Why do LitRPG authors adore the passive voice so much? In passive constructions, the subject doesn't do things. Things are done to the subject. Passive voice robs characters of their agency.
- "George was slashed by the razor-sharp claws."
- "The monster's tail was dodged by Alice."
The first couple of examples occur VERY OFTEN in the books that I read compulsively. I composed this whole screed after reading "As its turn had ripped away Dave's sword..." just now. Sometimes I have to stop reading because I get so angry, and sometimes I completely abandon authors who abuse it. Passive voice is not "fancy." It doesn't make your writing more stylish. It's a crutch that authors use because they've seen other people use it, and they think it makes the writing sound more polished. They are wrong. So frustrating. In the first example, shouldn't we focus on George and let him become the real subject of his sentence? "George suffered grievous wounds from the razor-sharp claws." Or let the monster become the actor: "The monster ripped knifelike claws through George's unprotected belly." In the second bullet, the example is even worse. How about "Alice dodged the monster's tail." Nice and simple. Simple isn't bad. It's necessary for clarity. I can't tell in the original example whether I should be focusing on the monster or Alice.
- "Alexander's new murkling stew recipe was enjoyed by all."
Passive voice isn't evil in and of itself. The third bullet shows a potentially valid stylistic choice. While the first two were awful because they erase the characters' (and monsters'!) agency, the third option is still awkward, but the shift to the objects emphasizes their enjoyment rather than Alexander's cooking.
- "The kingdom was built nearly a thousand years ago."
- "The troll village was being attacked!"
In fact, passive voice can be useful. The fourth and fifth examples allow it to shine. Passive voice is best when it is used to erase agency. Who built the kingdom? We don't know. The author has hidden the answer from us. On purpose. Who was attacking the troll village? It's a mystery, but I bet the poor trolls are about to find out! Passive voice should be carefully deployed. Perhaps a scientist wants to write a lab report that erases her own presence: "The solution was heated to 400 degrees." She is implying that EVERYONE would get the same result with the same process. Perhaps a politician is weaseling out of admitting respon
... keep reading on reddit ➡I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.
Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.
I guess the concept didn't work
I'll be posting one update a day until HFY is caught up! In case you missed the previous topics:
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On the next day, the Fiends returned with their decision, and – rather unsurprisingly – acquiesced to Rob’s demands. In exchange for full disclosure of the purpose for their journey southward, and for the exact mechanics of how their Blight barrier functioned, and for their best physicians to make an earnest attempt at restoring his Soul-Burnt arm, Rob would divulge the secrets of Crystal Bearer and explain his theory on how to cure Corruption. Their next meeting was scheduled to take place in the early afternoon; Rob and some Elves were already hard at work setting up a rendezvous point that would act as sufficiently neutral ground.
For Meyneth, this represented a small window of opportunity within which to act. Keira, as per usual, would be joining the meeting as a member of Rob’s guard detail. That left Meyneth the span of a single morning to corner their wayward Warrior and have a long-overdue discussion regarding matters of the heart. Perhaps the timing was ill-advised, what with Keira taking part in a critical gathering mere hours after their dialogue would finish, but if Meyneth put off this confrontation every time there was a stressful event in the imminent future, then they would never have it at all. More to the point, Meyneth was by now rightly convinced that Keira might never solve this matter on her own. The world would hardly sit and wait for her to work up her courage. Too much longer and she may miss her chance altogether.
Meyneth would be the first to admit that she was not a typical Dragonkin, but she was still a Dragonkin. Frontal assaults held a perpetual and undeniable allure. The core difference between her and many of her brethren was that she recognized the wisdom in constructing a plan before charging forth into uncharted territory.
Step 1: ‘Enlist Help’ was vital, and without it, Meyneth’s endeavor would have been stillborn in its conception. The backbone of any plan was to recognize what you could and could not accomplish on your own. Meyneth’s contribution to this endeavor would be her general forthrightness and her friendship with Keira and Rob. She was willing, able,
... keep reading on reddit ➡Fjell awoke to the sound of explosions.
This was nothing new in Deep-Caves-of-Shining-Crystal, the small IceWing village that nestled at the base of the western mountains. The village was known for its exquisite crystal statuary, which required crystal to be mined from the aforementioned Deep Caves. This occasionally required the use of a small explosive charge to be set off, to dislodge a particularly stubborn bit of diamond. They were usually small, controlled explosions that couldn't be heard for more than half a mile. Fjell was well within half a mile, and the sound blasted her awake and left her eardrums ringing. She blinked twice; the world seemed weirdly blurry, and she couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her nose. She saw a vague orange glow coming from the horizon, to the west of the little gully she had fallen asleep in. She was supposed to have been home hours ago; her parents must be worried sick.
