Hypercompendia

Stacey Mason at Eastgate (Tinderbox and Storyspace) has an interesting concept up over at HLit: what about reading hypertext aloud.

Inspired perhaps by Finnegan Flawnt’s extraordinary reading voice rather than my own little ditty he’s reading, she weighs the possibilities and decides “The thought of a work and a user interacting back and forth through sound to create a narrative is worth exploring.”

I like her inquisitive nature and the willingness to project ideas way beyond their intent. And, this is a damn good idea too. What came instantly to my mind is the robot helpers you get on the phone that can understand your responses to direct you step by step to a resolution (or a real person who can intercept and help). I could well envision a voice-activated reading of a hypertext, whether the reader says a linking word aloud and thus moves the narrative forward, or how’s this, totally phone conversationally driven where an obvious link (perhaps obvious by tone or inflection) is offered to the listener who then repeats a word or phrase to direct the story to their own choice.

This sounds like an interesting project, audio controlled hypertext. I’m sure touch-text is already in the making with the touch-screens, and visual images will play a big part in that endeavor. But Stacey’s come up with a pattern of thought here that I hope she pursues.

Thought I’d point to an interview I recently did over at Fictionaut about hypertext and new media in general. I had formed a Hypertext Group within this online writers colony and am thrilled to encourage interest and find a receptive and curious audience there.

At Facebook there is some commentary between myself and Finnegan Flawnt, who just recently started playing with the Tinderbox program, that entertains the question of new media being metafictional by nature. It is worth thinking about, if perhaps even the simplest hypertext is in fact calling attention to the act of writing by its visual invitation to interact with the text.

We’ve gotten used to seeing text as thoughts and read them not as signs and symbolic marks upon a background (think of looking at a page of Chinese writing when you can’t read the language), but see the idea presented in the pattern formed by the letters. Possibly seeing beyond the words and sentences to the images they represent. Hypertext includes links within text of a different and obvious color that is saying something about the text itself and the process of reading it, rather than merely being a part of the story. It’s talking directly to the reader. It’s an interesting way of looking at new media, particularly when it includes audio and visual effects that further call attention to the experience. Is it screaming, louder than the story it presents, “Look at me, I’m a story!”?

I’d posted this at fictionaut, but wanted to repost it here as Hypercompendia’s been sort of a journal of a learning process.

“In just recently having had two hypertext works accepted for publication, I find there is a bit more to the submission process of hyperfiction just as there is to the writing of it.

Word length is an important consideration in all story submissions, and in hypertext, the length of the story read may not necessarily include all the separate sections involved. For example, in one of my pieces, the story can be complete in as little as five pages, or as many as twelve. The word count can be figured out, and the longest form can be the goal to remain within restrictions.

Another factor is styling; some publications that take only new media may require the addition of colored background pages as well as images, film clips, or sound. Others may be set up for, or merely prefer, a simpler more basic text format.

All this, of course, is a simple matter of changing the css and html template so that a story can be tailored to an online magazine’s specific needs.”

I’d add a few additional thoughts here. One, in sending a file to a literary e-zine, while I can get away much easier (and it’s easier reading for them as well) to direct them to my site as a submission link, once something in hypertext has been accepted, it needs to be recoded so that the links all point to the publication’s server. Tinderbox makes this extraordinarily easy by simply coding the html template in Tinderbox for the document and exporting to a file on my own drive from there. And then, I can easily send the whole file out to the wonderful editor who accepted the piece for publication. This takes a lot of the reluctance out of the editorial process and I make sure to include the offer upfront “should a piece be accepted.”

While I’ve sort of been accused of using an old fashioned form of hypertext narrative–and this may be true since I’m a bit behind the times learning on my own–I’m still very much aware of the fact that folks need to be eased into the concept of hypertext story.

