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Hey Everyone!

We made it to the end!

I am happy to report that my project is about 70% done. I am very excited about it.

The whole project takes place inside Google Sheets. It starts with a sheet with two links. One takes you to a website that allows you to generate scrolling text from the opening of Star Wars. The text is a suicide note from the protagonist. After that, you go back to the sheet to continue.

Next is the iceberg. There are x’s inside the boxes in the iceberg. When you click on one, it takes you to another page in the sheet. The things above the iceberg are things that are out in the open and the things below the iceberg are hidden by the protagonist.

There are different elements that I have used. There is prose about the protagonists life before their suicide. There are song lyrics that have been made into blackout poems with links to Youtube videos of the song. There are clips from anime. If you don’t know the source material, the clips seem out of place. For example, one clip is from an anime where the protagonist kills themselves and wakes up in a new world where everyone has wings, yet people who commit suicide have black wings.

I’m going to include one hidden thing. I am going to make a box behind the moon that links to a sheet. It will take all of the songs that are included in the piece and put them in order. There will be a note from the protagonist telling the reader that when they die, this is the playlist for their funeral.

The piece is meant to be confusing, maybe a little disorienting, and not fully understood in a narrative sense. There is no one reason why the protagonist commits suicide and I want the reader to see that. I guess the reader is going through the life of someone who committed suicide and trying to put all the pieces together.

student blogs

It’s going.

This project is finally going in a direction for better or for worse. After our class workshop, I felt that I had concepts of an idea but still nothing too concrete. Over the long weekend, I really sat down and though about potential ways to tackle this project and the type of story I wanted to tell. In the end, I feel that I now have my main idea fleshed out and ready to go. I want to make this project about people’s online identities and voice within a digital space. To achieve this, I wanted to make two blogs from the same “writer” that showcases their two wickedly different sides. One side is the professional scholar who works in academia, and the other a more casual version of the same writer. I want to showcase their two sides through two blogs from the writer. The quirk is that the “real” blog will be hidden within the “professional blog”.

            After I ironed that out, I began to really focus on building the two web pages. I have begun to work on WordPress to create and publish the two blogs. I am most familiar with WordPress (especially after taking two classes with Dr. Z). The more “casual” blog will take more time to build out since I want to place much more stylistic and personal element into it compared to the other one. I feel like I will be messing with the actual composition of the blog up until the finish line.  

 This week I plan to begin to start writing the actual blogs and building the “narrative”. I have some ideas of what will be in the blogs, and I feel like they will fall into place as I begin to actually write. I want this part to be finished by the weekend, so I am able to begin to edit and fix up the blogs. I feel like I am out of my element for this project honestly, but I want to see where it goes. We will see.

student blogs

E-lit Final Project: When Love Becomes a Click

I want my e-lit project to explore what happens to love when it exists mostly through screens. Not just the social media version, but the kind filled with missed calls, delayed responses, and the quiet anxiety of time zones that never quite line up. My idea centers around building an interactive fiction about a long-distance couple trying to survive the distance while still learning how to love each other in a digital world.

At the beginning of the experience, the reader would choose the characters’ love languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, physical touch, or gift-giving. These choices don’t just act as personality traits, they shape how the story unfolds. A character who values quality time might struggle more with distance than one who values words of affirmation. The story would unfold through text messages, voice memos, short poems, and shared music links. The reader wouldn’t just read the relationship; they’d participate in maintaining it.

Each chapter would present the reader with choices: Do you send a poem or a playlist? Do you wait to respond or call immediately? Do you confront immigration issues directly, or avoid them out of fear? These decisions lead the couple down different paths. Some endings might show diaspora love surviving systems designed to break it. Others might show how distance, lack of intimacy, or family pressure slowly tears them apart.

Visually and structurally, I imagine the project looking like a chat interface or message thread, where timestamps, loading dots, and unsent messages become part of the narrative something like “Hana Feels” or “Writers are not Strangers.” There would be moments of silence built into the story, blank spaces where users have to sit with the absence, simulating what long-distance actually feels like. Music and poetry would function as emotional artifacts, love letters in digital form, showing how intimacy adapts when touch isn’t possible.

