Hypercompendia

What I’m realizing without having planned it this way (and maybe I really ought to investigate the planning of story for hypertext) is that I’m creating a series of images, not necessarily episodes but flashes of what is happening in this expose of someone’s life.  I feel like a fly’s eye of cameras only each exact image tells a different bit of information when zoomed in.  The facets combined into the whole becomes a whole; thus seen in one view only.  Investigating each more thoroughly becomes more interesting for the nuances of difference.

Or something like that.

Hmmm.  Read an E-book Week has me thinking, perhaps may be the impetus (translation: deadline) to get back into Flash again to put something together for this ‘happening.’

Not a novel-length book certainly, but perhaps a short story of some sort, maybe in keeping with the mid-semester portfolio for CW (though I know I don’t hafta do that either).  While I can just write it in straight text and offer it online and be in keeping with the parameters of e-book ideals, it would be neat to work it interactively in such a form as hypertext or slideshow fashion or some such thing. 

Gotta think on this one some more, though there’s a three-week deadline and thank God for February 29th this year.

Found this link to E-Publishers Weekly and have added it to my Typelist here. 

Just catching up on their weblog but particularly wanted to note their reminder of March 2–March 8 as Read an E-Book Week and their posting on 30 reasons why one should read an e-book. I particularly like benefits #10 and #11:

10. Ebooks defy time: they can be delivered almost instantly. Ebooks are transported to you faster than overnight shipping: in minutes or in seconds.

11. Ebooks defy space: ebooks online can be read simultaneously by thousands of people at once.

Looks like it’s a permanent relationship. The two naturally complement each other but I must say it was clearly unintentional and more a case of sticky-fingers on the dragging of the Storyspace icon to the dashboard but not quite making it past the top menu bar of the Applications Window where it stubbornly remains as king.

Here’s an example (below) of what I’ve mentioned as far as paths rolling out and reaching towards a natural connection point. Note the blue box labeled “Whiskey”:

The way the story is flowing is based entirely (up to this point anyway) on backstory since the current resolution of Bonnie’s conflict is known within the first three writing spaces (those in red) which represents the present.

Scott’s conflict is one of understanding and acceptance of what has happened.  What has he missed noticing? What hadn’t he known that was going on in his wife’s life?  What secrets had she kept from him, and, what secrets has he been keeping?

Well some of them come face to face and this particular point appropriately labeled “Whiskey” is one of those meeting points.  Of course what this does to the narrative structure is leave the reader at a dead end–no matter which road he took to get there.  But that’s okay; Susie fix. I like the way this happened and it’s not a case of painting oneself into a corner with hypertext.  There is always a way out.

As I notice two separate trails vaguely leading to a common box of statement or incident, I realize that this journal would not be honest if I did not admit that in my blackest heart of hearts, I have no real intention of giving the reader free rein to wander at will in any of my stories.  He will learn to trust me, to depend upon me, to follow my lead or he will suffer the loss of enjoyment of the narrative.

So there.

As I look over the map to date of The Hanging, definitely early in its "work in progress" stage, I am reminded of the simile of puzzle for narrative, particularly when referring to a mystery story.

But there is a visual likeness that is even more related to one’s working on a puzzle–at least from the writer’s perspective.  Sections are forming as they make sense in their development; the one bright orange maple against the blue sky is pieced together and sits floating on a background of tabletop in the absence of the all-one-shaded blue sky. Perhaps from an edge of the maple a wisp of cloud continues, he too surrounded by blue-edged white pieces that end there–for the time being.

The borders of the puzzle are completed first by their telltale straight edge; this is the structure of the story, what it will encompass, who will take part in it and what will happen to them.  The horizon may be pieced together next, the grey-green hills against the solid sky; a telling point of main conflict that runs through the work.

In Storyspace, I find myself following the path of least resistance when I’m not psyched up for the flow, focusing instead on completing the more obvious.  The deer in the foreground of the puzzle, less than a dozen pieces of tawny grey.  The coyote stalking him is next, a small patch of dirty golden yellow.  Between them, an expanse of dull wheat-dry grass, for now, left open as the sky so the tabletop separates the two.  This is where the bringing together, the solidifying factors must be filled in.  Pieces of puzzle fitting together to make each separate island larger, more complete, extending outward until all reach and touch to form a complete image of story.  And only now, when all the pieces are in place, can the  coyote reach and kill the deer.

Before CW class last night I was talking with a friend about his brand new adventure into weblogging and we discussed the definite difference a writer notices in putting words into the bordered area of a posting box, filling it with text.  I told him about Storyspace, and how you fill smaller boxes with story, and how one box leads to another, broken naturally into pauses for effect, just as paragraphs.

This morning while working on The Hanging I realized something that enforces Steve Ersinghaus’ notion of each Writing Space being necessarily a separate entitity–if well written, a poem–that can stand alone but works better with another Writing Space (much like my reasoning behind marriage!).  I’ve just spent a good half hour on the text below which was written several days ago and while it’s still not finished, it is obvious that taken out of context of the story, blanking out what comes before and after, the focus is on the language used, polishing as one would a poem to make it as concise and lyrical as it can be.

This particular snippet isn’t particularly poetic, but then neither is the scenario.  And it’s still a far cry from what it could be to establish its impact.  But, word by word, forced to focus on this block of story only, it is changing, has changed from simple relation of events, into approaching the drama of the moment.  Storyspace, with its breaking up a narrative into sections, encourages close reading.  This is terrific for the writer; should be kept in mind as well that the reader may also experience this influence, meaning that the writing should shine, without, of course, impeding the flow of story or discouraging the need to click onward.

Found this link via Anne (where I find most of these way-out interesting sites as I follow her lead) to a site that offers uploading of creative "pages" that ultimately become a brief but nicely displayed personally produced online magazine.

Called issuu.com, it offers many possibilities for the creative outlet and an additional way to reach an audience.  Self publishing, yes, but more and more I’m coming to believe that that’s the road I’m going to have to take to be read since publishing’s tougher than ever, family’s gone and friends are getting more clever with excuses.

What’s interesting in working within the medium is the number of points at which the writer comes into the story. While I’ve basically started this story with what may be the ending, there is the necessity of bringing in the backstory and details to develop a viable trail or trails that bring the story to this ultimate conclusion. 

Basically, it’s not as much a case of asking what happened next? but rather, what might have caused this?  So there are a number of episodes and ideas that can be brought to light, and they needn’t be definitive, they may be mere conjecture on the writer’s part, suggestions and guesses that give the reader the ability to decide for himself whether they are relevant.

Very different way of thinking, and hypertext is an excellent medium for the message.