In the 100 pieces I’ve done for the 100 Days Project, I can see my work becoming gradually more complex not just in the number of lexias but in the linking of those pieces. There are just so many ways of using hypertext that I’ve not learned all the methods and reasons yet behind it. For another, finding that most folks didn’t bother reading it (the usual reasons, ad nauseum) influenced a rather simplistic approach, trying to cover all the different purposes by focusing in on one at a time.

As way of explanation, one of the purposes/reasons for hypertext could be the deliverance of background information that can certainly enhance but is not vital to the flow of story. Another is to change the meaning of the story entirely by allowing a switching of paths or focus, perhaps to even come up with a different ending to a story. Another may be to emphasize one character over another in point of view. Maude Nichols is one of the few hypertexts I’ve written that really gives a reader a choice–at least a choice that is based on some form of informed possibilities because it includes a multiple choice at the end of each writing space as to proposed direction of story. This seems to be a good way of allaying the fears of the uninitiated hypertext reader about losing control of the story.

One of the things I need to do with my own hypertext work is to increase the level of visual impact, and that’s going to be a case of learning more about css and html and the various methods of display. I’d also like to get into the audio as well as video clips involved in most of the newer presentations while still keeping in mind that there’s an audience of the unaware and just plain resistant to welcome into the discovery.

Steve Ersinghaus has taken on quite a project with a universe in that he will be continually adding to this hypertext story/poem as he is inspired to take it into new directions.

His latest, rakes, introduces two types of characters that are constantly driven by the stirrings of perhaps jealousy and the “greener-grass” syndrome that too many of us allow to take over our efforts. There is Steve’s usual eloquence and play with language:

“The land is orange on the upswing of the sun and grows paler as the day wears on. Ear to the ground, you might hear moles moving through the earth, and when the sun finally sets and you look up and find the newly fathomable stars and planets, you might think of Henry’s mother who wonders at the upper quadrant of the picture window if her dreams are true.”

This is one to bookmark and folow; Steve posts at twitter with announcements of new additions though of course, it doesn’t really matter where you enter a hypertext piece sometimes.

The publishing of my latest hypertext, Blueberries in the Fall 2009 issue of the highly respected New River Journal.

New hypertext poetry, “The Purpling” by Nick Montfort.

Finnegan, you just made me realize something very strange…

When Steve Ersinghaus and John Timmons started the New Media Course at Tunxis CC, I was in the first semester of it. What they used as an introduction to hyperfiction was indeed Harold; Harold and the Purple Crayon, the little boy who draws his own world and his adventures armed with a crayon!

Happy Birthday

Eastgate Systems!

May you all just keep on keepin’ on!

As ya’ll know, I’m a stark-raving maniac when it comes to my love of hypertext fiction and that, teamed with my overbearing, hard-headed, determined to make people see it-nature, made for a rather unhappy and tormented artistic soul at best since I can’t always have my own way.

Persistence is key; persistence and insistence can swiftly become unbearable to those upon whom it is focused. Even with my own experience of hypertext (and IF I might add) being one of cursing and slamming fists onto keyboards (I’m small but highly volatile) I still sought an avenue that was gold-paved and happy-treelined and as invitational and welcoming as possible.

And then came Maude. Maude Nichols was the fun, learning experience of hypertext. It is not put-offish, it’s a humorous easy read, it directly relates to the reader, and it looks like it’s brought in some writers interested in the medium now that it doesn’t seem so scary.

I belong to an online writers community called Fictionaut and the writing quality there, I must say, is phenomenal overall (I’m in awe and feel like I’m reading the best of the best contemporary short story writers and poets around). I’m easily intimidated but what the hell, I threw in a couple flash fiction pieces I wrote specifically for posting and then a hypertext piece. The piece was The Perfect Woman (also, like Maude, one of the 100 hypertexts from last summer’s project) and got a bit of interest. A few weeks later, I put up Maude. Maude now has twelve “favs” to it and more importantly, the comments indicate that these seasoned writers like the medium; had fun with it; some even impressed enough to try their own hand at it.

I just love it.