This project matters to me as a person that had had to navigate a failed long-distance love, it isn’t just about romance. It’s also about borders, migration, cultural expectation, and emotional survival. By making it interactive, I want readers to feel the weight of choice,  to understand that love online is not passive consumption, but active, fragile construction. Every decision becomes political. Every message becomes evidence of care or neglect. In the end, some relationships will survive. Others won’t. But either way, the reader walks away understanding that love, like electronic literature, is shaped by systems, interfaces, and the emotional code we choose to write within them.

student blogs

A World riting 2025-11-10 10:23:39

Writers Are Not Strangers

‘Writers Are Not Strangers’ has many stories, and at first, the stories did not make much sense, so I had to rate them as well. Then, as I read further, the stories started to make sense. It was like a game where, at the end of each story, you had to either answer a multiple-choice question or fill in the blank, and then the story would add the name or word you placed in the blank, which was very interesting. Each story was different, covering assorted topics that took Alix on a personal journey with her friends. I found it to be long and sometimes hard to follow and understand.

Alix is a young YouTube-style content creator and writer whose mother is hospitalized and nearing death. Alix’s stories reference classics like Middlemarch and games like Space Invaders, providing a layered commentary on derivative creativity and originality. They blend fiction, game mechanics, and critical theory into compelling digital experiences. Again, I found that at times it was hard to follow and confusing. It is all about Alix’s journey in her life with her friends and family.

Retrotas Vivo de Mama

Carolina Lopez Jimenez is a Colombian writer and artist working across different disciplines. “Mom Living Portraits” was published online in 2015 and is still being updated. It is a documentary, hypertext narrative, and autobiographical electronic literature. Inspired by Lopez’s mother’s prolonged illness and passing, it explores mourning and memory within an evolving digital space. “Retrotas Vivo de Mama” is a scrapbook of Lopez Jimenez’s mother, beautifully created in Spanish, where her mother’s voice narrates various stages of her life and her family. The scrapbook is filled with family photos that tell a compelling story; it was beautifully made. It feels as if her mother’s voice is speaking aloud throughout, telling her story. I lost my mother a year ago, and I am thinking about creating an online digital scrapbook for her, highlighting our family and her life’s various stages. This has inspired me to make a digital scrapbook with photos of my mother and our family, which I believe is a wonderful idea and could serve as a heartfelt tribute mother.

By: Lareice Weeks-Bigelow

student blogs

All Your Timed -Tossed Selves & Hana Feels Reflection and Reaction

All Your Time- Tossed Selves 

The progressive Google Forms as a substrate, carrier of the dialogue and our responses is a creative interactive way that many are familiar with when filling out a survey or poll with Google Forms and providing an interest in an event or information, sign up.  The conversation happening between me and the form cerates this responsive letter with only two multiple choices lines of dialogue to choose in the beginning, but  eventually evolves to checking multiple boxes, from a drop down selection arrow, and additional multiple choice selections available to choose from that carries the conversation along making you  realize it doesn’t matter what you choose you will be back where you stated eventually. Depending on each response, the interaction finds a way to show empathy towards what selection I chose related to the question. I tend to forget about what question was asked prior as now I am focused on the present. Each response does have an effect on the following though as I move forward  with. It was clever to provide a list for me to choose from of what I brought with me in my  “small bag” going to the Tower which made me mindful of the lines provided. I enjoy being given the option of seeing my previous responses once I have submitted my current form. The biggest part of this work was the Pie and Bar graphs that were provided of all the responses with percentages of choices made. This made me feel like I am part of a larger anonymous group but somehow affecting the whole together with our choices. This is similar to how our society is here in America, we tend to think of our choices as being singular and not affecting the whole or our surroundings, but they do. If we were provided with a visual of how our choices do change or affect others. Then I think we might be deterred to make certain choices and rethink others having the opportunity to look back at the previous ones selected. Just being mindful and aware.

