Rascal E. Riter

Saturday, March 20, 2010

When Does a Multimedia Novel Stop Being a Multimedia Novel?

In yesterday's post, I wrote about how important it is for would-be online novelists to carefully consider what multimedia elements they want to include in their multimedia novels.

Today, I want to focus on a different kind of product--something that, while sometimes referred to as a multimedia novel, is not.

The heart of the issue is this: A novel is designed to be READ. When authors go beyond providing supplemental information in their multimedia elements and instead provide essential parts of the story so those multimedia elements must be accessed in order for users to get the whole story, that product is no longer a multimedia novel. It's a hybrid. In that realm, the text is not king and the creators must be as much producers/directors as writers.

I see a lot of value in providing stories of this type and I think there's a growing audience for it, but would-be content providers must remember always that such products, while having a value and audience all their own, will never meet the needs of users who want to experience a story through READING.

Instead, such hybrid products--somewhere between a novel and a podcast/video offering--will appeal to those who want to simultaneously and/or intermittently read, hear and watch a story unfold. It's a completely different user experience and not one that all would-be visitors will want.

It's important for content providers to keep in mind that even some potential customers who might appreciate the read-listen-watch experience as an ideal will not do so in the current world, where bandwidth restrictions remain an issue for a wide segment of web users.

In making the decision about whether to create a read-listen-watch product, do so knowing that (1) not all potential customers for your story will want it in that format; and (2) not all potential customers who would like it in that format will be fortunate enough to have the bandwidth to be able to access it that way.

The best way to meet the needs of the widest potential customer base, would-be readers as well as the reader/listener/watcher market, is to offer the story as both a multimedia novel (a textual story enhanced by supplemental multimedia elements) and a hybrid (a story that REQUIRES listening and/or watching in addition to reading).

I think it'd be great to be able to offer my visitors both. I'm not there yet. I'm still in the multimedia novelist realm, offering text with supplemental images, video and audio. Sure, I could throw something up on the web as a hybrid, but I don't want to right now. Like most other writers, I lack the resources to do it well. It's a personal choice for me. I'd rather not do it at all than waste the time and energy to do it badly.

Still, I can't help but appreciate the efforts of those who are out there pushing the boundaries, putting their stories and reputations on the line to try to find out what works and what doesn't, when it comes to the production of text-audio-video hybrids.

If you'd like to check out one content creator's vision of what a hybrid product might look like, visit Unnatural States. Nicola Furlong, its creator, calls it a Quillr (tm), and she's up-front in pointing out that bringing the story before the public took the efforts of quite a few people.

Feedback on Unnatural States and the Quillr concept has varied. Some love it. Some hate it.

Some who hate it express appreciation for the concept but point out issues related to this particular story and/or the execution in this particular product. It's clear from the comments of others, though, that they hate the concept. I expect most of them always will. For them, it's a poor substitute for reading.

As I see it, there's room for this new type of delivery method, the hybrid, which some users will love and others will never want.

I hope to see growth in the offerings of both multimedia novels and hybrids.

I can't see the hybrid significantly diminishing the market share for multimedia novels because, for the reasons outlined above, it's a whole different thing. In fact, experiencing a story in one format might even make the user want to experience it in another, in the same way that people want to see movie versions of novels they've loved in print and want to read in print the novels that inspired movies they've loved. Multimedia novels and the hybrids are simply additional ways for people who love stories to experience them. Date of availability and personal preference in terms of delivery method may drive the user when he or she makes the choice to first engage with a story but, if the story's good enough, it may well be worth experiencing the novel/multimedia novel, the hybrid and the movie.

As these new storytelling vehicles evolve, it's important for readers as well as content providers to refine their expectations. It's not just that a read-listen-watch experience isn't your mother's kind of novel. The real point is, it's not a novel at all. Still, if it's just what you're looking for, it can be a pretty cool experience.

-Originally posted on October 9, 2009, at rascaleriter.com.

