innovative narrative design: a chance encounter

BOY

GIRLPLATFORM

TRAIN

FINE!

STATION

CROWD

UNKNOWN

OTHERS

BEHINDWHITE NOISE

NOISY

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

PHONE

SANS LA FOULE

CONVERSATION

ECHOED

LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK

MASS TRANSPORT

INDIVIDUALLY INDIVIDUALLY

LOO

KSHE

BOY

BOY

WHITE NOISE

CONVERSATION

GIRLUNKNOWN

TRAIN

SIMULTANEOUSLY

ECHO

CROWD

OTHERSNOISY

LOO

K

INDIVIDUALLYHE

A CHANCE ENCOUNTERAMANDA STARLING GOULD

2010

Interrogative

A Chance Encounter à la ModeLine-Less Mind Map

tHE sEED

With Marginalia

tExt mEssAgEsRAINBOW HAIKUS

CHARTED

DERORRIM

FORTUNE COOKIE

retrograde

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ENDINGB

ackw

ards

Mandarin

DIGITAL(S)

Merged

Venn Diagram

A Poem of (Five) Senses

FLIPPEDQUOTED

CRYPTO CODE

Flow Chart

TAGGED

EQUATIONSC

LIPP

ED

SeedMergedChoose Your Own EndingBook BlurbText MessagesWith MarginaliaInterrogativeBackwardsDerorrimRetrogradeDetailsSix 6-Word NarrativesNotation TransmissionScientifically SpeakingEssay FormatA Poem of (Five) SensesRainbow HaikusParts of SpeechDada Scramble PoemFortune CookieA Chance Encounter à la ModeList of Instructions, James Bond StyleCrypto CodeElementary Lesson{InterruptedLine-Less Mind MapVenn Diagram TaggedGantt ChartUne Rencontre Par Hasard巧遇，故事的開端ChartedFlow → ChartEquationsQuotedFlipped & ClippedLanguage, PhotographedDigitals

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DADA SCRAMBLE POEM

details

Interrogative

Book Blurb

tHE sEED

Elementary Lesson{InterruptedWith Marginalia

ESSAY FORMAT

Six 6-Word NarrativesDERORRIM

FORTUNE COOKIE

retrograde

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ENDING

PARTS of SPEECH

scientifically speaking

Merged

Venn Diagram

FLIPPED

Gantt Chart

Une Rencontre Par Hasard

List of Instructions, James Bond Style

Notation Transmission

SeedMerged

Choose Your Own EndingBook Blurb

Text MessagesWith Marginalia

InterrogativeBackwards

DerorrimRetrograde

DetailsSix 6-Word Narratives

Notation TransmissionScientifically Speaking

Essay FormatA Poem of (Five) Senses

Rainbow HaikusParts of Speech

Dada Scramble PoemFortune Cookie

A Chance Encounter à la ModeList of Instructions, James Bond Style

Crypto CodeElementary Lesson{Interrupted

Line-Less Mind MapVenn Diagram

TaggedGantt Chart

Une Rencontre Par Hasard巧遇，故事的開端

ChartedFlow → Chart

EquationsQuoted

Flipped & ClippedLanguage, Photographed

Digitals

Language, Photographed

3

The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells, He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile.

THE SEED

4

Listen to this. These two charming cuter-than-cute twenty- somethings came to the café this afternoon and sat at one of my favorite tables. They looked like they had known each other for years. The cute boy carried her books and even brushed a leaf from her café chair before she moved to sit. They were chatting all the while about the weather. The cutest thing, though, was that they both had these big grins fixed on their faces. Then, this cuter-than-cute couple actually ordered the same thing. Matching drinks; how cute is that! But, and this is the best part of the story, when I came back to their table with their drinks, I overheard them saying how funny it was that they had just met. They had just met! I couldn’t believe it. Appar-ently, they were in the train station, both waiting to head north, and something kept them both behind on the platform. They both missed the train and they were then left there, alone together, in the station. They were the only two there. When was the last time you were alone in the station with anyone? That place is always filled with people. They thought it was fate. Two young romantics! I smiled at them and brought them an extra café cookie. I just love chance encounters!

