LITERATURE: The Life of Geronimo Sandoval – Narrative Structure

Once again I ran instead of walking through this field of story.  Even as I follow a linear path, the sideroads lure me outward and away.  Two things have me convinced that even with my rather timid profile and a deeply set-in sensitivity to getting lost, I am often out of control and still can romp merrily ahead.  First, the backspace key.  Second, the author’s mapping of the narrative structure that was painfully considered and constructed to bring the reader around and loop if necessary to a plausible flow of story line.  And third, a history tool that may not be available in the final version, but for now can show me every step I’ve taken thus allowing me to retrace my steps or go back to the point at which I veered to follow this illusion or that one.

At one point, I’d hit the wrong button and cleared the history.  Ack!  Then I remembered a trick this same author had taught me about dealing in the game format when I could not escape the inevitable during a certain sequence in the gameplay:  Exit the program and do NOT save. All the bad things you’ve done will be forgotten.

So now my winding trail of history has been recovered and in going down the list I am in awe that hypertext reveals not just a page 1 –> page 2–> page 3–> etcetera reading but rather an almost "memory tank" of names and places specific to a story point that I can easily relate and recall.

Neat. Now I’ll go back and see what sent me crashing like a waterfall down the edge of cliffs and write up a proper post about it.