FEATURE

GENERALISATIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL NARRATIVE TEXTS

GENERALISATIONS ABOUT HYPERFICTION

Author

Usually a single author

Multi-authoring is possible

Plot

Often linear (one thing happens after another)

Nonlinear

Point of View

Often 1^st or third person

Second person

Ending

Often a sense of closure/conclusion

Leaves “what if” questions that entice readers to try again with different choices.

Setting

Often set in a single time and place

May explore different times, places and character viewpoints

Publication

In hard copy

Web, CD-Rom

Media

Usually only words (and sometimes pictures)

Dependent upon hyperlinks

Medium

Paper

Computer screen

Reading

Usually read once

Usually read more than once, explores different paths and possibilities

Author-Reader

Author decides the reader’s path through the text

Reader decides path

Reader

Readers cannot change the text

The reader may change (or determine the path of) text to certain extents.