 Hana Feels

Reading the Editorial Statement before accessing the work of Hana Feels knowing that it is related to mental health crisis and I would be mediating what is said to her from the 4 role dialogue responses made me interested as a Veteran who has faced many “rough patches” on my own without support or having an outside perspective on its effects to the body, mind. The words of “allied purpose” are substantial and having a role to make a difference with Hana’s situation depending on what is said to her. I chose the work website version, instead of the arrive to interact as a participant, now a digital friend of Hana’s here to support her through this mental health challenge. The type of support is extremely important, and what and how we say something to someone having a mental health crisis needs to be thought through and have empathy not sympathy. Sometimes we think we know the best things to say to someone in a time of need, but they don’t always have the effect of making the person in need of support feeling any better from what was said or advice. In a way you are playing an active menta health negotiator and trying to help a friend. Peer, coworker, family member out of a situation that has overtaken their mind, feelings, thinking and get them into a more level, stable way of thinking and reacting to what is happening. We must be aware of the mental health part of the formula when trying to share care; understanding there is an imbalance. In my experience as Will the Volunteer I asked the question “what is your name” it seems that there was pause in any responses to be made after that, the selections became limited. There was quiet breathing then click. I thought by asking the name of the caller would create a more personal feeling, showing I understand another human being is on the other side needing help. So I decided to interact again, clicking the refresh button bringing up the same helpline scenario page and responses to what I could ask the caller, Hana. This time I asked, “Is there something you’re worried about?” Once again some gaps in the responses boxes and quiet breathing resulted making me feel like I asked the wrong question to her. It’s interesting that when I clicked on Will the volunteers profile it mentioned that he is “worried of saying the wrong thing” to the caller. I also felt this anxiousness or weight on my consciousness while interacting with Hana. Realizing that Hana actually hung up during the previous call not because I asked the wrong question, but because she was concerned that I would think she was a “heavy breather” caller doing it as a prank, or for one’s own enjoyment. This made the interaction even real for me and created a responsibility in me to continue speaking to Hana. Hana’s Journal was insightful reading her feelings calling up the help line and understanding her thoughts or reasoning. The discussion playing the role of Christine, Hana’s boss created a entirely new feeling towards my role. I assumed that this would be about how Hana’s mental health was effecting her productivity at the Casino. I selected responses back to Hana that were from a understanding nature of one who has dealt with mental health getting in the way of my job performance, instead of other responses that were cold and not caring, but focused on assertiveness and putting Hana’s mistakes in front of her not really understanding first what was going on with her. I learned ones role, title, responsibility towards a individual whether a boss, friend, co worker, family member would require a different level of concern and empathy felt with something so delicate and quiet as mental health.

student blogs

The Vine and the Fish & Ask Me For the Moon

For this week’s readings, I started with Leise Hook’s graphic novel/ short comic The Vine and the Fish. Now to out myself as a bit of a nerd, I love comics and graphic novels. Seeing the bridge being built between narrative and art warms my heart every time. Hook’s work did its job in that regard. I do have to say that weirdly enough, I preferred reading Hook’s comic in its standard format, (the downloadable version) compared to the motion comic that is available on her website. I felt that that animations throughout the work got in the way of the word on the “page”. (I feel like an old man yelling at the cloud in writing this). I do have to say that the animation, and the art especially was amazing and fit into the story she wanted to tell. The use of different shades green to fit into the motif of nature and foliage was a fantastic touch. The overall narrative was compelling. It was a bit less personal that I had initially thought it would be. Despite this, when the author made the connection to the Kudzu plant and herself, the moment stood out very well. When the author wrote, “Because I’ve internalized the language of invasion biology”, my ear perked up a bit. I felt that this was a very powerful line after a lot of exposition about the dynamics of invasive species and the language and actions that surrounds them. Another thing to note about this work is the fact that it did not work correctly on my computer. I had to read the work as a static page (like a traditional comic or graphic novel). I then went on to watch a video of the work to see it in an “E-lit” context. I just thought that it was interesting how comics and seemingly straddle the line between E-lit and more conventual literature. In my personal opinion, nothing hits better than turning the page of a comic but reading them online can add levels of animation and other artistic qualities that can enhance the experience. I will stand on my soapbox all day and argue that comics deserve to be read in their paper format, but this work gave me a bit of a new perspective.

