Hello everyone! Looking for some constructive feedback on my PitmanScript attempt. Below is the text and some general questions about my attempt (though I welcome corrections/feedback beyond the points I mentioned). I am still quite new to this shorthand and like its potential for journaling. Thanks in advance for your guidance!

I dreamt that a group of us including my mom and my aunt were hiking along a flat trail not too far from civilization when we came upon a creek. I said, "Whoa guys, look at the dragon," and approached the water. The word "dragon" was meant to be playful but the creature really was something out of myths. It was like a great eel, the size of an alligator, with a somewhat wicked, intelligent face. To my alarm, the creature slid out of the water and nipped at my shoulder. It was not trying to hurt me, it was clearly a territorial display like the shake of a rattlesnake's tail, but its unexpected amphibiousness frightened me: I had expected the beast to stay in the water.

Questions
I know "the" is a vertical line at the end of a word, but what about the beginning of the sentence (see the sentence starting "the word 'dragon'..."). Did I do that right? Is it just indistinguishable from "that" in that case?

How am I doing with s placements? I feel like sometimes if one is not careful it is hard to distinguish from an "o."

How did I do with the word "territorial?" That is a funky looking word but it's probably due to my technique.

Is there some trick about repeating letters? I feel like I've seen the word "mom" in other PitmanScript entries with an m and a dash above it -- is that what we're supposed to do for repeating letters or does a disconnected horizonal dash above a word mean something else? I just spelled out "mom" here because I do not know the rule.

PitmanScript practice -- a dream of a monstrous eel