Gower, The Triple Agent

Member Since

3/31/2019

Last Activity

11/20/2024 2:29 PM

EXP Points

4,384

Post Count

1186

Storygame Count

4

Duel Stats

0 wins / 0 losses

Order

Notorious Marauder Exemplar

Commendations

536

"He was slightly less unfun."

 

 

 

"Somehow there was comfort in coffee despite his misery; the only comfort in a black world." -- Hornblower in the West Indies

 

Trophies Earned

Earning 100 Points Earning 500 Points Earning 1,000 Points Earning 2,000 Points Powerful Professor with an A plus grade on many aspects of this site. Be it writing, helping others, or a positive attitude while doing those things. Having 3 Storygame(s) Featured Rated 87.0% of all Stories Given by BerkaZerka on 12/14/2019 - For an inspiring display of creativity ^v^ Given by EndMaster on 01/07/2020 - You may be fooling the rest, but I know you’re up to no good. Given by Killa_Robot on 02/24/2021 - For having all the best words. Also great contributions to the site. Given by MadHattersDaughter on 03/29/2021 - Your stories are some of my favorites on the site. I’m still not convinced you are not my writing doppelganger. . . Given by mizal on 10/11/2019 - For your exceptional games and articles, many forum contributions, and disturbing sweetness and light. (Sorry about McAllen, it wasn’t our idea either.) Given by ninjapitka on 10/22/2022 - Overdue tuition payment Given by Will11 on 10/12/2019 - For your excellent stories and many worthwhile contributions to the site :)

Storygames

Featured Story Kelly Unicornstrider and Friends (1982-1985) Super Quiz

A comprehensive quiz + bonus fan faction about the the underrated cult classic show "Kelly Unicornstrider and Friends" (1982-1985). Questions range from really easy to really difficult.


Featured Story Private Game for Natalie

I think putting this on "publish" makes it so only we can see this. It's just for us, sweetie. I made it to celebrate our anniversary and remember some special intimate moments together over the years in an interesting way as a present for you.

I hope you love it, Natalie, as much as I love you!

(Of course if there's any admin looking at this, or if I messed up, don't read this, because it's got private things in it.)


Featured Story Sabbatical Report Presentation

This is my required report to the full faculty in accordance with the rules noted in the Faculty Handbook (version 15.1, as of October 2017)


Sixteen Words

"Personally I can only read 16 words in one go before words stop working," wrote Mizal.

 

This game has sixteen words per path.  Not counting "The End."  So you can play quickly.

 

When reviewing, please use precisely sixteen words.   That should be plenty for your suggestions and observations.

 

Note this challenge connected with this game:  Write the Last Page!


Articles Written

Basic Sentence Structure: Additive Sentences
Comma Use and Additive Sentences with lots of examples

Commendations, Orders, and Titles
An introduction to commendations, orders, and titles, and an explanation of how commendations differ from points.

Cumulative Sentences, Part 1
An introduction to the sophisticated and elegant cumulative sentence style.

Cumulative Sentences, Part 2
Master the elusive and attractive cumulative sentence by using panning and zooming style of description.

Dialogue Punctuation
This is a brief discussion of how to punctuate dialogue in US and UK English. It also notes a few rules for quotation mark use in general.

How To Use Thou, Thee, Thy, and Thine in a Story
Pronouns!

Relative Sentences
A lecture on how to write relative sentences using restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.

Semicolons and Advanced Additive Sentences
This article explains how to use semicolons to create new types of additive sentences. It includes the plain semicolon and semicolons with transition words.

Trophies
All about Trophies.

Understanding Style: The Sweet Style
An introduction to style, focusing on "sweet" style. How to recognize it, when to use it, and when to avoid it.

Recent Posts

Sentence Structure Workshop on 11/16/2024 7:37:06 AM

"Alpine" is an adjective.  I assume you mean "the Alps."


