Experimentalationalism

I enjoy writing stories. Even though it's been hard for me for the last few years (trouble staying focused and whatnot), or maybe because of it, I cherish those moments when I'm able to immerse myself in creating something.

Sometimes, though, I daydream about different ways of writing. In the past year, I have come to really respect the graphic novel as a wonderful vehicle for story, thanks in large part to comics like Watchmen, Y, Cairo, and the new Conan series. I would love to try out this medium. I even have an artist friend who is incredibly talented. He denies the consistency of style, however, to participate.

Bastard.

Ha, I kid. I still intend to rope him into this project, one way or another. In the meantime, I've been considering other media. I'm a big fan of the epistolary novel, when it's done right. (For those who are not hopeless English Lit nerds, an epistolary novel is a story told by the exchange of letters between characters.) Clarissa and Pamela by Samuel Richardson are good examples. Bram Stoker's Dracula also qualifies, though it is formatted as journal entries, as well as letters.

The concept of the fictional journal isn't new by any means, though it is one I haven't had much experience with. I guess you could argue that a first-person narrative is inherently journal based. I've certainly written many of those. But a traditional journal format is something I'm just now fiddling with. I'm even writing it in a Moleskine journal to help me keep in perspective; my wandering attention needs all the help it can get.

Even more than that, I've been wondering about Twitter. If you cast your eyes to starboard, you'll see I'm on Twitter, so I know how that works. Now, I'm aware that fictional accounts already exist. People regularly post as characters such as Darth Vader, Indiana Jones, and Bender from Futurama. What I've been entertaining is a notion of an adventure story, completely told via Twitter. I would have to find a way to justify his using the application, as well as the internet connection this would require, but I think that's the easy part. There would be other problems. Would consequences arise from this? Would such an account be considered fraudulent? Would someone in an authoritative role take the posts seriously, thereby causing an embarrassing international incident?

Actually, that last one would be worth it.