Hypertext Fiction Essay -- Exploratory Essays

Hypertext Fiction When you read a typical paper book, your job as the reader is simply to read what the author tells you and understand it. Printed books are a linear way of telling a story, where the author chooses the exact way the story should be told and interpreted. Jay David Bolter discusses in his book Writing Space that hypertext fiction will redefine the relationship between the reader and the author of a text. With printed text, the reader has a clearly defined role, where he or she takes in the story exactly as it is told with no say as to where it is going or how they should interpret it. With the development of hypertext fiction, the reader can cross the line into being a sort of author by deciding between options in the story. The reader can create a story suited to them within the boundaries of the hypertext piece as a whole. When a printed text is read, the author becomes more of an authority figure. The author is the creator of the text and is held in high regard by the reader. However, in hypertext fiction, the author is basically creating a story where readers are free to move around and make their own choices about the story with a few limitations set by the author. Bolter describes it by saying on page 168, â€Å"†¦Hypertext writers have shown how the electronic medium can accommodate a different relationship between author and reader. No longer an intimidating figure, an electronic author assumes the role of a craftsperson, working with prescribed materials and goals. She works within the limitations of a computer system, and she imposes further limitations upon her readers†¦the reader may well become the author’s adversary, seeking to make the text over in a direction that the author... ...ver the reader. Hypertext does not take away the role of the author entirely, it simply blurs the line between reader and author that exists in written text. It is my personal belief that as time goes on, the role of the reader and the author will be more and more interchanged. With the boundary between the two already fading, it is possible that there will be hypertexts where someone can be a reader and a writer at the same time. Continuing advances in technology and writing will constantly redefine the roles of everyone involved, it is simply society’s decision to accept the changes that will keep blurring the line between the traditional reader and author. Bibliography Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space. 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Fisher, Caitlin. These Waves of Girls. .