Beyond Adaptation Abstract

R. Lyle Skains
r.l.skains@bangor.ac.uk
School of Creative Studies & Media
Bangor University
Title: The Story in the Medium: Reader Responses to Multimodal Fiction Narratives
Abstract:
A novel in hard copy, book form, with numbered sequential pages, bound into paperback. A computer
program with clickable links, images, sound, open to multiple nonlinear readings/viewings. How does
the adaptation of a story from the conventional medium of a novel to the emerging medium of digital
fiction affect the reader's understanding and experience of narrative? This paper explores the results of
a classroom-based pilot study surveying readers who were asked to examine both a print novel and its
digital adaptation (or vice versa). Readers were asked to read one of two novels and their digital
versions (253 by Geoff Ryman or 10:01 by Lance Olsen). Half the readers examined the print novel
first, and half examined the digital novel first. After each reading, they were asked to respond to
questions based on the narrative and their reactions to each reading. This paper will present the initial
results and conclusions of this study, and the potential implications for authors working in multimodal
fiction.
My PhD work is a practice-based exploration of multimodal storytelling, specifically in fiction print
and digital. The primary focus of this research is to examine the effects of writing fiction in multiple
modes and multiple media on the author's writing process. In my teaching, however, and in reactions
from readers of the early drafts of my work, I began to notice interesting reactions to stories depending
upon the medium through which they are delivered. These observations formed the basis for this study
and the resulting paper.

References:
Olsen, L. (2005). 10:01 [Print Novel]. Chiasmus Press.
Olsen, L. (2005). 10:01 [Hypermedia Novel]. www.lanceolsen.com [Online]. URL:
http://www.lanceolsen.com/1001.html
Ryman, G. (1996). 253 [Interactive Novel]. www.ryman-novel.com [Online]. URL: http://www.rymannovel.com/
Ryman, G. (1998). 253: The Print Remix [Print Novel]. St. Martin's Griffin.