RETROGRADE RECITATION

5

DETAILS

A slender girl with striking eyes slightly stumbles, distractedly chatting into her mobile phone, as she descends the sturdy station stairs. The buzzing, busy platform empties as the crowd impatiently pushes into the impatiently-waiting train. Her mobile monopolizes her attention and she remains behind, missing her train, in order to finish her conversation. A tall brown-haired boy with day-old chin scruff stands, phone in hand, at the far end of the station platform. Animatedly gesturing with his free hand and oblivious to the world outside his own, he too misses his train as he stays behind to finish his conversation. He yells FINE as she yells FINE and they both—simultaneously yet individually—abruptly snap shut their phone conversations. They look at each other and notice they stand alone together on the platform. Realizing the vast impossibility of this shared, echoed moment, they each—simultaneously yet individually—send a big, impossibly-charming smile to the other.

6

In this 99 word microfiction piece, carefully devised by amanda starling gould, the reader finds the two main characters individually involved in a similar

telephone drama. In a Barthesian death-of-the-author move, gould purposefully omits a specific narrative resolution. The story is final, but is incomplete. Is it a

romance, a tragedy, a comedy, a farce? Readers will enjoy participating in this unresolved (undissolved) literary experience.

BOOK BLURB

7

<Are you going to call me back?>

<So, is it over?>

<Dude, what was that about?>

<Think it over. Call me later.>

<Honey, come home for dinner tonight. Mom wants to see you.>

<wtf?>

<Did you hang up on me?!>

<funny story!>

<no way. he really said that?>

<thanx. :) c u soon>

TEXT MESSAGES

8

WITH MARGINALIA

The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to un-known others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind to finish his conversation away from the white noise of the mass transport crowd. She yells, He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individu-ally echoed simultaneously into respective phones, they look at each other and smile.

The reader does not know who she is talking to.

Do they miss the same train?

The crowd at this time of afternoon is unusually thick.

Translation: ‘without the crowd’

The reader does not know who he is talking to.

their

The author does not tell the reader what happens next…

^

9

Were you in the B Street Station this afternoon? Did you see that girl on her phone? Did you see that boy on his phone? Do you think they were talking to each other? Did you see that mass of people waiting for the train? Can you believe how late it was, the train? Have you ever waited so long for that train? Did you, like me, think it would never arrive? Weren’t you relieved when you finally saw its lights heading toward the platform? Did you see the crowd rush the doors as soon as they opened? Don’t you hate it when passengers try to get onto the train before allowing those leaving the train to get off? You’d think they’d know better, wouldn’t you? There should be an established train etiquette, shouldn’t there? Don’t you agree that we should all follow basic courtesy guidelines when riding the train? But, we know that will never happen, don’t we? Did you notice that that girl and that boy did not get onto the train? Why do you think they just stood there? Hadn’t they been wait-ing just as long as the rest of us? Didn’t we all wait an unreasonably long time for that train to finally arrive? Would you ever wait that long and then not get on the train? What do you think they were thinking? Did you think about that?

INTERROGATIVE

10

Smiling, they look at each other. Simultaneously, but individually, they both yell Fine! into their mobile phones. Surrounded by the loud white-black noise of the train station, he misses his train. Surrounded by la foule, she misses her train. The platform fills with the next wave of the mass transport crowd.

BACKWARDS

11

Elims (a erahs) dna rehto hcae ta kool yeht, senohp evitcepser (rieht) otni ylsuoe-natlumis deohce yllaudividni gnivah retfa. Rehto hcae ta kool yeht. Ylsuoenatlu-mis, Enif! Slley eH, slley ehS. Dworc tropsnart ssam eht fo (esion kcalb, duol) esion etihw eht morf yawa noitasrevnoc sih hsinif ot, rehto enil-enohp nwonknu sih htiw gniniamer, dniheb syats eh sa niart sih sessim yob eht. Elouf al snas noitasrevnoc reh hsinif ot, rehto enil-enohp nwonknu reh htiw gniniamer, dniheb syats ehs sa niart reh sessim lrig eht. Srehto nwonknu ot kaeps dna senohp elibom dloh htob. Niamer owt ylno dna seitpme mroftalp eht.

DERORRIM

12

The

plat

form

em

ptie

s an

d on

ly tw

o re

mai

n. B

oth

hold

mob

ile p

hone

s an

d sp

eak

to u

nkno

wn

othe

rs. Th

e gi

rl m

isses

her

trai

n as

she

stay

s beh

ind,

rem

aini

ng w

ith

her

unkn

own

phon

e-lin

e ot

her,

to fi

nish

her

con

vers

atio

n sa

ns la

foul

e. Th

e bo

y m

isses

his

trai

n as

he s

tays

beh

ind,

rem

aini

ng w

ith h

is un

know

n ph

one-

line o

ther

, to

fini

sh h

is co

nver

satio

n aw

ay fr

om th

e whi

te n

oise

(lou

d, b

lack

noi

se) o

f the

mas

s tr

ansp

ort c

row

d. S

he y

ells,

He

yells

Fin

e!, si

mul

tane

ously

. They

look

at e

ach

othe

r. A

fter

havi

ng in

divi

dual

ly e

choe

d sim

ulta

neou

sly in

to (t

heir)

res

pect

ive

phon

es,

they

look

at e

ach

othe

r and

(sha

re a)

smile

.