            The second work that I read through for the class was Ask For the Moon, by John David Zuern. I again, want to revel something about myself in this blog (I know it’s crazy). I need to admit that I am poetries biggest hater. A lot of my hard feelings come from the idea that I “don’t get it” a lot of time. As I’ve gotten older, I have started to have more of an open mind about poetry and its many works. I even found a handful of poems that I actually like (Much Madness is Devine Sense by Emily Dickenson comes to mind). I can say this work does not make that list. To give some credit, one line that caught my attention was, “In Frigid kitchens, in fluorescent corridors, all work is night work”. Beautiful stuff, no notes. Moving one, some things I did like about the work was how it was presented to the user. The words come in quick and fade away, maybe pointing to the forgotten and overlooked people who make the tourism industry possible within Hawaii. The imagery was small but was impactful. Also, the detours to more academic writing from other authors was a great artistic touch. One last note I want to make is about the navigational aspect of it. Since the words are fading it black and even overlapping the new words on the page, some of the poetry was hard to read and follow. Overall, this was not one of my favorites, which sucks because I can feel that this author had a really nice story to tell. Also, quick note, this work reminded me of the first season of the first season of the HBO hit show, White Lotus. They talk about similar ideas.

student blogs

A World riting 2025-10-20 07:51:56

Lareice’s Digital World

The Aesthetics and Experiential Dimensions of Interactive Electronic Literature

Interactive electronic literature, Yardley PA, and Avenue S, represents a dynamic merging of narrative, visual art, and digital technology. Unlike traditional print-based texts, these works invite readers to engage with storytelling as an immersive, multisensory experience. Through the integration of instrumental soundscapes, animated net art, and game-like navigation, electronic literature transforms passive reading into active participation.

One of the most compelling aspects of this genre is its resemblance to video game mechanics. Users often navigate through the narrative by pressing a single button, which propels them into new story environments. This tangible interaction fosters a sense of agency and exploration, allowing readers to move through the text as if journeying through a virtual landscape. The interface itself becomes a narrative device, guiding users through layers of meaning and emotional resonance.

Vibrant animations and net art aesthetics contribute to a rich tapestry of symbolic and affective imagery

Visual elements play a critical role in shaping the reader’s experience. Vibrant animations and net art aesthetics contribute to a rich tapestry of symbolic and affective imagery. These visuals are not merely decorative; they function as extensions of the narrative, enhancing ideological depth and emotional tone. The interplay between text and image creates a blended form of storytelling that is both intellectually stimulating and visually engaging.

Equally significant is the role of sound. Instrumental effects and ambient audio cues heighten the immersive quality of the work, reinforcing mood and pacing. Sound becomes a narrative element, capable of revealing memory, tension, and transformation. When combined with visual and interactive components, it produces a comprehensive sensory experience that exceeds conventional literary boundaries.

Interactive electronic literature exemplifies the evolving nature of storytelling

Storytelling in the digital age with interactive electronic literature exemplifies the evolving nature of storytelling. It offers a powerful platform for creative expression, pedagogical innovation, and emotional engagement. For scholars, educators, and artists alike, this genre opens new possibilities for exploring trauma, identity, and healing through multimodal narrative forms. As digital media continues to reshape the literary landscape, electronic literature stands as a testament to the enduring power of story reimagined through sound, image, and interaction. It is an engaging and enjoyable storytelling style.