Sentence Structure Workshop on 11/16/2024 7:31:46 AM

I have a totally irrational but correct hatred of "help but."  I always think that instead of "I could not help but peek," it's better to say "I could help peeking."

Here's my style comment.  This passage has a weird blend of cutesy and profound, and I don't think that's what you're going for.  You are talking about the sun and art and have phrases like "rain-wetted asphalt" (I think rain-wet or maybe rain-slick would be better, btw) and the "last few rays of light."  But at the same time you have "peek" and "scoot" and "putting up" mystique (which is a funny-slangy way to say it).  Just pointing this out.  Not saying it's a bad thing.  Not sure if it's intended.


Sentence Structure Workshop on 11/15/2024 6:48:51 PM

Try a cumulative:

I lock the bathroom door, hands trembling as I grip the sink.

I'd rather see this paragraph visually than as self-talk.  I wish she could look at him sleeping sprawled out on the worn recliner, look at the controller in his hand.  His unshavenness.  The way he reeks of Funyuns® .  The cold bed.  The stains on his shirt.  The old photograph of the two of them together, in happier days.  I feel like that would have more power and be less formulaic--right now, you have little formulaic bits like "not the same man I fell in love with" that feel too cliche to have the impact you want.

 

 


How many languages can you speak? on 11/15/2024 5:48:57 PM

I've got pretty decent Latin, and I know enough Old English to be dangerous to myself, but it's been a while.  I had to pass language exams in German and French way back in my first year of grad school, but it's been even a longer while.  But that's all reading.  I find there aren't too many opportunities to speak Sindarian in my circles.  Maybe I need different friends.


Sentence workshop interest check on 11/14/2024 7:05:41 PM

This is a thread I can get behind.


Poll: Vault CYS on 10/30/2024 7:38:05 PM

I like to think that my inclusion in a vault would be greatly grumbled about until the day comes that some wall, carved with Anglo-Saxon runes and Latin whatnot, is discovered, and (hear me out) it says something crucial to the recovery of civilization and culture.  I'm struggling to think what it might be.  I assume some sort of incantation or formula.


The Comma, Debate on 10/17/2024 1:40:34 PM

We needn't argue what sounds good to us, but most of those are perfectly ordinary cumulatives.

We were rounding the southern coast of Africa, and while we were due to stop in the port of Durban in a few days for some much needed supplies, I found myself praying more than a few times for something to break the utter blandness of hardtack and beer, the monotony of looking out at the horizon and seeing the same thing day after day.

That structure is perfectly natural and so ordinary in good literature as to be completely unworthy of notice.  In fact, your own sentence, "However, I feel like there are actually farrrrr too many commas, with almost every sentence including at least one" is pretty much a flavor of cumulative sentence structure.  Doesn't it sound nice to say "...too many commas, with almost every sentence including at least one"?

 

As opposed to

"there are actually farrrrr too many commas; almost every sentence includes at least one"

or

"there are actually farrrrr too many commas, and almost every sentence includes at least one"

or

"there are actually farrrrr too many commas.  Almost every sentence includes at least one."

 

Once you get the cumulative sentence structure under your skin, you'll see it everywhere, its insidious sound getting right under your skin.


The Comma, Debate on 10/17/2024 1:11:38 PM

There *are* a lot of commas, and most of them are employed quite skillfully, employing cumulative connections and generally mixing up sentence structures nicely to create an interesting prose rhythm.


CoG Sucks Genderlocked AIDS Dick on 10/16/2024 3:07:35 PM

I'm *fairly* sure the new posts thing has been around for a super long time.  But, yeah, hey-ho.


CoG Sucks Genderlocked AIDS Dick on 10/16/2024 2:39:58 PM

No, it is not true that every post has to be approved by moderation.  Just new users, as always.  No change has been made at all to moderation recently.  New threads in certain categories do have to be approved; I forget which, but just a few categories.

 

It's also not true that games have to have all genders and orientations.