Posting Your Multimedia Novel Online: Don't Let the Fancy Stuff Get in the Way of the Story

More authors every day are making the decision to post novels or excerpts online. Some have chosen web posting as an alternative to print-on-paper because of the rich elements they can include online, such as songs, videos and hyperlinks. Images, too, fall into this category because, while they're sometimes elements of print books, online posting opens up whole new possibilities for graphics.

I applaud all the creative authors experimenting with the publication of multimedia novels.

At the same time, I think it's essential for web authors to carefully consider the elements they're including in their online novels and excerpts. Otherwise, hoped-for masterpieces can become disasters. All those bells and whistles can get in the way of the story you're trying to tell--and turn off your readers.

The purpose of this post is to share some things I think all would-be web novelists should know. Some, I've learned through (sometimes painful) trial and error, while others are included because they're things that turned me off from the web projects of other authors.

Only you can determine the right balance of text and multimedia for your own story but I do want to share this hard-won bit of advice:

When in doubt, leave it out.

If you are not 100-percent certain that a potential element needs to be included within your web novel or excerpt, don't put it there. That doesn't mean you can't share it with your readers. If you really want to share it, put it in an 'Extras' section so readers can check it out there. Just don't let it interfere with the story itself.

Here's the list. It's by no means exhaustive, but I offer it up as a starting-point.

1. Follow good web design principles.

There are tons of books and websites out there on this topic. Web Style Guide is a great place to learn a lot. If you want some examples of what not to do, take a look at Web Pages That Suck.

Here are a few points that are especially important for web novel authors:

Make sure your text size is readable;

Avoid fancy fonts;

Make sure there's sufficient contrast between the background and the text to make for easy reading;

Don't use background images behind your text if you expect readers to stick around for page after page of reading. Background graphics make the reader's eyes have to work too hard; and

If you make the choice to run ads on the page, don't allow flashing/changing ones. They can distract readers' attention from your story and, after awhile, they can hurt readers' eyes.

2. Carefully consider how detailed you really want to get in the renderings of your characters, settings, etc.

For many readers, the joy of imagining characters, locations, vessels, and other elements of fictional worlds is half the fun of reading. By supplying too much in the way of ready-made graphics as representations, you are stamping your own view into readers' minds. That's fine if it's what you really want to do, and certainly the author knows his characters better than anyone else ever can. BUT what if the readers dislike what you're portraying so much that it steals their enjoyment of the story?

I can't tell you how many times I've seen readers' comments on web stories expressing their dislike for the supplied graphics. The wrong pictures might send the wrong message right from the start and prevent readers from even giving your story a try. Cartoony, anime-style character pictures can be great for some stories but, if you want your readers to envision your characters as real, live, breathing people, you may want to stay away from cartoonish renderings. Too-real-looking character pictures can also turn readers off. Don't destroy a reader's fantasy of your hero by offering up a less-than-heroic stock photo of a guy who's trying to look sexy but may look... well... too silly/too hairy/too pretty/too whatever to a lot of readers. PLEASE don't use photos of your favorite actors/actresses to represent your characters within your multimedia novel. It screams amateur--and worse, amateur with delusions of grandeur--and opens up a whole bunch of usage rights issues. Wait! You say you really are an amateur and you do have delusions of grandeur and you want the world to know it? Cool! Me, too. So if you REALLY want to link your characters with actors and actresses, then put that in an 'Extras' section and provide links that will take users to actual webpages where those photos are legally posted. Make it clear to all readers that these are just your imaginings for character castings and in no way imply that the actors/actresses have endorsed these representations of them as your characters.

Generally, it's better to use pictures to represent themes within your fiction rather than the characters and places themselves. Photos showing characters can work well if the characters are seen at enough distance away that the actual features are indistinct. If they're dressed for the part, they can still 'look like' your characters from a distance even if they don't up close.

If you really, really want to include lots of graphical depictions, then go ahead. It's your story, after all. But please keep the following in mind:

Choose graphics that are in keeping with the overall tone of your story so readers don't feel cheated OR sell your story short; and

Try to include such graphics from the very beginning of posting online so you don't suffer readers' anger when you supply graphics they deem inferior to what they've already imagined.

