As summer temperatures shoot up and the preferred choice of entertainment is to stay indoors and hydrated, it is time to explore all that digital platforms provide.
Today, the internet is no longer used to just shop, dine or communicate but it is also a hyperactive creative space where artists gather to showcase forms of literature that would not have been dreamt of before.
Digital literature is not just a traditional book which is now found online. That would just be an e-book which can be scrolled on a device and has the convenience of portability.
Digital fiction is ‘born digital’ – it is not adapted from existing forms but uses emerging technologies to create a mood, a plot, or even a series of books.
Whether Instagram poetry, hypertext narratives or interactive pictorial stories, they are engaging and involve the reader in a way that traditional literature cannot.
A major advantage of digital literature is that it is accessible to anyone with internet, can be carried anywhere with ease, and is environmentally friendly. It is more affordable, even if books are bought, or access is given only through paid memberships.
More importantly, creative work online is interactive. Rather than merely turning pages in an e-book, a reader is engaged with the storyline in a digital novel by selecting hyperlinks for more information or controlling a character’s actions, leading to alternate endings. For example, ‘Flight Paths’ by Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph outlines the story of a young boy looking for work and the story follows him through his struggles and victories.
All this is done digitally where the action of the young boy walking, working, or thinking are all shown through animation, bringing the narrative closer to the reader.
"Afternoon, a Story" by Michael Joyce and 'Patchwork Girl' by Shelley Jackson are classic examples of hypertext fiction that provide non-linear experiences, with readers going back and forth in time, even allowing readers to delve into the lives of the characters.
A major advantage of digital literature is that it has truly removed the hierarchy of publication where a manuscript would only have a few places it could be sent.
Today, everybody can become a writer and there are many platforms for authors to self-publish. This has made publishing much more equitable, offering everybody equal opportunities to share their creative talents. This democratisation has led to a more diverse literary landscape, where voices that were earlier marginalised can now find an audience.
The platforms for sharing literature are many: Instagram poetry, YouTube book clubs, and the very creative space on Twitter (or X) where a poem can exist in 240 characters. All these platforms challenge writers to create in new ways that reflect a changing society.
For the traditionalists, nothing can compare with the joy of holding a traditional book, turned up at its corners, yellowed and much thumbed.
But literature has always adapted to changing times and taken on new forms without changing the fundamental act of reading.
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