CHO

OSE

YO

UR

OW

N E

ND

ING

...In

w

hich

dir

ecti

on w

ith

the

stor

y tu

rn?

and

then

... and then...

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ENDING...In which direction with the story turn?

12

13

a.

They

wai

t and

rem

ain

alon

e on

the

plat

form

. The

boy

wal

ks to

her

. The

girl

[(a.1)

wal

ks to

him

? or

(a.2

) sta

nds s

till?]

They

shak

e ha

nds a

nd sh

are

wor

ds.

They

leav

e th

e st

atio

n [(a

.3) t

oget

her?

or (

a.4)

sepa

rate

ly?]

b.

The

dire

ctor

yel

ls, “C

UT!

”

c. Th

ey le

ave t

he st

atio

n to

geth

er an

d w

alk

to a

near

by o

utdo

or ca

fé. Th

ey si

t nea

r th

e en

tran

ce a

t a ta

ble

bath

ed in

um

brel

la s

hade

. Upo

n se

eing

the

wai

tres

s, th

ey b

oth

echo

the

sam

e or

der:

“I’ll

hav

e a

singl

e es

pres

so w

ith 2

suga

rs a

nd

no c

ream

and

a ta

ll gl

ass o

f wat

er w

ith 2

lem

ons a

nd n

o ic

e, p

leas

e.”

d.

They

look

at e

ach

othe

r. Th

ey n

od to

eac

h ot

her…

but n

eith

er h

as th

e co

urag

e to

app

roac

h.

e. H

e no

ds a

t her

. Then

, as h

e be

gins

to m

ove

in h

er d

irect

ion,

her

boy

frie

nd d

e-sc

ends

the s

tair

s, m

ovin

g in

her

dire

ctio

n, a

nd sh

e beg

ins t

o te

ll hi

m ab

out t

he

phon

e co

nver

satio

n sh

e ha

s jus

t had

with

her

mot

her.

f. Th

e bo

y w

alks

to h

er. Th

ey s

hake

han

ds, s

mile

, and

sha

re w

ords

. She

pas

ses

him

a s

mal

l pie

ce o

f pap

er o

n w

hich

she

has

writ

ten

her

phon

e nu

mbe

r. H

e sa

ys to

her

“Gre

at, I

’ll c

all y

ou a

t thi

s tim

e to

mor

row.

”

g. S

hake

spea

re S

lant

: Ins

tead

of s

hari

ng a

pla

tform

, the

tw

o lo

vers

wer

e ac

tu-

ally

stan

ding

on

oppo

site

plat

form

s. St

ill a

ble

to se

e an

d he

ar e

ach

othe

r, bu

t se

para

ted

by a

gulf

of tr

acks

bet

wee

n th

em. Th

e sto

ry en

ds w

hen

the n

arra

tor’s

gr

and

and

boom

ing

voic

e rec

ites:

“For

nev

er w

as a

stor

y of

mor

e woe

Than

this

of Ju

liet a

nd h

er R

omeo

.”

and then...

13

14

SIX 6-WORD NARRATIVES

They shared a moment, then life. He saw her, missed his train.

She saw him, missed her train.

I found her on the platform.

He found me on the platform.

Love at first sight, then coffee.

15

¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy sta-tion. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talk-ing. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmis-sion. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two re-main: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy sta-tion. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tuesday. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking. Noisy station. Train comes, train goes. Two remain: boy and girl. Girl yells, Fine! into phone. Boy yells, Fine! into phone. Girl and boy notice each other. 2:10 PM. End Transmission. ¶ Start Transmission: Today. Tues-day. 2:00 PM. On platform, large crowd. Girl with phone, talking. Boy with phone, talking.

NOTATION TRANSMISSION

16

SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING...

