HYPERTEXT: Backup
Because, I guess, I just don’t trust enough. Because my time has built on losses and their learning…
I’m reconstructing A Bottle of Beer into Storyspace. To CYA in case of internet obliteration.
The format can work, though not as well as in Hypertextopia for this particular purpose; needing to go back into the story from threads that were written to be that gradual insight appearing out of nowhere–called out by a click. The technical affects the purpose of the style; much the same as using sentence structure, punctuation.
Squeezing an elephant into a Chinese take-out carton; dropping a ring into the ocean.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
April 18th, 2008 at 10:40 am
You raise a really good point. This is why I prefer tools that run on my own computer, at least for creating things. I feel a bit like a fossil for holding this opinion, though… cloud computing and all that.
April 18th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I know; here we are pushing the edges of technology and yet we depend upon the old. I’d already–I will now admit–done a cut & paste backup into Mac Pages and that’s where it became obvious that the hypertext environments suited particular narrative style and story.
But one thing technology has taught us: backup, backup, backup. Even as we rely upon and create into its atmosphere.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Amen, Susan. Although I well intend to keep the thing running indefinitely, I wouldn’t trust me either, no way.
So, as of this afternoon, there’s a link to download your story in plaintext. It’s a pale shadow of its formatted, imaged, hypertext’d self, but it’s a start towards safely archiving your words, at least.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Jeremy, you are amazing–you’ve always come up with an answer to my slightest whim. I think my one piece (so far) in Hypertextopia is in truth my best in all medium to date and like a mother bear I’m protecting the cub of story.
I think it’s funny that even as I’m pushing Mark to create a semblance of Storyspace to read online, I’m hinting broadly to you to offer Hypertextopia as a software program for personal use. They are in truth very different formats and I love them both for their particular effects.
One thing I ask of you: Please always keep me notified of your creative productions like this; my guess is that you have many, many more in your head.