Thanks… for the passive-aggressive praise? I suppose a 4/5 is generous, considering you suspect the story might be AI. Though calling something “clumsy” and “suspicious,” then following it up with “I’m subscribed and eagerly reading every update!” feels a bit like calling a meal undercooked and then going back for seconds. (That was a simile, with metaphorical framing and a pinch of analogy. Just in case you’re still tallying rhetorical devices.)

I have no intention of “getting on your case.” I promise you, it’s not that interesting. I’m not here for stars or scores. I’m here for honest feedback on where I can improve, and to share something I care about. If it resonates with people, I’m grateful. If it doesn’t, that’s all right too.

That said, allow me a few small corrections to your recent post:

Punctuation and Other Dark Arts: Who knew Voldemort was hiding in my hyphens? Apparently we don’t use dashes in writing anymore? I’ll admit, I only knew them as “the long ones” and “the short ones” until I saw your comment. Out of curiosity, I looked it up.

Here’s the twist: MS Word doesn’t insert em dashes automatically. What you’re seeing are en dashes, the kind Word creates when you type a hyphen, hit space, then write another word, and hit space again. It’s formatting, and Microsoft being Microsoft. Not AI sorcery.

So if you’re going to nitpick punctuation… maybe pick the right dash?

The Author’s Note in Chapter 22 – “hilariously unhinged": Honestly? Totally fair. It was long. Dramatic. Veering into melodrama. But it wasn’t a defence. It was transparency. If someone’s about to commit hours to a story, they deserve to know that certain pockets of the internet believe it’s AI. That wasn’t a rant. It was a courtesy.

And as for the claim that I compared my writing to the Declaration of Independence…
You might want to reread that part. Slowly this time.

I wasn’t drawing parallels. Not in tone, not in purpose, not in historical significance (used a tricolon, by the way. Couldn’t resist).

I was explaining how tricolons work. That line from the Declaration is simply the best-known example. If that somehow turned into “he thinks he’s Thomas Jefferson,” then maybe someone skimmed a little too fast… or just arrived with their verdict already packed and ready to deliver.

For those curious, the Author’s Note is here, at the beginning of this chapter:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/69305201/chapters/182860951
Feel free to read and decide for yourself whether any comparisons were made.


So yes. I use tricolons, strong rhythm, and occasionally absurd metaphors. You can call it “AI vibes” if you want. But if cadence and craft are your only diagnostics… maybe the issue isn’t the writing.
Anyway, glad you’re still reading.


Edit: Just discovered a neat trick. Probably old news to many of you, but I’m overjoyed nonetheless.
Alt + 0151 gives you an em dash, and Alt + 0150 gives you an en dash. So if you’re using Ctrl + F to search for them, now you know exactly which is which.

It saves me a ton of time. No more waiting for Word to magically stretch my hyphen into something longer. I can finally summon the right dash straight from the keyboard like a proper wizard.
Thanks for pointing me towards this tiny but oddly satisfying bit of research.