Aleks Krotoski on New Trends in Storytelling

On Aug. 7th, 2011 England's The Observer ran an article by Aleks Krotoski that discusses some of the new tools that are available to storytellers - and how these tools are being used (or not used) to experiment.

The immediate inspiration for Aleks's article was apparently what was missing from the program for the Edinburgh International Book Festival: "[N]o mention of apps, digital extensions or the new, multiformatted way of telling stories that's emerging among a new and talented crop of content creators supported by innovative and risk-taking storytelling outlets."

Although Aleks acknowledges that traditional publishers have every right to celebrate what's new on paper, she (like me and a growing list of other like-minded New World storytellers) wonders what's going to happen when New World digital storytellers get our own Edinburgh festival.

Here's some of what Aleks has to say in her remarkably well-laid-out article about the New World of storytelling: "[T]he tools [we can] use to tell tales are evolving, becoming more modular and tailored, more participatory and more engaging than just the printed word or the moving image. The new form of storytelling that's coming from a digitally enabled cabal moves beyond reinterpreting a text for radio or screen."

Aleks quotes Frank Rose, author of The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue and the Way We Tell Stories: "The kind of multi-way conversation that the web makes possible is what we've always wanted to do... The technology finally enables it... It's very different when you have a medium that forces you to engage with other people... You don't know if you're going to have to tell a story for one hour, two hours or 10 years."

Aleks also conveniently recaps several successful experiments in New World storytelling including Online Caroline, The Lost Experience, The Blair Witch Project, We Tell Stories, and Conspiracy for Good.

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