…theoretically speaking, when the elemental variables of one plus one (girl plus boy) are combined with a chemical catalyst (an echoed moment), the reaction should yield one of three possible outcomes:

A. one plus one equals two. As in mathematical law, the two elements retain their fundamental properties and the sum product is two: related in the formula 1+1=2 (friendship)

B. one plus one equals one. As is evidenced when two drips of water yield a single drop of H2O, here one-plus-one equals a new singular concept (love)

C. one plus one equals zero. This is evidenced when the experimental catalyst is insufficient to evoke a response and thus fails to compel the two elemental variables to form any sort of viable bond. (a dud)

Previous studies have shown that similar subjects (any boy and any girl) respond similarly (producing outcome either A, B, or C) to similar stimuli under similar conditions. Based on the aforementioned theoretical assumptions, the established available empirical data, and our previous controlled experimental results, we put forth the following hypothesis: A chance encounter can inspire mathematical rec-reation. Subsequent tests will attempt to provide further explanation.

17

ESSAY FORMAT

The platform empties and only two remain.1 Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule.2 The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd.3 She yells, He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile.⁴

1 The platform here referenced is an unnamed platform in an unnamed town. Scholars have often speculated on the exact station the author had in mind when writing this piece. Please see http://trainspeculation.com for several plausible hypotheses.2 Using foreign terms for emphasis is a practice commonly seen as pretentious if overdone. Here the author wanted to indirectly allude to her inspiration, Raymond Queneau’s Exercices de Style.⁵ 3 White noise can be downloaded or streamed here: http://simplynoise.com.⁴ It is most certain that not only did they ‘echo’ each other figuratively, but also that their voices echoed throughout the station. Most underground stations, when empty, produce a slight echo effect.⁵ The author chose exactly 99 words for her story to mirror the number of story versions Raymond Queneau completed in his seminal work.

18

The platform emptied itself.5 The platform emptied…6 Only Two Remained.7 She was on the phone. She was always on the phone. Her range of professional acquain-tances was impressive.8 She was on the phone, chewing gum, on what was obviously a personal call.9 Willard was on the phone. She was on the phone so please get the hell out of the way.10 He too was on the phone.11 He too was on the phone, his face registering irritation and surprise.12 “She missed her train.”13 And the time passed; she missed her train; waited on for another.14 He missed his train.15 Through some oversight he missed his train.16 …he missed his train.17 He heard her yell out…18 He smiled grimly when he heard her yell.19 …and she heard him yell right along with her.20 They looked at each other, and nodded.21 They looked at each other harder and hurried faster…22 …their eyes glistened as they looked at each other.23 They looked at each other and their hearts were full of thought.24 Then they shared a smile.25 Then they shared a smile bright enough to light up the night.26

The platform emptied, filled, emptied again.27

QUOTED.1,2,3,4

19

NOTES:1Chamber’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, & Arts, page 51, William Chambers, 18942Lost Illusions, page 633, Honoré de Balzac, Herbert James Hunt, 19713The Conduct of War: A Short Treatise, page 183, Colmar Goltz (Freiherr von der), 18994A Chance Encounter, title, Emily Hendrickson, 19985The Damnation of Theron Ware: or, Illumination, page 457, Harold Frederic, 19006I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, page 228, Maya Angelou, 19977Only Two Remained, title, Henry Tabakin, 19738Nielsen’s Wedding. A Tale of Two Anchorpersons, James Brady. New York Magazine, 1976.9Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience at MIT, page 95, Clarence

G. Williams, 200310The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven, page 42, Rick Moody, 200211A City of Strangers, page 67, Robert Barnard, 199012Blaize of Glory, page 77, Louise Crawford, 200113Night and Day, page 427, Virginia Woolf, 200714The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume 1; Volumes 1915-1919, page 90, Virginia Woolf, 197915Mark Twain’s Autobiography, Volume 1, page 330, Mark Twain, Albert Bigelow Paine, 20016Awards…First Division, National Railroad Adjustment Board, Volume 159, United States.

National Railroad Adjustment Board17Einstein: His Life and Universe, page 62, Walter Isaacson, 200718The Woman Who Escaped From Shame, page 144, Toby Olson, 198619The Maze, page 121, Catherine Coulter, 199820Gloria, page 217, Keith Maillard, 199921Barnaby Rudge, page 189, George Cattermole, Hablot Knight Browne, 184222The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, page 321, Eudora Welty, 198023Recollections of the Table-talk of Samuel Rogers: To Which is Added Porsoniana, page 81

Alexander Dyce, William Maltby, 185624Les Miserables, page 69, Victor Hugo, 188425If You Could See Me Now, page 149, Cecelia Ahern, 200726Camp Rock The Junior Novel, page 139, Lucy Ruggles, 200827A Fairly Honourable Defeat, page 301, Iris Murdoch, 2001

