- Image via Wikipedia
Creating an online character is a complex task, especially when it is fictional. However, creating one is crucial for online storytelling, the art of telling stories over the internet. I am teaching at the Interdisciplinary Center a course about online storytelling and here are some of the challenges in this field:
Story Comes First
Though we are all hyped with Twitter and Facebook, and we want our character to use them as well we must start with the basics. The story is the most important part of your online creation, and as such it has to be reliable, and the characters, and their action, have to make sense to the viewer (Look at Cleaner's last scene to see a case where it was NOT done properly).
Internet Usage as a Part of the Character's World
As such, the mere fact that the character uses Twitter or Facebook affects the way that it is being perceived by both readers and other characters in the story. In other words, as characters are defined by their acts (among other things), their online activity is a part of their definition. This is a unique aspect of online storytelling. In film, TV and theater, there is an unwritten agreement between audience, actors and creators - the camera or stage are not really there. The audience willingly believes that the things they see on screen (sometimes called suspension of disbelief, as well as the fourth wall). So the fact that there is a camera on set doesn't change the character itself, as it doesn't exist in the story. This is why historical drama are possible. However, in online storytelling telling, the medium affects the characters, as explained above.
If a writer ignores this point, he/she could find themselves with very strange characters, such as a secret agent who is deep under cover who uses Facebook with his true profile, or highly web savvy kid who is not a member of any of the social networks.
Online Scale
I don't believe in diagrams in such an early stage of the development of the online storytelling theory. However I'd like to share with you something I call "the online misanthropy scale". It is a simple tool I am using when lecturing to students, and companies, about social media. It can be used to understand the character of their antagonist or protagonist in the story:
As one can see we on the right side the coolest kid in the block, or extremely savvy social media user. On the left we have the guy who barely uses the Internet. When deciding who is your character, try to put him or her on this scale - it will answer a lot of your question about the nature and character of you protagonist.
The Challenge - The Guy who is not Online
So how could one tell an online story about a character that is not using the internet? In this case the internet can enrich their characters, as well as report about the events in the story.
There is no limit to creativity, and here are some of my ideas:
1. A fake news site - let's say your story is about an old criminal, or young kids who ran from home. You can tell the story in fake news site, as if they were covered in local news.
2. Other characters can use the internet and tell the story - let's say that you are interested in letting your audience know that a meeting is taking place in the story line. if possible, make one of the character
What else can be done to unveil those secretive, non web characters in our story?
