Philipp Tiefenbacher

[A.E. begins]

There are many stories of the conflict between Chou King and the Maiden, which is the conflict between fate and chance.

We imagine ourselves as creatures of destiny. We listen to stories and forget that the listening also tells the story. The story we hear is ourselves. We are the only ones who can hear it.

Without our listening, all the stories are the same story. They all tell us that nothing is meant to be.

That nothing is meant.

That nothing is.

They tell us nothing. We dream our little dreams, dream that we are dreamers -

Chin dipped his brush in the ink again.

- while all about us the great dream goes on. Sometimes, one of the great dreamers passes among us. She is like a sleepwalker, passing through without purpose, without malice or mercy. Beautiful and terrible things happen around her. We discern symmetries, repetitions, and think we are seeing the pattern of our lives. But the pattern is in the seeing, not in the dream.

We dare not waken the dreamer. We, ourselves, are only her dreams.

Karen Joy Fowler / Sarah Canary

[PhilippTiefenbacher - hereafter P.- began hesitantly] [What?]

Well what can I say?

So how does this work exactly?

[an anonymous god disdainfully added]: It has often puzzled me why some people who visit wiki seem to have no power of expression. Say anything you wish. Do you seriously think anyone else is reading this?

Apparently correct, though. Copying others' stories doesn't count. ?-)

A.E., wondering: stories are less owned than the tellers are, maybe. another day, when i'm not trying to figure out how to be less awkward in a new medium, i will offer another story for a counting.

and I, Anyone Else, previously A.E., replied - stung]: of course 'Anyone Else' is reading this. 'Anyone Else' is trying to see how it's worthy investing mental energy in mastering this.

Wow. it does things. now I read the GodStyle? I mean GoodStyle tips...

but these are about etiquette and civil behaviour and I was hoping for aesthetic advice. foolishly. okay.

[lifting directly from GoodStyle] Write factual information. Give concrete advice. Use the second or third person when possible as the first person is not easily reduced to facts or advice. Place words where they are easy to read, which isn't always at the bottom. Edit pages to emphasize the flow of ideas, not the chronology of contribution

so I added what A.E. first contributed at the top

[maybe I'll come back and clean this up for clarity later... ]