student blogs

Yardley PA 1997 and Avenue S

  • Yardley, PA, 1997
    • I really like how in order to make the text move, you can press the keys in a certain order or just press the spacebar.
      • Pressing the keys in a certain order makes this feel like a game which is really cool. 
      • Great choice by the author to make this decision as it really leans into the game aspect of interactive fiction.
    • The background colors, font, and fireflies invoke a short of coziness. It gives vibe of Summer evenings catching fireflies.
      • Since the piece has the year 1997 in it’s title, I am assuming it takes place then.
      • I definitely get nostalgia vibes from just staring at the piece.
    • The music sounds like it could be a vinyl record because I can hear record scratches.
      • It is very calming and really adds a wonderful dimension to this piece.
    • The way that the words fade away like fireflies in the dark is really working for the piece.
      • I like how the instructions tell you to press the button to make the next line of text appears as soon as the last line disappears.
        • This plays into the firefly motif since they glow and then go dark as another firefly lights up.
    • What a hauntingly beautiful ending. The way all the text overwhelmed the screen and the music rises to a crescendo and then it all flickers away into the darkness as we are reminded how ephemeral everything in life is.
  • Avenue S
    • What an interesting piece! At first I thought it would be more text based and straight forward, but there is a lot of imagery here that needs to be interpreted.
    • I think I understand one aspect of how on some pages there is a ton of clutter which is the idea of living in a city that the author misses.
    • It’s interesting how some things on the pages, like certain images, take time to make their full picture. This can be a metaphor for having to wait for things in the city – like buses, trains, lines, or slow walkers.
    • I think the author is showing what city life can look like to outsiders – overwhelming and crowded. But to people who live in the city, it is the hustle and bustle that makes the city feel alive.
    • It’s interesting to note how simple all of the people are drawn. Maybe this is the author’s way of saying that in the end, all people are the same, no matter how you appear on the outside. 
    • I really like the aspect that the reader has to make meaning out of this. The author gives hints in that each page has a different title if you look in the name of the tab. It seems the story being told isn’t a solid narrative, rather it is a series of the author’s observations about city living that tell a story of change caused by Covid.
      • What happens to the crowded city that you love, when it’s people are forced to stay away from each other? If you came to the city for the connection, what do you have in the Covid era? Just isolation. For those who feel alone, Covid in the city is an awful reminder that no matter where you go, the world is forcing you and others to keep your distance (physically and emotionally).
student blogs

Yardley, PA 1997 & Avenue S

Yardley, PA 1997

I would like to begin this section of my blog to say that I really enjoyed this one. The first time around, I went the linear way. Going across the keyboard from left to right and shifting the keys as the instructions advised. Usually, when looking at electronic literature for this class, I do not read the instructions and just go. For this, I do not know why. I think I just like to go into it and try to figure it out on my own as well as find what speaks to me personally. Though, I do read the statements by the author and the summaries of each piece. So, when I saw that it involved the keyboard, I knew I had to buckle up.

I expected something a bit more radical than what it actually was. I think I was more so expecting some kind of crazy technique requirement that I could not keep up with. Though, I was pleasantly surprised when all I had to do was make my way down the keyboard and press new keys once the words and music began to fade away. I thought the delivery of the poem was quite beautiful, and really mimics the way we read poetry on paper. Although there is no fade away of the words or built-in music to accompany our reading, the way in which both of those aspects carry the piece is a great way to creatively imagine what goes on in our heads when we read poetry. Things oftentimes click in our heads from line to line, creating a personal symphony. Yardley, PA 1997 helps us do this in a way that is more connected to another’s experience. Unlike the other pieces of ELIT we have read so far, this one stands out because you can go through it the same way another person does, or not. The choice is yours, and I really enjoy that idea.

Lastly, I would like to discuss the content a bit. I think the way in which the author brings about the various aspects of 1997 in Pennsylvania and the specific instances in which they live through was really beautiful because it made room for readers to connect in their own way. Specifically, the short section of about the brother, and how the author reflects that they should have told him they loved him more. I really liked how there were times in which we knew we were not in Yardley, PA, but instead taken back into our own lives, wherever that may be, and given a chance to reflect.

Overall, this was a really great piece, and I think I will find myself returning back to it. I enjoyed its simplicity and the fact that it had no “tricks” or hidden meanings — it was all laid out for us to type through and reflect on.

