Online facts — and online fiction

Abstract

There is a reasonably clear‐cut case for putting reference titles online. In fact a large number of non‐fictional works are either partially or totally available in an electronic format. Online fiction should also, in theory, be quite straightforward. After all, fiction has existed in printed form for many hundreds of years. What is more, television copes with fictional drama without too much difficulty. At first sight the computer should be able to take key elements from both the printed and broadcast media to produce something which is both readable and entertaining. But both broadcast and printed fiction are built around strong, and well defined, narrative structures which me reader, or viewer, follows religiously. On the other hand the computer encourages, and in some cases forces, the user to interact — this interaction usually results in a departure from the set narrative. Without this facility the computer offers little that is new. Making use of this facility to enhance fictional works is difficult and, so far, only computer games manufacturers have achieved success.

Citation

Kruger, P. (1996), "Online facts — and online fiction", The Electronic Library, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 72-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045447