!
~ Gaby 
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Comments to my previous "Horror/Scary Newsletter (October 4, 2023)" :
Paul  wrote:
I agree with you, I don’t recognize my grandkids without a phone in front of their face.
I’m 81 and started my trip down Technology Road in 1960 when I attended the navy electronics school on Treasure Island in San Francisco. My introduction to computers was in 1962 with repairing vacuum tube technology and went through all of the semi conductor technologies and designed them until I retired 15 years ago. I think, I’ve forgotten exactly when I retired. I love the internet and refer to it as “Asking God” when I need a question answered. I do not believe in deities.
Now I have reached the point where I have to think about the process and which button to push next. Technology is running away with our society and making it more difficult for people to engage with it. I hate the remote controlled ceiling fan I have, I want switches on the wall for it and my lights too. I want a microwave you don’t need a degree to know how to use and a telephone my hands can use. I helped design the central office computers for switching and controlling digital technology for cell phones dislike.
I completely understand you. I may not be quite your age but I'm starting to question my knowledge when it comes to technology at times. You've been in the technology world quite a long time. Looks like it's getting to be too much for you now. 
W.P. Gerace  wrote:
Greetings Ms. Gaby,
I absolutely love your Horror Newsletter. I have to say I 1000 percent agree with Technology and the older generation. I work from home and several jobs including the one I have now more when I did customer service as I now I work in Quality Assurance but when I was on the phones I would feel bad for our older customers. I took calls for AARP from home and folks would have a hard getting around the website and did not know what a browser was. Luckily we had really great tools to show them around and I would do my best to help them. But I totally see what you are saying with the advancement of technology. I work at a well known Bank now that is mainly online and a lot of folks especially the older crowd still struggle with doing different things online. Additionally I read a really good book by Dean Koontz gosh I wish I could remember the name of it. But it's about this lady whose home is one of those Smart Homes. Basically her Alarm System is hacked by a virus that is run by AI. It takes over everything and keeps her imprisoned and even kills people. It was wild. Fabulous newsletter as always my friend. :)
Yours Truly,
Bill G.
Hey, Bill! Thanks for reading and commenting on my newsletter, hon. Always good to read your words.
What I can see is that more and more jobs are tech related and the older generation is less and less capable of keeping up with it. It's exactly what I was getting at. By the time I'm old and senile it'll be a whole different world out there.
You've also sparked my interest in that book. I have a few Dean Koontz books laying around my creepy basement but that one doesn't ring a bell. I might have to go hunt it down. It sounds interesting! Thank you for the recommendation.
oldgreywolf on wheels  emailed:
Twenty or thirty years? We should have ubiquitous computing (UC). If you're curious, look it up.
Only old people? What about those, of any age, who don't verify the validity of a website or the accuracy of the information on it? A handy way for conspiracy theories to become supermemes, and deliberate stupidity to persist.
AI could be interesting, but so much horror science fiction is being written about it. And also about nanotech. Two subjects that could be either complimentary or complementary, depending how they're applied.
You're right! And yes, AI could be interesting but like you said, with all the horror and Sci-Fi, it may not turn out well. I'll have to look up UC to see what's it about. Thank you!
Don't forget to check out "Note: View this Note" for more comments on the subject. Thank you everyone who took the time to read, add their two cents to it, and for making me laugh.  |
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Horror/Scary: October 18, 2023 Issue [#12220]
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