3. Do you really want to include that audio/video?

Web users love a good multimedia experience--but not nearly as much as we hate a bad one. Including audio/video as a part of your web novel can result in a truly horrible experience for the reader.

Here's some stuff to keep in mind.

NEVER set your audio/video to automatically play when the page opens. Let the reader click.

Be mindful of volume settings. For audio/video on webpages, it's better to make the reader turn it up than it is to scare him half to death with too-loud sound. If you're going to include multiple audio/video elements, try to set them all at similar volumes. That way, your visitors won't have to keep fiddling with their volume controls.

Make sure everything essential to your novel is in the text. DON'T put important scenes or parts thereof into audio/video elements and force readers to constantly switch gears between reading and watching/listening. Just trust me on this, okay? If a person has shown up at your site to read a novel, then let him or her read a novel. Audio/video elements should be bonus material... music that sets the mood... a full rendering of a scene that wasn't essential to include in the text but would make a killer video... etc. If you want to tell the story through audio/video elements then consider doing a podcast or video instead of/in addition to the web novel posting, or go all-out and experiment with the creation of a text/multimedia hybrid--just don't call that hybrid a multimedia novel. More on that in the next post.

If you want to make an audio/video rendering of a scene that *is* included in the text, that's fine. Offer it up, but make it clear to the reader that's what the audio/video is so he/she doesn't unnecessarily suffer the redundancy. My own preference would be to leave that particular audio/video experience OUT of the novel scene itself, but maybe just put it in an 'EXTRAS' section with a link from the scene within the text. If you do make videos of this type, consider posting them on video sharing sites with a link to your story as a way to bring in potential readers.

If you can't get good actors to make your audio/video, don't make it. Seriously.

If you can find one or two good actors, you might be able to expand their voice potential as a cast of characters by using voice manipulation software such as AV Voice Changer.

If you want to show characters acting out scenes and can't get enough good actors, my only other recommendation would be to use a program such as MovieStorm. I've also seen movies made with The Sims 2 and some of those are pretty impressive, but it takes a lot of work on the would-be moviemaker's part to make game characters act like actors. MovieStorm, being specifically made for movie-making, is a great deal easier to use for that purpose. The characters there are a bit cartoony but your readers may be willing to forgive you since the technology is still so new. MovieStorm's free to download but you need to buy content packs (for a few dollars each) if you want to do really fun stuff with it.

4. Remember that hyperlinks take readers *out* of your story.

As a web author, one of the things you're probably hoping for is to get some readers hooked on your story. You risk losing them when you keep sending them OUT of the story.

Use hyperlinks judiciously within your online novel text.

Hyperlinks are wonderful when you want to allow a reader to, for example, jump back in time to a previous scene that's currently mentioned as background (just remember to make it easy to get back to the current page once the reader's done with the previous scene).

Hyperlinks that go to places where readers can learn more about people, places and things mentioned in your story are a great way to enhance the reader's experience BUT they direct the reader's attention away from your story. Sure, if the reader loves your story, he or she will probably come back, but if you offer too many hyperlinks too early, your reader might leave before he or she has had the chance to fall in love with your story.

Better options than including external links within the text of your story are:

Providing a list of links, along with some contextual information about them, at the end of each installment/chapter of your story; or

Creating an 'Extras' page providing additional information about the topics for each installment/chapter as well as links readers can follow to learn more, then putting a link to the appropriate 'Extras' page at the bottom of each installment/chapter.

5. Have Fun.

Know that, as an author creating a multimedia novel or excerpt online, you are at the leading edge of a new realm of publishing.

The tips provided above are optimized to meet the expectations of today's web novel readers and based on capabilities of existing authoring tools and user access methods. Nonetheless, I think they'll serve most multimedia novelists well into the future.

We've only begun to explore the possibilities for enhancing our novels. I think it's important for us to remember, as we grow as novelists and our products evolve, that the whole purpose of a novel (online or print) is to meet the needs of those who want to READ. There is a growing audience for the multimedia novel, a textual offering enhanced by multimedia elements, designed to meet the needs of the READING public. No one knows what the multimedia novel of the future ultimately is going to look like. You can help define it.