20

Nous sommes à la gare du métro. Nous voyons le quai. Le quai du midi est com-plet. Nous voyons l’approche du train. La foule impatiente monte dans le train. Le train disparaît dedans le tunnel. Nous voyons une fille et un mec. Ils n’ont pas monté le train. Nous voyons les deux. Chacun, la fille et le mec, bavarde sur un téléphone portable. Nous entendons un « Fine ! ». La voix de la fille et la voix du mec résonnent le mot (simultanément, individuellement). Les deux, la fille et le mec, en entendant l’écho, ils se regardent mutuellement. Ils sourient. Nous voyons le double-sourire. Nous sommes à la gare du métro.

UNE RENCONTRE PAR HASARD

21

巧遇，故事的開端

空蕩的月台，陌生的男子，陌生的女子，各自拿著手機，進行著兩通不愉快的對話。他們因此錯過了列車，卻在此時遇見了彼此。“算了！” “算了！”兩聲大吼後，男子、女子同時掛上手機，結束與電話那頭的爭執。“算了！”宣告各自的關係已結束，卻也成為彼此的交集。他們相視而笑。這一刻起，男子、女子(他們)不再陌生...

余睿庭

22

The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) re-spective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respec-tive phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultaneously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respective phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. The platform empties and only two remain. Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversation sans la foule. The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells He yells Fine!, simultane-

The platform empties

only two remain

unknown other stays behind white noise (loud, black noise)

Fine!simultaneously

They look at each other They look at each other

and (share a) smile.

23


HeShe is finishing a (mobile phone) conversation. HeShe skips the train to do so.

HeShe sees himher (alone) across the station spanseHeShe walks toward hisher platform partner

HeShe takes the offered outstretched hand to shakeHeShe begins a conversation

HeShe suggests coffeeHeShe leave together smiling.

They leave together smiling.

HeShe is finishing a (mobile phone) conversation. HeShe skips the train to do so.HeShe sees himher (alone) across the station spanseHeShe walks toward hisher platform partnerHeShe takes the offered outstretched hand to shakeHeShe begins a conversationHeShe suggests coffeeHeShe leave together smiling.

They leave together smiling.

MERGED

24

A POEM OF (FIVE) SENSES

He

hear

s her

, see

s her

Whe

n st

andi

ng b

y he

r sid

e, h

e sm

ells

her fl

oral

per

fum

e

H

e he

ars h

er, s

ees h

er, s

mel

ls he

r

H

e w

ants

to to

uch

her,

tast

e he

r, kn

ow h

er

He hears her, sees her

When standing by her side, he smells her floral perfume

He hears her, sees her, smells her

He wants to touch her, taste her, know her

25

Black noise consumes usThe purple train eludes usWe wait for our ride Her eyes beat vivid Deep Blue and gray and green strokes Train pollution fades

She echoes my wordsHer yellow hair attracts meHer pink shapes draw me

An indigo smile, She reddens at my approach Hi, my name is Matt.

RAINBOW HAIKUS

He

hear

s her

, see

s her

Whe

n st

andi

ng b

y he

r sid

e, h

e sm

ells

her fl

oral

per

fum

e

H

e he

ars h

er, s

ees h

er, s

mel

ls he

r

H

e w

ants

to to

uch

her,

tast

e he

r, kn

ow h

er

26

FORTUNE COOKIE

You will find your heart at the end of the line. You will watch a door close just before seeing one open. A shared word will show you the way. Today promises unexpected surprise.

Look for hidden echoes.fortune shines

27

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER À LA MODE

INGREDIENTS:1 Boy, any size and any shape 1 Crowd, large 1 Girl, any size and any shape Platform, pre-cleaned2 Mobile Phones, can be of different brands Ice Cream, any flavor 1 Train Station, particularly noisy Narrative Toppings, as desired

DIRECTIONS:Mix one boy and one girl and one large crowd into train station. Separate boy and girl but mix crowd liberally throughout. Shake and stir and disrupt noisily. Pour out onto clean platform. Once the mix-ture has been sifted onto the platform, place the crowd into a separate, portable container. Bring the girl and the boy back together and allow them to rise. Finish with ice cream and desired narrative toppings.

PREP TIME: 5 minutesTOTAL TIME: Unknown

YIELDS: 1 story

28

LIST OF INSTRUCTIONS, JAMES BOND STYLE

1. Casually put promptly walk into the first train station you see after reading this note and wait for the next train to arrive.

