[creative writing & new media MA]

To celebrate the first two years of the Online Masters in Creative Writing and New Media there is going to be a salon event organised by digital writer in residence at the IOCT: Chris Joseph.

Works to be presented by:

Claudia Cragg, ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ccragg/
Terry Gibson, tgib567.blog.co.uk
Joanna Howard, http://dissertation.joannahoward.net/

Toni Le Busque, http://www.lebusque.com/
Kirsty McGill, http://www.manvers-street.com/
Chris Meade, http://www.chrismeadeoverleaf.com/
Alison Norrington, http://www.alisonnorrington.com/
Keredy Stott, www.myspace.com/northamptonbackonthemap
Michael Taylor. http://www.thecafe.gg/
Mags Treanor, http://www.deadcoolfunerals.blogspot.com/
Christine Wilks, http://www.crissxross.net/

To go along with the event I'm writing a curatorial essay explaining the context and giving an overview of the work created by the students...so far.

As part of my thinking about what the students have been crafting, I invited them to respond to a few questions. There have been some rather interesting responses like these from Renee Turner:

Jess: what are some main differences (pros and/or cons) of creating a work to be read/navigated online to one which is contained within physical borders and print? - this is very much a question to you as a *creator*

Renee: The book is an object ‘par excellence’. It’s an amazing medium in which the virtual has always resided; analogue stories have the capacity to expose us to previously unknown worlds and scenarios. While the book may have set perimeters, it is far from an exhausted medium. Its surface is rich, layered and as vast as the imagination. Just think of the likes of Borges or Coleridge whose writings illustrate that hypertext existed well before a digital era. Their work transports us to uncharted territories, illuminates new forms of articulation and exposes us to nonlinear modes of thinking. They test the limits of writing and language.

That said I love writing in digital environments. Gone are the days of publish and perish, now we can publish, learn and revise. Wow, what a revolution to be able to think out loud through writing. We can now dare to make mistakes and then re-write. Bloggers do this all of the time.

I also love the materiality of digital writing. To me, code, computational machines and screens are very physical. Unlike a blank page that can be empty and intimidating, there is something fascinating about sculpting narrative out of a set of technical restraints or through a set of filters. Whether it is php, CSS, javascript or html, writing is mediated, if not translated, and that means authors are forced to be writers and makers. I find the combination seductive. It is where writing meets dramaturgy.

[...]

Jess: How would you define a literate reader (someone who can easily navigate your NM creations)?

Renee: That is a very tough question to answer. Readers come with different levels of literacy. Some people are more sensually driven, moving their cursor from here to there for hotspots or links, while others look for legible text and clear-cut navigation. As a writer of or in digital environments, there is a balance to be struck between pushing the medium, testing interface conventions and being user/reader friendly.

To read more of my questions and Renee's insightful answers head over to her post.