Hypercompendia

I’m going to play the “Rehearse” feature on this today which times it out (along with comments), but here’s the latest editing in “Lightbox” View:

Just as putting any narrative together, the same must be considered with a presentation. I’m asking every single slide if it feels it is on-topic.  I’m getting enthusiastic "YES!" in the replies but it’s all lies.

The problem is that while working with hypertext–even the subject thereof–I feel free to wander. There is a balance between brevity and relativity that makes one dance among the words. But what I’m looking for is polka and what I’m doing is the waltz.

I need be brutal. I’m finding things that will be needed to be said in speaking; so cutting words that need not be read out from the text. 

That is, trying to funnel the travel through a single line of thought on my slideshow regarding hypertext and how it affects writing style and the writer’s focus from linear to multidimensional story.

What I started out with became a fine example of hypertext: offshoots and sidetrails that gave a more rounded image of the experience.  But I think that I know what I’m doing with it, and I think that making a copy of the Keynote file and leaving the original somewhat as it was to play with the copy was a good idea. At some point I may be able to use the longer version to illustrate the whole process of hypertext writing rather than on the particular tendency of change.

Still haven’t gotten down from 30 slides, but have rearranged and cut out a lot of the text–particularly the writing spaces from the programs. While I didn’t expect anyone to read them completely, someone suggested that if they want to and I just flip past it before they have, that’s not exactly an endearing trait in a presenter.  So, replaced most of them with boxes of less substance. 

Ten out of the 33 slides are either just title or credits, or a short paragraph that I will read aloud and pass onto the next slide. 

I will do a more formal reading/run-through and see how it goes.  I’ve left enough in there that I would love to include, but am willing to drop if I absolutely have to do so. Timing will tell. At least I’ve gotten it more organized.

Took a gardening break to get away before the great attack. Both on the presentation, which needs to be started from near scratch, and on the story Paths which has become an embarrassment to me now.  Everything looks so hokey, so unpro.

Some serious focus on these two projects in the weeks ahead.

It’s starting to look better (?):

Well, I’m down to three slides and my Buster Brown rendition.

Actually no, I haven’t had the heart to cut out any of my pretty slides yet.  I spent all day so far changing fonts and colors. I know I hafta, and that you folk lucky enough to be at the Pittsburgh Hypertext 08 Workshops will be seeing the highly squished condensed version.  What can I say?  I’ve developed a hypertext mind and wandered off the the main trail as every good hypertexter should.  Here then, for perhaps the last time, is the full show:

Chris Klimas at gimcrack’d has a wonderful new story called Remembered  available to read on his site.  It takes nice advantage of the ability of hypertext to draw one so completely into someone else’s world that one willingly follows textlinks to check out the sidestreets and get a better idea of the lay of the land. 

I work so much better with deadlines–except for paper submissions (not classroom stuff) which sees another deadline go by tomorrow as the lit journals cut off reading for the summer.  The last time I’ve submitted any short stories was a couple of years ago and I was determined never to bother doing so again but…you know, you just have to because what are you going to do with these things otherwise?  My heirs will likely toss them into the hole after me, just as I’d so often threatened my mother to do with her recipe collections.

But now I’m getting nervous because I’m in love with Keynote and have been fiddling with that so much that I’m not doing other stuff.  Like editing Paths which needs it so very badly.  Or working on one of the other hypertexts that would likely be in much better shape except that it has no ending yet.  Then again, it’s hypertext; I can let people go around in circles and loops forever if I just do some fancy maneuvering with the links…

This adjective, highly overused on the TV reality series, The Bachelor(ette–it doesn’t matter which gender is plowing their way through a stack of 25 eligibles), DOES apply to Keynote.

If I didn’t come off sounding like a refugee from Oz, I could record voiceover on the slides (maybe Audacity can add some bass to my voice). The transitioning effects are awesome and I’ve edited to ensure that I only use a couple or maybe a few and vary them a bit.  In glancing through the online tutorials, I found how easy and well the comment feature works for a presentation so I might try that. 

So while I may not be an "amazing" woman, I do think I’m getting together a very nice slideshow.

P.S. The best part:  In commenting, I can note the time and boy do I need this!