Fjell shook herself, rubbing at her eyes to clear the blurriness away. She unsteadily unfurled her wings and launched into the frigid air, angling towards the village to the west. She expected to see the little cluster of houses and shops, built from solid bricks of snow, the windows unlit, the IceWings who lived there fast asleep. Instead, she saw that the house of Nunavut, the village's unofficial leader, had been reduced to a smoldering pile of blackened and shattered snow bricks. Nunavut herself was nowhere near the blast site. Fjell looked around frantically at the rest of the village, just in time to see another house explode in a blast of purple fire. The shock slammed into her and sent her tumbling through the air, desperately trying to right herself. She landed in the wreckage of Nunavut's house and dove behind a ruined section of wall just as another ball of purple fire shot down from the dark sky and obliterated the repository of crystal that the IceWings mined and shaped into little statues to sell. She looked up in time to see a dark shape rocket overhead, stirring up a whirlwind of snow as it skimmed above the ground. It landed in the center of the village's main street, and Fjell saw it more clearly.
The creature had a rounded, arrow-shaped head, with a frill of short growths around it, like the ears of the arctic hares Fjell sometimes hunted. Its body was long and lean, with four short but powerfully muscled legs ending in padded feet with deadly-looking claws. Its wings were folded at its sides, but Fjell had seen them
... keep reading on reddit ➡Alot of great jokes get posted here! However just because you have a joke, doesn't mean it's a dad joke.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT NSFW, THIS IS ABOUT LONG JOKES, BLONDE JOKES, SEXUAL JOKES, KNOCK KNOCK JOKES, POLITICAL JOKES, ETC BEING POSTED IN A DAD JOKE SUB
Try telling these sexual jokes that get posted here, to your kid and see how your spouse likes it.. if that goes well, Try telling one of your friends kid about your sex life being like Coca cola, first it was normal, than light and now zero , and see if the parents are OK with you telling their kid the "dad joke"
I'm not even referencing the NSFW, I'm saying Dad jokes are corny, and sometimes painful, not sexual
So check out r/jokes for all types of jokes
r/unclejokes for dirty jokes
r/3amjokes for real weird and alot of OC
r/cleandadjokes If your really sick of seeing not dad jokes in r/dadjokes
Punchline !
Edit: this is not a post about NSFW , This is about jokes, knock knock jokes, blonde jokes, political jokes etc being posted in a dad joke sub
Edit 2: don't touch the thermostat
Do your worst!
How the hell am I suppose to know when it’s raining in Sweden?
Ants don’t even have the concept fathers, let alone a good dad joke. Keep r/ants out of my r/dadjokes.
But no, seriously. I understand rule 7 is great to have intelligent discussion, but sometimes it feels like 1 in 10 posts here is someone getting upset about the jokes on this sub. Let the mods deal with it, they regulate the sub.
They were cooked in Greece.
I'm surprised it hasn't decade.
He lost May
Don't you know a good pun is its own reword?
Two muffins are in an oven, one muffin looks at the other and says "is it just me, or is it hot in here?"
Then the other muffin says "AHH, TALKING MUFFIN!!!"
For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.
I said "hey look, an escaPEA"
No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!
Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies 😂
It really does, I swear!
And now I’m cannelloni
Because she wanted to see the task manager.
But that’s comparing apples to oranges
And boy are my arms legs.
Put it on my bill
Heard they've been doing some shady business.
but then I remembered it was ground this morning.
Edit: Thank you guys for the awards, they're much nicer than the cardboard sleeve I've been using and reassures me that my jokes aren't stale
Edit 2: I have already been made aware that Men In Black 3 has told a version of this joke before. If the joke is not new to you, please enjoy any of the single origin puns in the comments
They’re on standbi
A play on words.
Calcium, nickel, neon
My daughter, Chewbecca, not so much.
Pilot on me!!
Nothing, he was gladiator.
The bartender says, "Sorry, no minors”
Dad jokes are supposed to be jokes you can tell a kid and they will understand it and find it funny.
This sub is mostly just NSFW puns now.
If it needs a NSFW tag it's not a dad joke. There should just be a NSFW puns subreddit for that.
Edit* I'm not replying any longer and turning off notifications but to all those that say "no one cares", there sure are a lot of you arguing about it. Maybe I'm wrong but you people don't need to be rude about it. If you really don't care, don't comment.
Now that I listen to albums, I hardly ever leave the house.
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