Hypercompendia

The Story

Steve’s entire story was like 33 words. Meanwhile, there was a discussion going on at Mary Ellen’s Facebook that has been an ongoing thing since we’ve met, I think, about readerly/writerly, authorly/readerly, and as Mary Ellen appears to be following my own dragmarks in accepting the concept of Barthes, I thought I might use Steve’s story as an example to be interpreted in a classroom discussion.

The linking attempts to cover certain points of the story that are certainly open to interpretation, though only Steve Ersinghaus as the author may know what prompted the story and what meaning he gave to it. And as he taught me, we shouldn’t care about that at all.

A Compendium of Sixteen Four-Sentence Stories

In the name of brevity, I’ve tried to follow the concept of short, short story and yet with the hypertext possibilities I expanded the stories into sixteen. While none are earth-shattering story they are dramatic and complete.

As the map shows, all stories start with the same sentence, then branch from there, each writing space a sentence that takes the story into a slightly different direction. The initial branching from the first sentence to the second represents a major difference in story, characters, etc., the first sentence having established two things: narrative pov and setting. Then, in pyramid fashion, the story is refined by its plot and finally, by the fourth sentence, its ending.

While I could see this as a more elaborate concept, with some of the stories connecting to the endings of others to form a huge network of changing stories, I preferred to stop here to keep them all under 100 words each (most run about 85) and in just four sentences exactly.

On The Question of Ascension

When I read Steve’s story the image I got was of Remedios the Beauty, a lovelier part of the family in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude. I still see the women folding sheets in the breezes of the day when Remedios ascends into the sky.

So I took those ideas in this story and put it in the first person narrator telling about something that was going on when he was a child that affected his life in ways we can only grab a glimpse.

The mapping appears disorderly–like my early hypertexts–and yet I believe because the story is for the most part non linear there is some fun in hopping about to different thoughts and perspectives with the narrator.

The Library

Whew. This one was a test of patience and skill and I’m not sure I’ve passed. It is a quest. There are clues that lead one through the story to discover what is required to complete what is essentially a word puzzle. While you may leave without guessing the answer–since unlike IF, this had to be based upon the honor system to allow progression of the story and a conclusion.

The map ended up becoming wonderfully geometrically symmetrical and if you’re stuck, you may choose to click above to enlarge it.

If you’re really stuck or just plain give up, you can email me for the solution.

This is the Tinderbox map of Hypertext #59 The Library. What I’m planning here is a sort of IF influence on the piece by incorporating a quest, or task, separating the library into rooms, and providing clues within the stories that will lead to a successful ending.

Not all that easy. If I’m writing for the IF value, I find myself sacrificing story through the language as there are instructions and descriptions to be given to the reader. If I concentrate on the story, I lose the thread that must run through to allow the reader full access to paths leading to the ultimate ending while making sure all necessary information or clues are given and accessible via several choices of path.

But here’s the fun part: I’ve discovered the key to the puzzle is language-based and while I need to figure out how the clues can be ‘taken’ as ‘inventory’ as in IF so that they will all be available no matter how or in what order they are collected. The neat part is how the puzzle, the clues, and the solving all came in a pattern that I have to work to coordinate while making the story entertaining.

The Appliance War

Well, from a car that ignores a key and ignition, we anthropomorphized a kitchen.

Simple map, simple story of life in a normal society where those who are different make everyone else grouchy and anxious to rid themselves of the problem in the easiest way. The action taken isn’t always necessary if both sides are willing to compromise.

This just may be my first children’s hypertext story and I’d like to dedicate it to Sam (with parental approval, of course!) who just turned eight and may prefer warriors and good guys and may just inspire me to make up a few stories like that.

Listening

Steve did a magical thing with his offering this morning; telling an entire story from one side of a conversation over a telephone. It was touching and extremely well done.

I don’t hope to match it, but hypertext allowed the other side of the conversation to be heard. Then it dawned on me, why not try two different responses or calls being played out while still using the same comments from the central caller.

I’ve had some problems here with linking, but I think the reader will soon discover the trick in the story threads. The map is fairly simple, the stories are simple but completely separate though you may never know which one you’ve followed out until you get to the end.

What We Missed

Can’t believe I’m done early today. This story sort of wrote itself once I got into the mood of a bit of silliness though it can be construed as very dark and apocalyptic in nature depending on the path you take.

It’s more obvious in this piece what I took from Steve’s: a play on words of the title, but still a car trip with a family that travels in a time and place that lives in imagination. Mine’s not as weird as Steve’s, but then, I’ve always been a bit restricted in my writing.

The mapping process once again leaves it open as to just how much information the reader gets based on his own curiosity and nature.

Windows

From Steve’s story I picked up the second person point of view and its reflective nature. What came to mind was a scene from my own errand driving and the deep thinking one often does when alone in a car. From there it went on to more important problems than my own.

There are several ways to go through this story. Each is open to the trauma of losing one’s job and the fear that goes with losing even more. It could be nice to know all the random thoughts, but it’s just as well to see only a few, for those few are enough.

Semantics

In trying to establish a voice and a pace of story through dialogue, hypertext allows other issues to be separated out. In a previous hypertext, #49 Earth to Moon, it was pretty much all dialogue with some thought patterns and action interspersed. In #51 Snakes and Snails, there was a thread established where one could follow story by dialogue alone, with background information on the two characters as side trails.

In this, I have hoped to establish another dialogue-only thread but there is also an action and thought-only thread composed of body language between the two character. Alternately, the entire story can be read with all of the elements used.