Turn your everyday life into a story– document/record some aspect of your daily existence and put it online. Think about the protagonists/artists participating in Josh Harris’ “We Live In Public” experiments, Nicolas Felton’s work, Hasan Elahi’s sousveillance project, and Jill Magid’s Evidence Locker. How do issues of privacy, honesty, exhibitionism, performance, authenticity play into the decisions you make about what to show and how to reveal it? What makes the best story?
You should be documenting yourself /your story– in writing, photographs, video, whatever form appeals to you. I’d like to post this material to your new wordpress blogs. However, if you are having trouble with your blog, we will go over how to make posts and manage different types of media in class next week. Email me with any questions!
Project: Create a collaborative Twitter short story. Work with your assigned group to manage characters, plot, narration, setting, etc. The twitter stories in-process can be viewed here:
http://twitter.com/CrosetMurdrClub
http://twitter.com/benningtonPI
http://twitter.com/laurelfinder
Read : H. Porter Abbot, first two chapters of Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. also: E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops. (both handouts)
Experiment: with HTML and CSS during the week– you can modify your 6- 55- or 400- word story pages with links, images, and a style sheet. Try float images to the right or left, and using different fonts and colors. Please post the link (or links) to your pages in a comment to this post.
Assignment: Autobiography and faux autobiography. 6 word memoirs, 55 word and 400 word stories. Pick two forms, write a “real” and “fictional” version in each. Make a web page for your stories, and put this page on your server space. Feel free to add images, etc. Email me the link to your stories
Readings: Tell Me A Story: Narrative and Intelligence, Roger Shank, Excerpt “Chapter 2: Where Stories Come From and Why We Tell Them” (handout). Telling Tails, Tim O’Brien, from the Atlantic Monthly, 8/09: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2009/08/telling-tails/7533/
Resources: SmithMag 6-word Stories. Read 55-Word story guidelines (handout) and online examples on LiveJournal. Read 400 word stories at 400Words.com. Listen to or read Three-Minute Fiction on NPR.
Bedtime Stories
A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a
child at bedtime to prepare them for sleep. Bedtime stories have many advantages,
for parents/adults and children alike.
The fixed routine of a bedtime story before sleeping has a relaxing effect,
and the soothing voice of a person telling a story makes the child fall asleep
more easily. The emotional aspect creates a bond between the storyteller
and the listener, often a parent and child.
Bedtime stories can be read from a book, or rather, fictional stories made up by
the storyteller. The stories are mostly rather short, between one and five minutes,
and have a happy ending. A different form of bedtime reading is using longer
stories, but dividing them up, thus creating cliffhangers. Children will look
forward to their bedtime story, and a fixed routine is installed.
Favorite Bedtime Stories: Kittens in the Forest, The Magic Teacup,
The Upside-Down Castle, The Enchanted Snail, and Journey to the Tragic Waterfall.
Welcome to the Digital Narratives class blog. Check back every week for announcements, lecture notes, links to resources, information about assignments, and other important and exciting stuff.