2. Take your phone from your left pants pocket when it chimes and answer it directly after the second ring.

3. Speak into the phone for exactly 120 seconds.

4. Yell the code word “Fine” into your phone and immediately end the call.

5. The messenger will then approach you with further instructions.

29

CRYPTO CODE

OCZ KGVOAJMH ZHKODZN VIY JIGT ORJ MZHVDI. WJOC CJGY HJWDGZ KCJIZN VIY NKZVF OJ PIFIJRI JOCZMN. OCZ BDMG HDNNZN CZM OM-VDI VN NCZ NOVTN WZCDIY, MZHVDIDIB RDOC CZM PIFIJRI KCJIZ-GDIZ JOCZM, OJ ADIDNC CZM XJIQZMNVODJI NVIN GV AJPGZ. OCZ WJT HDNNZN CDN OMVDI VN CZ NOVTN WZCDIY, MZHVDIDIB RDOC CDN PIFIJRI KCJIZ-GDIZ JOCZM, OJ ADIDNC CDN XJIQZMNVODJI VRVT AMJH OCZ RCDOZ IJDNZ (GJPY, WGVXF IJDNZ) JA OCZ HVNN OM-VINKJMO XMJRY. NCZ TZGGN, CZ TZGGN ADIZ!, NDHPGOVIZJPNGT. OCZT GJJF VO ZVXC JOCZM. VAOZM CVQDIB DIYDQDYPVGGT ZXCJZY NDHPGOVIZJPNGT DIOJ (OCZDM) MZNKZXODQZ KCJIZN, OCZT GJJF VO ZVXC JOCZM VIY (NCVMZ V) NHDGZ.

30

“A Chance Encounter”

A slender girl with striking eyes slightly trips, distractedly

chatting into her mobile, as she descends the sturdy station stairs. The buzzing, busy platform empties as the crowd impatiently pushes into the impatiently waiting train.

Her mobile monopolizes her

complete attention and she remains behind, missing her train, in order to finish her conversation.

A tall brown-haired boy with day-old chin scruff stands, cellular in

ELEMENTARY LESSON

Mr. Ray, can I go to the bathroom? [Can he see me signaling no?]

What’s a mobile? Please save your questions for the end.

Who is she taking to? Who is she?Yeah, what is her name? [Can they see me signaling no?]

Who is he talking to? Who is he? Is he talking to the girl?

Class, please give me your full attention and follow along as I read aloud from page 46…

Interrupted

31

hand, at the far end of the station’s platform.

Animatedly gesturing with his free hand and oblivious to the world out-side his cellular, he too misses his train as he stays behind to finish his conversation.

He yells FINE as she yells FINE and they both—simultaneously yet individually—abruptly snap shut their phone conversation. …

Class, save questions for the end.What’s his name?Where are they going? Why are they in the train station? Class, I’m nearly finished, let’s get through this paragraph. Please stop Interrupting. Animatedly, is that like Anime? Are they cartoons? [Is he serious?]

What’s simo-tay-knee-us? Mr. Ray, this is hard. Can we read another story? The teacher always uses that green book. Yeah, we always read from that green book. This one is too hard. [Don’t tell me…the teacher’s notes …Read from Green Book…shit] Ok, sure guys. Let’s read from the green book next. This one is thick and boring, isn’t it? Let’s see what is on page 46 of this book.

Class, please give me your full attention and follow along as I read aloud from page 46 OF THE GREEN BOOK…

32

PARTS OF SPEECH

ARTICLES: the, a NOUNS: platform, phones, others, girl, train, other, conversation, boy, noise, crowd, smilePRONOUNS: her, she, his, he, they, their VERBS: empties, hold, speak, misses, stays, remaining, to finish, yells, look, share, having echoedPREPOSITIONS: of, with, into, at, to, asCONJUNCTIONS: andINTERJECTIONS: FINE! ADJECTIVES: two, unknown, phone-line, white, loud, black, mass, respective, each, transport, mobile, both ADVERBS: behind, simultaneously, after, individually, only, away fromFOREIGN PHRASES: sans la foule

33

DADA SCRAMBLE POEM

Black finish loud phone-line conversation his remaining hold her. Both, The Fine! away unknown girl s a n s phones misses individu-ally la unknown speak other two behind. Having noise, crowd.Simultaneously smile into echoed platform, remain yells transport. H e r noise empties unknown Each She she respective. Finish. Train, from phone-line, simultane-ously each foule. They, The mobile, (share a)…Phones yell her look with r e m a i n i n g as he.The his train at (their) other. A f t e r stays and they look to his with says, and He as other boy the and of to at to mass.

