How to Write Digital Fiction (Pt. 2)
Getting Started
Previous parts:
This should be a short article: all you have to do is just think of an idea and run with it, like any writer. Right? Only it’s not that easy, not even if you’re working in prose.
The digital medium adds on multiple layers of complexity. Just adding hyperlinks (the quintessential feature of digital fiction) expands your canvas exponentially. Suddenly, every item in your story can take the reader to a new page, a new branch in the tale, a new character or place or development. Instead of typing out one linear story from page 1 to page 250, you get to explore all the possible outcomes of every decision point. Daunting, eh? Like entering a 100-acre corn maze.
Of course, that’s only one layer. With digital media, you can add anything to your story: Images. Animation. Video. Gameplay. Chatbots. Music and sound effects. I’ve agonized over background color and font choices alone. Unlike writing prose, every design decision, every link, every loop, every click is up to you. And since it all contributes to story, it’s important you consider them.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. You don’t even have a story yet! Let’s start there.
Getting Started
I’m not going to waste your time telling you how to come up with ideas (and there are a million writer how-tos on journaling and idea generation anyway). What I’m going to focus on in this series are the differences between prose writing and digital fiction — the specific characteristics and choices you’ll face in multimedia creation spaces.
To keep things simple, we’re going to start with digital fiction in one of its simplest forms: hypertext. I recommend Twine: it’s easy, it’s free, it’s accessible on any device, and it can be used for brainstorming and planning if you ever decide to move to another platform (it’s what Charlie Brooker used to plan his interactive episode of Black Mirror).
Step 1: Play
It seems obvious, but play(read) some digital fiction. There are some great curated lists: the Opening Up DF comps (2017, 2018); the Electronic Literature Collections; the New Media Writing Prize; and the Interactive Fiction Database. One of my favorite DFs to read and teach is the quickest, at only 10 seconds long: anna anthropy’s Queers in Love at the End of the World. The beautiful thing about DF is there is infinite variation; play a few of the thousands out there, and find the ones that resonate with you.
The second part of this step is to play with the platform. Open up a browser tab with Twine, and get used to its mechanics. If you’re not a play-it-till-you-break-it sort of learner, follow my tutorial, at least as far as creating passages and links. That’s all you need to create a hypertext fiction.
Step 2: Explore
Write something short. When you learn to print letters or to type, you don’t immediately write your magnum opus. Write a story about your day so far, with decision points: Bath or shower? Coffee or tea? Cycle or walk? Write a story about your cat’s day. I have a go-to story that I use to experiment with a new mechanic or use for examples, called “The Unbearable Heaviness of Cats”. Find your own unbelievably heavy cat and run with it.
Step 3: Rinse and Repeat
Repeat steps 1 and 2. A lot. Until something grabs you, until you have a feel for the links and where they go and when to use them and what kind of a story is going to develop as a result.
Once you have something you’re even halfway pleased with, share it. Send it to friends. Post it on social media. Writers call this “workshopping”; developers call it “beta-testing”. Either way, it will give you a feel for what is working in your DF, and what isn’t.
Step 4: Try Other Platforms
Twine is a favorite for many because its simplicity can grow into much more complex stories, while still being accessible to a broad range of readers. (And if you do stick with Twine, I urge you to support its creator — with whom I have no affiliation.) But maybe it’s not the platform matching your favorite works of digital fiction. Trying different platforms can help you get a great feel for different ways of making digital stories, and different ways readers can interact with your work.
I’ve given an overview of the various dedicated platforms for creating digital fiction, in order from easiest to most advanced. Most are free to use, with plenty of tutorials to guide you. Repeat Step 1 and have a play!
Before you know it, you’ll start to find your way through to your own style and voice. In the next few articles in the series, we’ll examine the various elements of digital fiction close up: structures, characterization, perspective, design, puzzles, and more. Next up: the evolution and current state of digital fiction.
