electronic literature

last updated: january 6 2021 - added fake bodegas and Veil Broadband to twitter fiction

for previous writings on e-lit, you can check out the blog I kept while I was in university. (note: some info may be out of date! programs get updated, links go dead...you know the internet.)

writing hypertext

I got my start writing interactive fiction in twine. it's a tool for telling interactive, non-linear stories – or any other kind of writing based around hyperlinks. some people use it to create choose-your-own-adventure stories, while others use it to create interactive poetry, or other text-based projects. if you're interested in text adventures, twine is a good place to start. simple to use, but lots of flexibility if you want to get more complex.

recommended reading: Videogames for Humans, edited by merritt kopas. I absolutely adore this book. it's essential a curated collection of twine playthroughs, writers and critics reading/playing and commenting one another's work.

favourites

17776 by Jon Bois - the best way to experience this is to go in knowing nothing about it.

Fabricationist Dewitt Remakes the World by Jedediah Berry - my favourite IF work. I love the style and the story in equal measure.

Galatea by Emily Short - a conversation with a living statue. sometimes it goes well.

Birdland by Brendan Patrick Hennessey & illustrated by Izzy Marbella - good dialogue, girls who like girls, birds, dreams, mystery, and summer camp. this makes me want more interactive fiction YA novellas.

Cactus Blue Motel by Astrid Dalmady - three girls come across a totally normal motel in the middle of the desert. dig the neon vibes.

interesting, very interesting...

Not Quite a Sunset: A Hypertext Opera by Kyle Rowan - it's not often that music is a central part of a text adventure.

rat chaos by winter lake - do any of us really know what rat chaos means?

interactive media for self-care

Interactive fiction, and other interactive works, have the potential to be used as tools for self-reflection and self care. the benefits of the work may lie in its form, content, or both.

you feel like shit: an interactive self-care guide by Jace Harr – an interactive flow chart for those who struggle with self care

Player 2 by Lydia Neon – conflict resolution and personal reflection

stars by lysander – a mediation/escape through images, words, & music

twitter fiction

Black Box by Jennifer Egan – a science fiction short story in the form of "mental dispatches" from a spy, originally published as a series of tweets on the New Yorker's Twitter account over nine days. if the tweet format doesn't appeal to you, the story is available in full on the New Yorker website, or you can listen to me read this story aloud.

fake bodegas by @pookleblinky – "While new yorkers praise bodegas, they never mention the fake bodegas to outsiders. Every new yorker has entered a fake bodega at least once, even when warned not to." twitter is full of micro SF/F and gothic stories. @pookleblinky has written a few.

Veil Broadband by Adrian Gray – problems with the wifi. a weird symbol spreading across the house. also, his teeth are bleeding. (adrian's life is just like this sometimes. but it's no wonder, given his childhood.)