Bella D - Week 7
After reading chapter 6, I have a greater understanding of collaboration and networks and how they apply to the world of digital literature. Network writing has various forms which were described throughout the chapter. Many of them applied to other subsets of digital literature, like interactive fiction and hypertext. Rettberg described network writing has a distinctive, “self-reflexive nature” and “encourage audiences to reconsider the situation of the human in the contemporary network apparatus.” (202) But in a more definitive sense, he also claims that “Network writing is electronic literature created for and published on the Internet.” (Rettberg 170) In this contemporary world there are so many examples of network writing visible, whether intentional or not. Rettberg displayed various modes of network writing, but the ones that resonated with me the most were email novels, codework, and online writing communities. Mostly because the examples he provided with the descriptions were particularly interesting, but also because they also differ in presentation and intention. I investigated Blue Company (2002) because it “was able to play with pacing in a different way than typical in a print novel.” (Rettberg 185) I read the first couple emails in the novel, which was available on a preserved site in a different form. Although I would have liked to absorb it in its intended form, as emails in real time, I tried my best to pretend like I was doing so. I enjoyed the conversational nature of the text and the readability, as well as the pen illustrations.
As for the readings for the week, I was a tad bit lost when it came to navigating these. I appreciated the simplistic design and navigation of The Unknown, but did not follow the storyline or significance. I got lost in the navigation and overwhelmed by the number of possibilities. It reminded me of Twine, the simple navigation of clicking on the highlighted phrase or word. It was designed in a way that supports readability and navigation, a key ingredient to network writing. Yet this is not an example of network writing that displays what I thought the definition intended.
I also found email novels quite interesting, a reader receiving real time updates as to what is happening in the novel is something I've never come across before. It makes the piece of literature much more interactive and interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of email novels is a strange one to me, but it does make the conversations seem real. Email novel writing gives the authors a chance to write very relatable stories and I think that it a really cool concept in theory.
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