34

train station

crowd

boy

girl

train

conductorpassengers

platformstation attendant

phonesbags

children

books

umbrellas

LINE-LESS MIND MAP

tracks

journey

fare

noise

seatstimetable

homedestination

35

VENN DIAGRAM

girl

boyFINE!

mobile

station

curious glance

books

smile

36

F + M = ?

( + ) + (+ ) + ( + + ) = ?

EQUATIONS

37

<html>

<head><title>A Chance Encounter</title><meta name=“Tagged” content=“This is the tagged iteration of the Innovative Narrative Design story”/><meta name=“Author” content=“Amanda Starling Gould”/><meta name=“Keywords” content=“story design, narrative aesthetics,exercises in style, fiction, artist books”/>

</head>

<body><div class=“header”>

<h1 align=“left”>TAGGED</h1><hr height=14 font=Sanvito Pro color=black/>

</div>

<div class=“story text”>

The platform empties and only two remain.  Both hold mobile phones and speak to unknown others. The girl misses her train as she stays behind, remaining with her unknown phone-line other, to finish her conversa-tion </em>sans la foule</em> . The boy misses his train as he stays behind, remaining with his unknown phone-line other, to finish his conversation away from the white noise (loud, black noise) of the mass transport crowd. She yells, He yells Fine!, simultane-ously. They look at each other. After having individually echoed simultaneously into (their) respec-tive phones, they look at each other and (share a) smile. 

</div> </body></html>

38

KEYmarriage 1.00dating 1.21friendship 0.53strangers 0.09

CHARTED

February 2010 Google search statistics show that the term “marriage” is queried much more often than is the term “strangers.” The odds are then perhaps greater that our train pair will be lovers and not simply strangers.

According to transportation ridership statistics, the subway system in Tokyo, Japan handles more passenger traffic, with more than 3 million passenger rides per year, than any other subway system in the world. The odds are, then, that our lovers met in Tokyo.

Top 5 Most-Used Metro Systems 1. Japan Tokyo Subway 3.174 billion 2. Russia Moscow Metro 2.392 billion 3. South Korea Seoul Subway 2.047 billion 4. New York City Subway 1.624 billion 5. Mexico Mexico City Metro 1.467 billion 2009

39

According to recent ridership statistics, 59.2% of mass transport passengers are traveling home. The odds are, then, that our lovers were each headed home.

Considering the average subway system single fare cost chart, the odds are that our home-bound lovers each paid about $2.00. If they were in fact in Tokyo, our lovers would have each paid the Tokyo equivalent of $1.68.

40

GANTT CHART

Action 00:00:00 00:00:55 00:01:55 00:03:00 00:03:50 00:05:00 Boy enters station

___ ___ ______________________________________ ___ ____________________________ ___ ___ ______

Girl enters station Crowd waits Train Arrives Crowd alights Boy yells Girl yells Shared glance

41

YES

A Chance Encounter

He and She share an echoed

Does He walk

to Her?NO

Does he know her? Does she know him?A chance

(un)encounter. They leave the station without sharing words.

Do they leave the station together?

YES

NO

YES NO

Fine!

NO

Do they start a conversation?

NO

A chance (un)encounter. They leave the station without sharing words.

YES

YES

(start)

A chance encounter! He and She change

their train-riding plans and leave the station

together.

A casual chance encounter.

Does She walk to Him?

YES

NO

FLOW CHART

42

Girl seeks guy with car.

SEEKING:

Train conductor seeks woman with flowers.

SEEKING:

Guy seeks girl with striking eyes.

SEEKING:

CLIPPED

43

FLIPPED & OBJECT(ified)

FLIP BOOK

CLIPPED

FLIP BOOK

44


LANGUAGE, PHOTOGRAPHED

45



ASL: A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

46

DIGITAL(S)

a chance encounter]expanded[

(an exercise in style)

enter

HYPERTEXT FICTION

TWITTER TWEETShttp://twitter.com/TweetEncounter

47

WIKI STORY

FLASH ANIMATION

SHEHEamandastarlingexercisesinstyle.pbworks.com

48

P R O J E C T

This book project was conducted to explore how narrative is affected, influenced, and understood differently as it is written, designed, and translated into and onto different media. The goal of this project was to recreate and re-present one story in multiple ways using visual, graphic, electronic, static, artistic, digital, photo-graphic, transliterate, and technological presentation and storytelling tools.