(A great many) Rules can be broken with great success--just know why you're doing it and make sure it's the best thing for your story. That being said, if you break too many of the rules above, then what you're creating is not a multimedia novel. It's something else entirely.

Like To Work With Text Blocks? Check Out Mindola Software's SuperNotecard

There are quite a few software packages designed to help writers deal with their text in the form of blocks. Generally, the idea is to give writers a way to create and use notes on the computer in the same way they could do with notecards and stacks of paper in the real world--only better.

The best I've found for Windows is Mindola Software's SuperNotecard. There's also a version for Mac.

SuperNotecard is packed with features and, at only $29, it's a real bargain. Once you're ready, you can export your work to Rich Text Format (RTF) and then refine it in most any word processing program. If screenwriting's your thing, you can get a SuperNotecard version that exports to Final Draft for $34.

Even if you prefer to do your actual writing using a word processor or screenwriting software, you still might want to use SuperNotecard to help you organize all the related information.

You can get either version as a free trial to find out whether it complements your style. If you download it, be sure to open up the sample project because that will give you a good sense of the kinds of things you could do with it.

SuperNotecard can support both fiction and nonfiction writers with features to capture people/characters, locations, bibliographic references, and more.

With SuperNotecard, you can put your text onto cards and use colors, categories and tags to help you organize them. You can add flags to indicate sections of your work that you want to revisit to clean up, expand, etc. You can stack the cards however you want, even forming piles within piles within piles. SuperNotecard supports a rich outlining framework so you can go several layers deep in your organizing, if you want, but still be able to see the project overview at a glance. From that overview, you can quickly drill down to the details.

The developers wisely steered clear of trying to make the software 'too helpful'. It doesn't try to write your document for you.

What it does do is take care of some of the grunt work that's tedious for humans and can be handled efficiently by machines. For example, if you create a character and give SuperNotecard the keywords that relate to that character, SuperNotecard can automatically give you a clickable list of all the places that character appears within your notes.

If you've ever wished you had an assistant to help you keep all your stuff straight while you're writing, you're really going to appreciate SuperNotecard.

-Originally posted on November 6, 2008, at rascaleriter.com.

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Comment imported from original location:

#1 Tia
on Dec 19th, 2008 at 2:18 am [edit]
Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’ve put up another installment of my Word for the Writer series. I know–it’s been a while.

Tia Nevitt's Tips and Tricks for Your Manuscripts

Tia Nevitt of Tia's Writing Blog has put together some great information to help writers get the most out of Microsoft Word. The principles she's outlined can easily be extended to other word processing tools as well, though you'll need one that supports outlining features to make full use of her suggestions.

This information's great for those of us who want to write our entire manuscripts within single files rather than breaking them into tiny elements the way a lot of the tools for writers expect us to do. The beauty of this approach is that you can define what your final document's going to look like even as you're writing it.

Just go to the blog and look for the links. They're in the upper left corner of the main page.

She covers topics like creating a manuscript template and making use of styles and the document map. She's written the instructions in plain English so you don't need to be a technical type to make sense of them.

Even better, she gives you the information you need in order to tailor the instructions to suit your own preferences.

I use a similar approach to Tia's, though I go back and forth between the Document Map and the Outline views a lot, depending on what I'm doing. It's really easy to move stuff around within the manuscript from the Outline view.

I also take a similar approach for my styles, though I don't name my scenes. Instead, I just separate my scenes with # (since that's the character I want to use in my finished manuscripts to designate scene shifts) and I define an extra style for 'Scene First Paragraph' and apply it to each scene's first paragraph. It's formatted just like other paragraphs in the manuscript, but it's one level up in the document structure so I can see these lines when I look at the Document Map or Outline. It makes for quick scanning to find just the scene you're hunting.

I define an additional style called 'Critical Event', which is at the same level in the structure as 'Scene First Paragraph.' I primarily use this to flag the things I'm going to want to highlight when I go back to write my full synopsis. So my structure, once there's some writing there, looks a lot like this:

Chapter

Scene First Paragraph

Scene Text

Critical Event

Scene Text

Chapter

That structure works for me, but with Tia's help, you can come up with just the right structure for your own work.

