Shelley Jackson makes an interesting point describing a new way of writing. Today’s society is use to linear writing, having a beginning and end and support thoughts in between. Since grade school, students are taught how to write a five paragraph paper with an intro, three body paragraphs supporting the introduction, and a conclusion. We are bred to write in this linear format and therefore we are bred to read and understand this linear format.
Non-linear writing is a stretch from normality. I understand the point Jackson is trying to make by creating a new, unpredictable, reading experience but the message is easily lost. I found myself trying to connect all of her points in a logical way. She tries too hard to being unique and unconventional but in reality, I got an overwhelming sense of crazy that led to a loss of credibility in what she ways trying to convey about hyperlinks.
Shelley Jackson’s non-linear writing strong resembles one of my favorite authors, Chuck Palahniuk, famously known for Fight Club. Chuck is a unique writer that defines his own genre of a non-linear freelance writing. It works for Chuck but there is a reason why there aren’t any other writers like him. For those unfamiliar with Chuck’s works, in his novel, Invisible Monsters, on page 20, he introduces his style of writing by saying:
“Don’t expect this to be the kind of story that goes: and then, and then, and then.
What happens here will have more of that magazine feel, a Vogue or a Glamour magazine chaos with page numbers on every second or fifth or third page. Perfume cards falling out, and a full-page naked women coming out of nowhere to sell you make-up.
Don’t look for a contents page, buried magazine-style twenty pages back from the front. Don’t expect to find anything right off. There isn’t a real pattern to anything either. Stories will start and then, three paragraphs later:
Jump to page whatever.
Then, jump back.”
Invisible Monsters was the sixth book that I have read of Chuck’s and I couldn’t keep up with it. Even though this is his usual style of writing, I found it extremely difficult to follow the plot and message of this specific work: Invisible Monsters.
Shelley Jackson’s, Stitch Bitch, strongly resembled this style of writing. She presents a level of crazy and chaos that has potential to deliver the information in a new innovative way, but she fails to deliver the message in a comprehensible and attention grabbing manner. As I said, there is a reason why Chuck Palahniuk is a famous writer with a strong cult like following. He does introduce a non-linear form of writing and he is successful pushing the boundaries of conventional story telling, but he is one of a small group of writers who can use this technique effectively.
Back to Shelley Jackson, she does bring up a interesting point about hypertexts. Hypertexts are like the “perfume cards falling out of the magazine.” They are vital to the collection of the work but often overlooked. It is yet another piece of information that overloads the reader. If the reader finds that the hypertext is non-essential to the main body of the message, it will most likely fail in motiving the user to temporarily leave their primary destination. Her message matches her style of writing and the message has a strong truth to it, however, I found myself having to re-read her work to fully understand the point she was making. This is a very interesting piece of work that brings up a few interesting topics – I just think she tried a little too hard to make her point in an unnecessary style of writing.