Background: Raymond Queneau’s book, Exercises in Style, tells the same story 99 different ways. Written in 1947, Queneau’s book uses different characters, different perspectives and different voices to re-present one original narrative. My goal was to expand the multi-vocal narrative concept by writing, designing, and producing multimedia re-presentations of a single story to recapture the modern equivalent of Queneau’s experimental work.

All stories and story iterations here are my own, save for the Mandarin version, 巧遇，故事的開端, on page 21. As part of my project, I wanted to see how others would re-vision and refashion the seed and so I solicited collaborators to reproduce their own versions of my original story. 余睿庭’s story is an example of that collabora-tive production. Future editions of this book will contain a collaborators section compiling all collected stories.

PROJECT STATEMENT

49

In addition to these printed story versions, I have created many electronic and digital spaces upon which I projected my story. The snapshots on pages 46 & 47 picture a selection of the non-print story iterations.

DESIGN NOTESThough the stories are here roughly arranged to move from the Seed—from which all other stories stemmed—toward increasing levels of abstract narration, this organization decision was arbitrary and does not prescribe a desired reading path. The nonsequential, floating Table of Contents reflects this and provokes a dynamic reading experience by inviting a participatory, user-centered naviga-tion. No page numbers are given because the stories can be read in any order. Though the stories interweave and inter-reference each other, it does not mat-ter where or how the reader enters or leaves the book’s pages. The multimedia scope of the overall book project encourages a nonlinear reading as the read-er can jump from the book to the web and from the web to the miniature flip book. The story is also re-presented here in many different languages—English, French, Braille, American Sign Language, and Mandarin—to further demon-strate the many ways a reader can read a story. The book is truly transliterary.

The primary type families used were Minion Pro for the text, and Sanvito Pro for the headings and pagination. I chose Century Schoolbook as an appropriate type for the Elementary Lesson and the headline-shouting cover type is News Gothic.

The cover is a montage of the story’s words. The title page is written in both English and in Braille. STORY NOTESCrypto Code: To create this version, I used letter replacement code 21 from the code generator application found at http://cryptoclub.math.uic.edu/shiftcipher/shiftcipher.php. Code 21 was chosen because 1947, as the publication date of Que-

50

neau’s Exercices de Style, when added together (1+9+4+7), equals 21.

Une Rencontre Par Hasard: This French version is my own. Like all other versions, it is not a direct translation of the seed but is a story all its own.

巧遇，故事的開端: As stated above, this is the only included story that is not unique-ly my own. Story by 余睿庭.

Language, Photographed: Each hand is a letter of the American Sign Language. Together they spell the title, “A Chance Encounter.” Photos from: JupiterImages

Flow Chart: Created using open-source software from Flowchart.com.

Quoted: This story is, essentially, a collaged bricolage of intertextuality. The entire story was ‘borrowed’ from previous texts. Each sentence here is a citation from a previously-published book. The bold text is the text I used as search criteria. Where there are quotation marks, this indicates the borrowed sentence was a quote in the orignal source text. Where there are ellipses, this indicates the borrowed text was a fragment of a larger sentence. Where there are periods, there were periods in the source text. The citations for each borrowed phrase appear on the facing page. Flipped: This is a miniature flip book that I created because I wanted to represent the story as an Object.

Digitals: These are four of my digital versions: A Chance Encounter, ]Expanded[ is a hypertext fiction that is navigated by clicking through electronic hyperlinks; with TweetEncounter I tweeted the story in 140-character blasts on Twitter; A Chance Encounter Wiki is an informational wiki narration that adds encyclopedic data to the story; HeShe is the digital poetry version of my story created using Flash animation tools.

51

A Chance Encounter

Conceived, Written, and Designed by Amanda Starling Gould

2010

asg

BOY

GIRLPLATFORM

TRAIN

FINE!

STATION

CROWD

UNKNOWN

OTHERS

BEHINDWHITE NOISE

NOISY

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

PHONE

SANS LA FOULE

CONVERSATION

ECHOED

LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK

MASS TRANSPORT

INDIVIDUALLY INDIVIDUALLY

LOO

KSHE

BOY

BOY

WHITE NOISE

CONVERSATION

GIRLUNKNOWN

TRAIN

SIMULTANEOUSLY

ECHO

CROWD

OTHERSNOISY

LOO

K

INDIVIDUALLYHE

innovative narrative design: a chance encounter

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