Avenue S

Reading first, of course, what Avenue S is about, I was immediately pulled in. There are plenty of COVID-19 experiences written and heavily discussed today, but I knew that this rumination would be an outstanding one. First, just stating right off the bat that the speaker missed urban life is a statement that everyone though in some way or another, but to just be laid out in such a way that is pointed and speaking for itself was a great way to start. The world at large missed so many things for a great amount of time that just admitting we missed a part of our lives demonstrates a vulnerability that is pertinent to literature tackling such matters.

Clicking through the dots and mandalas, the first page that really connected with me was “bouncing off the walls” . The way in which the simplistic art renders itself is really fantastic. The constant movement of the stick figures demonstrated quite well the shell of people experiencing the pandemic, and how we were limited to just a specific space — in this case, the screen. Additionally, the lack of color in this section goes to show how staying in one place, forcefully, can remove the color we have in our lives because we are not out experiencing what we otherwise would have. Once clicking on the three dots, I was brought to “butterflies in the stomach”. Again, we are met with a simplistic stick figure who seems to fade into themselves, generating a gear, or a butterfly, preparing to take off. I find this an interesting way to symbolize the anxiety felt during these unprecedented times, especially because this gear-looking image is composed of smaller human-like figures. Not only can this symbolize the many facets of one’s own personality ruminating in a way that works against one’s own person, but how the expectations and well-being of others was also a great source of worry for people during this time.

Lastly, I wanted to discuss “endless cycle”. I think this page put into perspective the idea that life-altering events will always happen, whether on a scale as massive as COVID-19, or on a personal scale. Though this may seem to be a bleak perspective, I choose to see this animation as somewhat hopeful, as the stick figure, after falling and sliding, continuously gets back up. Yes, the figure does fall again after getting back up, but it’s the action of rising again that intrigues me, and makes me hope that in moments of failure or sorrow, I am able to get back up again, even if its just to go through the same sort of perilous time again and again.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the flashback to 2020-21 that this piece brought. I found myself more drawn to the simplistic features of this piece because it allowed for more connection. Using a simple stick figure really works well here because anyone can input themselves and their own experiences into this work. It is also really interesting to. be interacting with this piece now, as COVID-19 has been behind us for a few years now. In day-to-day life today, it’s easy to just go on and not think about what happened to us not so long ago, but it was a major life event for all of us. Though, moving through this work, it was really interesting to be brought back to that time (I was a junior in high school!) and reflect on it today. How easily we forget.

student blogs

Exploring Façade and Welcome Home

I wasn’t actually able to get Façade to run (apparently that’s pretty common—it’s an older work that doesn’t always work with newer systems), but I read quite a bit about it. It’s described as an “interactive drama” where you, the player, show up at the apartment of a married couple, Trip and Grace, who are in the middle of a fight. You can type your own dialogue and the characters respond, sometimes in unpredictable ways.

Even just reading about it, I could tell how unique it must have been when it came out. I loved it and was a little bummed that I wasn’t able to play with it.  The idea that a computer could listen to you and react emotionally feels kind odd and yet compelling. What I found most interesting is how it explores communication and miscommunication. You step into someone else’s relationship and try to help (or maybe make things worse). Being an actual communication major this really interested me.  I did check on-line and notice that everyone else was able to get into Façade, I was a bit jealous, but my technology was just not compatible.  I was really sorry that I had not bought a Mac Book earlier on my graduate school experience (now). 

Welcome Home, which I did get to explore seemed a bit different.  I couldn’t imagine that it twas a traditional e-lit story but rather a multimedia project that blurs the line between archive, nostalgia, and interactive storytelling. The premise seem to be that there was once a 1970s children’s show called Welcome Home, which has supposedly been rediscovered and restored through “The Welcome Home Restoration Project.” The website is full of colorful artwork, letters, hidden clues, and strange, almost dreamlike details about the show’s characters, like Wally Darling and his neighbors.

What pulled me in was how interactive it all feels. You start scrolling and clicking through images and “archived” materials, and before you know it, you’re part of the story. It’s like an internet rabbit hole where you’re both the audience and the detective, trying to piece together what really happened. 

I enjoyed my time with Welcome Home and I hope to check-out Façade the next time I’m on a macbook.