Blog 5: Hypertext

I think that hypertext fiction can be considered "interactive" as it allows the readers to make choices which will lead to many different possible conclusions. The selection of different certain choices will lead to an entirely different stories, and thus, different experiences. The stories perceived by the readers are not predictable beforehand.

I find that hypertext fiction opens up a new and wider dimension which can't be done or would be too cumbersome if it were to be done, in a printed book. It manages to hold the multitudes of complex networks of lexias together in an organised way, which could not be accomplished in a printed book. Millions of lexias or more can be linked to one another at different points in the network. Thus, it is also possible to allow more choices with more lexias, hence, providing more varied experiences compared to printed books. In this way, readers can read through the hypertext fiction many times until he is exhausted or grow bored of it.

It would also be easier for the readers to navigate the different lexias with just the click of the mouse. Readers do not have to turn and search of the pages in a printed book. With a site map, readers can just go to the site that he chooses. Furthermore, it saves the readers time to search for the pages, thus, keeping the focus of the narrative intact.

Hypertext fiction also creates a sense of mystery within the reader because the reader will not know the percentages of the lexias he has gone through and what surprises might await him in those lexias that he did not go through or lexias that were denied access due to some choices made. In the case of a printed book, it will not be possible to create the sense of mystery as the reader can see the structure of the fiction. In my opinion, this might be advantageous or disadvantages depending on the nature of the readers. If the reader is patient enough to accept the challenge of concurring the hypertext fiction, he will continue to navigate it. However, if the reader is one that wanted to know only the conclusion and does not have the time to navigate through the whole experience, he will most probably be unsatisfied with the outcome.

In addition, if it is an internet-based hypertext fiction, the author can easily alters the storyline, based on the feedback of the readers. Or the author can also make it possible to allow the readers to become authors by asking the readers to construct their own different lexias and send them to the author, who will incorporate them together to form different lines of new narratives. This would not be possible in the case of a printed books which will need a rather long time to be published.

Hence, hypertext fictions expands the dimensions and improves the interactivity of the already existing structure of the narrative in the printed book form.