Happy writing!

-Originally posted on October October 28, 2008, at rascaleriter.com.

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Comments imported from original location:

#1 Tia
on Oct 30th, 2008 at 12:19 am [edit]
Wow; thanks for the link. You have inspired me to continue my series. I’m kind of on the fence about getting Word 2007, but some of my readers already use it and were able to use my instructions anyway.

I also use pound characters to separate scenes. The only reason I name them is so they will appear in the document map. I strip the scene names out when I’m finished with the draft.

I really like your “critical event” idea! And I’ll have to play with using the Outline view. I haven’t used that view since I used to mess around with Master Documents.

#2 Brandilyn Collins
on Nov 3rd, 2008 at 6:13 pm [edit]
Dora, thanks for your comment on my blog, Forensics and Faith. I’m glad to hear my own journey to publication story has helped you. Blessings!

~ Brandilyn

Need a Database for Your Characters, Settings, Etc.? Check out Zoho Creator and Zoho DB.

With the free Zoho Creator, setting up a database is as easy as Click & Drag. It literally will take you moments to get up and running.

If you've already got data in Excel spreadsheets, etc., Zoho Creator's easy import functionality will let you add it in seconds.

It's really designed for ease-of-use. Seriously, anybody can do it.

If you get started with Zoho Creator and decide you need a more flexible and robust solution, then you can easily graduate to the free Zoho DB & Reports.

While you're there, check out all the other Zoho offerings at the Zoho Main Page. It might save you from spending money on software to do things you could have done for free with Zoho.

Zoho offers a full line of office capabilities pulled together with one-stop access. And free. Does it get any better than this?

-Originally posted on October 27, 2008, at rascaleriter.com.

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Comment imported from original location:

#1 Aravind
on Oct 28th, 2008 at 7:50 am [edit]
Dora : Thanks for writing about Zoho and recommending it to your readers

Get Organized With Tabbery

UPDATE: As of March 20, 2010, tabbery.com redirects to slideband.com, a tool for creating interactive rich multimedia presentations. Looks pretty cool.

You might want to take a look at a new tool called Tabbery if any of the following describes you:

you hate having to constantly move desktop windows out of the way to see other ones;

you sometimes wish you could save your current set-up of files, webpages, etc. for easy access;

you ever want to share your current desktop files or webpages with someone else.

Tabbery lets you do all that and more. Here's a snippet from the Tabbery website:

Tabbery lets you organize your work into virtual desktop tabs, which can be saved, shared with others, or posted online. Each desktop tab is saved as one small file, capable of re-launching the entire desktop and its contents - on any computer! Best of all... it's free!

In its current form, Tabbery is one of those tools I think individual users will either love or hate. It likes to sit at the top of your screen, where it hides until you move the cursor into its area. Then up it pops. As an alternative, you can run it undocked, but then other things jump in front of it so you lose its primary benefit - convenient access to all your stuff.

I liked it a lot better once I edited Personalize -> Behavior and chose the option to have it simply appear rather than slide down. It got even better after I verified I could left-click at the bottom of it and drag upward, reducing the amount of space it took on my screen.

It looks like they're still taking requirements for further development, so maybe future iterations will offer even more customization options.

There's a short video on the Tabbery website that will give you enough information to decide whether you want to give it a closer look.

-Originally posted on October 26, 2008, at rascaleriter.com.

KallOut: A Handy Little Search Gadget

KallOut lets you search the web from any web page, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel or Powerpoint) document or Adobe PDF. It's easy to use and extremely helpful. It's free, too!

Basically, when you highlight a word or set of words, KallOut adds a little icon above the highlighting. You click on that and it gives you a menu of available places to search. It comes with a menu of search locations already included but, if you want, you can use KallOut Options to set up your own KallOut and specify the search location you want to add to the menu.

Visit KallOut.com for more details. There's a short product tour that's well worth the time.

Okay, I'm done. Now, go get KallOut!

-Originally posted on October 25, 2008, at rascaleriter.com.