An Exploration of Three Digital Writings

The Electronic Literature Directory is full of many intriguing (and some wasted energy) of creative digital writing.  With so many works of art, it was difficult to choose just three for discussion. 

9:05 by Adam Cadre

This interactive narrative was intriguing in description and reminiscent of interactive books I read as a child in which a story was told and the reader was given options to advance the story.

In this piece the character wakes late for work confronted with decisions.  Unfortunately, communicating those decisions proved to be quite challenging for me and after 15 minutes of trial and failure, I succumbed to my frustration and gave up.

The use of interactive narration was entertaining and the simple narration encouraged use of imagination.  Sadly, my story didn’t continue beyond the introduction (albeit the character’s front door) and my character may never figure out how to have a shower let alone anything else.

This is not a Poem by Alan Begelow

This poem was genius.  The simplicity of the CD with ‘Tree’ written within it became exciting as I started interacting.  Flicking the words to the outer edge of the disc was fun and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the amended poem being read minus the words I had removed.  The new text (albeit the original minus some words) presented a new poem, and in effect a new perspective.

I was then further entertained on completion of that activity when I realised I could flick the literature back onto the disk, repeating the process.  Once this was done, the imbedded image of the robot attacking a tree gave a new perspective on the activity.  Recycling became the central theme and I realised that activity was exactly what I had participated in.  It was a hidden message rewarding my participation.  Fabulous!

Blueberries by Susan Gibb

This hyperlink narrative was an interesting vehicle for storytelling.  Each page served as a short story in itself and the hyperlinked associative words presented an extension of that story.  When I reached the end, I was intrigued by the character and returned to the beginning with intent to experiment with the hyperlinks.  Was there any more to learn about the character?  I was satisfied to learn there was.

Visited links were coloured accordingly encouraging me to take a different journey through the narrative.  I was please to discover new elements of the story as well as extended explanations of situations presented during my first reading.

Susan Gibb is a fascinating story teller and it is due to this talent her digital piece was so successful.  An intriguing read and one I will be revisiting with intent to learn more about this character.