Been doing some short–8 to 10 lexias–hypertext stories and while much of the basic elements of writing are of course the same, some things to point out the differences.
In hypertext, there is a movement between segments of reading that in some cases might simulate turning a page. There’s one quirk however in hypertext; one normally will, after reading a writing space, will finish by looking at the entire space as a whole, as an image. Whether looking for links or just as a finished area, the space being smaller than a page, we look at it as something that we will be leaving behind, knowing the nature of hypertext is to move forward. But isn’t that what we do with a page of a book as well? We have no intention of rereading a page again, yet don’t have the same feeling of leaving it in the past. Is it the physical property of a paper page then that dispels that reluctance to leave it behind?
There’s another thing I’ve noticed–and much of this I’ve previously covered in a presentation on how hypertext changes the writer–and that is the relative freedom the need for concise sentences proposes to the writer. Can restriction offer freedom? Yes, in that it eliminates much of the unnecessary detailing of movement and environment that we try to keep out of all of our writing. In a post today, Steve Ersinghaus notes how his attention is drawn to the best use of each word and sentence and element to force them into doing double duty.
Likewise, in White Dwarf, conflict is “suggested” or “restricted” by dialogue, the source of which the reader can infer.
“Look how the water explodes from the sole’s of his sneakers after he walks through puddles on stormy days. They needed four grown men to pull him from the concrete he stepped into. The ferry rides low, you know the work day’s done.”
In this section, I was trying to get a large amount of data to the reader with as little narrative insulation as possible, using dialogue as the sole device of carrier of conflict, character, and time.
Each writing is an experience and yet there is so much more to learn.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology