Genarrator going from strength to strength

Since this project began, Genarrator has been used to teach new-media writing to around 120 students at Bournemouth University, and the ambition and range of the stories being built is continuing to please me! This year, with support from Unicorn Training, I've been able to pay Jim Ready to add some functionality to the writing tools, and there are even more possibilities now.

We've added a 'display rules' function, which allows the writer to hide selected story elements (eg, items such as videos or text, or whole pages) from the reader until they've seen other selected elements. This enables the writer to create tension, anticipation, plot twists, and of course the game-like quality of 'find this you before you can find that'.

We've also added a musical soundtrack option, so that music or soundscape can play across the whole narrative, regardless of which pages are being viewed; or music changes when  the page changes, allowing moods to be created via sound as well as visuals and text.

Animations can now be uploaded and controlled within Genarrator, meaning that all sorts of navigation, design or story elements can be made (eg in Photoshop) or found from non-copyright sources on the web. Again, this has added enormously to the design possibilities for writers.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing what this term's students come up with.

Finally, I'm going to be running a writing workshop with school pupils next term, as part of the Aim Higher initiative. It will be fun to do and exciting to see what younger writers create. Also, a good test of Genarrator's usability.