Archive for January, 2006

I Have a Humble Announcement to Make

I’ve finished a draft of my story. I call it “A House Without Walls“. It was submitted, in the typical last-minute way, for inclusion in the first annual Electronic Literature Collection, sponsored by The Electronic Literature Organization. If it is chosen, it will join other works in a volume that readers can download or borrow from a library. Cross your fingers for me?

If you read my last hypertext story, “To Win, Simply Play.”, you might recognize some of the same material, a small part of that older story. I hope my revision has improved the way the story flows.

Should I give you some long winded, writerly and obtuse introduction to it, its themes, and its reasons for being? Maybe, but only if you’re interested.

It is good to feel so finished with this story, after so long (even though I do have another version in mind, but that’s more of a technical representation than a rewriting).

Notes on Non Linear Writing

I’ve spent the day rewriting my hypertext. Probably because of the amount of time I’ve already spent with it – it might also be that it has been a while and so I’m coming to the process with a fresh perspective and a renewed intentions – it seems easier this time around. I found a way to go about it. I thought I would post some notes about it, for others to see, and discuss.

From the beginning, I took down the things I wanted to say, from a previous draft, and wrote to fill in any gaps. When I felt I had expressed a complete idea, I stopped. I reread what I had written, looking for “words that yield“, or anything that suggests a next point in the story. I found a couple of options, marked them to become links, and returned to my previous draft. I found the parts of the text that suited me for the “next” idea. Right after the section I had just written, I took down the things I wanted to say, and wrote to fill in any gaps, and so on . . .

Structure

Last weekend, one of my writer friends told me “You’re so damn obsessed with structure! Stop playing with blocks and build something already!” or something to that effect. I sat down to do that, and I put my outline away.

A Swift Kick in the Pants

There’s nothing like adventure like a deadline, the delivery of that swift kick in the pants… sweet sweet motivation!

I’ve got just the deadline I need, too. Four days from now. At the end of January, submissions will close for The Electronic Literature Collection. What’s that, you ask?

an annual publication of current and older electronic literature in a form suitable for individual, public library, and classroom use. The publication will be made available both online, where it will be available for download for free, and as a packaged, cross-platform CD-ROM, in a case appropriate for library processing, marking, and distribution.

Its time to get around to it, and do something with the electronic novella I wrote. I’ll be much closer to my goals for it if I edit it, with an eye on the criteria for this colllection.

Literary quality will be the chief criterion for selection of works. Other aspects considered will include innovative use of electronic techniques, quality and navigability of interface, and adequate representation of the diverse forms of electronic literature in the collection as a whole.

Born Digital

The Institute for the Future of the Book announces the winners of their “Born Digital” competition.

The competition called for works that address the changing structure of the “page” and the manner in which text and illustration work together in the digital environment. We chose three winners: Anne Frances Wysocki for her poem “Leaved Life;” Juliet Davis for a game-based narrative called, “Pieces of Herself;” Kevin Henry and Rick Pawela for their design textbook, “Rapid Ideation Sketching.” Please read more about our winners below and visit their work online.

Unwanted Lullaby

You can’t just lie here, die here,
Stay in pain all day.
Move get up come on get up go
Daylight lifetimes are racing away
As fast as hands can grasp
At the little bits that might be left
Get what get can get
So move get up c’mon get up go
What would they say if they saw you slept
More for them
They’ll take what you forget

Snooze-bar on the clock of responsibility
Rollover with a whisper in the dark
Corners where the dreams are
Move, get up, c’mon, get up, go.

Morning and Night

Clear eyes, full of light.
A room, a window,
Shapes on the wood floor.
Small hands, twinkle fingers. Grab the sun.

All this, and then now,
Stomping over sidewalks
Water in my shoes
Cold coat blowing open
And walking on.

Exhaustion

Lay me down dead on the day of a parade
Let them run over me
Fire trucks
The clown cars
Mayors with candy
And the horses
Turn me over
Like old memories
Like leaves in the street
Underneath
Equestrian nutsacks
Children fighting for candy

Statuary

The same hands hold red
In the babe day
That when light turns away
And the days age,
Wave.

These hands are only stone.
They have more time to hold,
But the eyes behind them
Are blind to what weak flesh remembers.

Musings on the SonyReader

There sure have been a lot of Musings on the SonyReader lately.

Sound

Still forest sounds snap,
Before sycamore tumbles.
Then, cacophony.

Texture

Slop seeps down the street
A sticky viscous puddle
Stops the, flow, of feet.

Taste

On a scraggly path
Oblong paw-paw, pause, pick, eat
Unripe taste, lasts, days.

Sight

The sign sez: “farm use”
Hey! What’s behind that dumpster?
The cat, squirts, new cats.

Thought

Sometimes, in the dark,
On my way home through the woods,
I think I’m naked.

Feeling

Is your body cold?
I’ll approach, maybe warm you.
When does the ground thaw?

A New Poetry Resource

Kyle Neath strikes again! He and James Robert Mortland have created what promises to be an invaluable resource for poets, Poetry With Meaning. Here, writers can post poetry online, and read others’ poems.

Poetry with meaning is here to help you share your poetry with the rest of the world. We are here to help you share your thoughts and emotions. Here at Poetry with meaning you’ll find tools to help you write, and articles on how to become a better poet — but most importantly, you’ll find a sense of community.

One of the more curious features of Poetry With Meaning is the rhyming tool. Type in a word, and it will find words that rhyme with it. Its free, and fun, although I do prefer the somewhat old-fashioned metaphor tool, the imagination.

Good Copywriting

Yesterday began a new website, Good Copywriting. Lanched by Kyle Neath, the intorduction proclaims:

Good Copywriting is a blog about just that: good copywriting. Too often our eyes and ears are plagued by uninspiring, lackluster copywriting. Here you’ll find tips about how to become a better copywriter, and examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly of copywriting.

Its about damn time for something like this! I hope it gets more regularly updated than the very similar Notable Words.

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Bike Race

Shock Trauma Bike Race
My bike-courier roomies are planning a bike race. The interesting thing, to me, about this bike race is that it is a “choose your own adventure” race. Racers will arrive at predetermined checkpoints, where they will discover a new chapter in the story of their adventure through baltimore. The object of the game is to stay alive!

Of course, the reason this is all so interesting to me, in addition to the fun factor, is my interest in non-linear narrative. Journaling this event might be an interesting challenge.

Check out the Shock Trauma Bike Race Event Page if you’d like to participate. Stay tuned for more details…

Emphasize Beauty

Emphasize Beauty Which is more beautiful – a butterfly or a cockroach?