The Cult of Me

"It's important in my research and work to make this point clear: I am looking at a very specific type of reading and authorship. I don't suggest there will only be one way moving into the future."

"I'm late to this threat, but I appreciate the comment and hope you enjoyed the second piece: The Design of Authorship :)"

"I can get down with cheeky :)"

"Hello L.L. I think you meant to say "story and technology" won :) It's important to note that story doesn't always win. Avatar, for instance, was nothing more than The Hero's Journey played exactly to form. It was hardly a great story, but the technology - the delivery mechanism - was so immersive that audiences must have derived pleasure from something other than just the narrative.  Great story in crappy form will lose out to mediocre story in brilliant form as often as it doesn't, I suspect. But classics will be made by those who can master both technology and story."

"Thanks for reading and commenting. I'm not sure why my commercial success should have any bearing on the weight of the argument. By your definition, we should only produce James Patterson novels (which are not written by him). But I assume you meant something different than that and I shall leave that argument alone. I take exception with your summary of my point: that design should dictate the story. In fact, I neither wrote nor implied that. That they work in concert is - in many cases - undeniable. (I may upon further thought even venture to say "in every case"). It's simplistic to believe that story alone dictates design because when I writer sits down to write, the delivery form of the piece is most certainly part of that process. Which is simply to say this: interactive environments have analogous tentacles within the print/analog world, which means writers (and I stress writers of this ilk, not all writers) will need to learn that form as well."

"Hey Ward: I don't disagree with you that literate readers are important. This is what I do with my life: each :) Your argument about multi-media, though, is not related exactly to my point. It's a straw man, albeit one I agree with."

"Hello Florence: I'll do my best to address your question although I'll begin by saying that to do so in any meaningful way will certainly require that you understand what types of interactions can happen with an interactive text on a tablet screen. For instance: the scenario you described (cover art, ect) has no real relation to what I've described. Essentially you've described the problem with pamphleteering, desktop publishing, and any countless numbers of self-publishing systems that have always been around. They are not specific to digital publishing. That aside: let me see if I can't give you a coherent example of what might be done as a means to answer your question. One early example of this type of publishing comes from Jordan Weisman and Sean Stewart, who created the Cathy's Book series. Within the book, there were phone numbers that could be called, illustrations that were central to the story, and websites where the story world was expanded. In the printed book, readers set..."

"This is your story, and you will write what you want + if it is good enough then it will appear in the book. That's the joy of writing. The freedom to tell the stories we want to tell.  That said, you haven't convinced me - or the group - of your point. Why: you gave up before you understand this process, and you gave up before you had time to understand what this story is about. You are still under the impression that story is about you and this other person. Because of that, it feels very much like you abandoned it because of fear not because it's not the story to write. Maybe it isn't, but you won't know because you never gave it a chance. You sought the easy ground. This is why we aren't convinced :)"

"While nobody can tell anybody they are a writer (or a photographer...after all, I take pictures too), there is a deep and thoughtful skill set and history that separates people who write from writers. Sitting down without structure makes you a person who writes, not a writer in the same way that me snapping a picture with my camera is not the same you being a photographer."

"You will find the crucible gets more intense, but you will learn to navigate it. Follow your heart and you will be fine. Follow your lesser instincts and the crucible becomes a grinder. I don't worry so much about you, though."

"Indeed. This was part of my 90-in-90 where I set about doing something new in Indiana every day. It wasn't easy. I did love Ft. Wayne while I was there. Definitely a fun place to hang. I'm sure there is more outside downtown, we just haven't figured it out yet. Hope you two kids aren't getting into too much trouble, young man."

"I was bummed too. I wasn't feeling well (and the race the next day didn't go so well). The next time we're through town, I feel like a Minja Reunion is in order. All my kids are growing up so fast :)"

"Well our friends are scattered around the globe and it would be too expensive for them to buy tickets at this late a date, get hotels, ect. We want this day to be about everyone, and so we thought it best to go slowly on the wedding. But just the wedding :)"

"I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I know today we are both over the moon. She's just the best thing that's ever happened to me & I'm already having a hard time remembering what life was like before her."

"I have heard this enough to know that it's true."

"One of the very fun things about this has been hearing stories from people about when they fell in love. It's one of the great unifying forces on the planet, for sure."

"Hopefully you will have a little person for me to meet then :)"

"I like real life."

"Thanks young man. When do I get to see your face around these parts again?"

"This seems to be a common theme :) And yes: Our kids will have one ring to rule them all...er, wait, I mean they will DESTROY the ring. Yes, yes...that's what I meant."