WDF2014 1

Writing the Digital Futures

An Interim Evaluation Report:

2014 – May 2015

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Contents Year One ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Aims .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Events 2014 ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Story + ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Sticky Stories ................................................................................................................................. 5

Lost in Track Changes .................................................................................................................... 6

Events 2015 ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Digital Writers Room ..................................................................................................................... 7

Feedback ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Story+ ............................................................................................................................................ 9

Blog Feedback ........................................................................................................................... 9

Social Media Engagement ........................................................................................................ 11

Sticky Stories ............................................................................................................................... 13

Survey Feedback ...................................................................................................................... 13

Social Media Engagement ........................................................................................................ 16

Lost in Track Changes .................................................................................................................. 19

Social Media Engagement ........................................................................................................ 19

Digital Writers Room ................................................................................................................... 21

Survey Feedback ...................................................................................................................... 21

Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 24

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Year One

Aims

The Writing the Digital Futures project brings together international knowledge and

expertise in digital writing to cement Queensland as a centre of innovation in writing and

publishing within Australia. The purpose of the digital futures project is to change

community and professional perceptions of storytelling and publishing in a digital age, with

particular emphasis on transmedia/multi-platform storytelling.

The first year of the WDF project has been a great success. We have delivered four

transmedia writing workshops in regional Queensland, co-hosted Story+ with Brisbane

Writers Festival and launched the book Lost in Track Changes in conjunction with if:Book

Australia.

The digital and transmedia writing workshops were presented with QWC in Emerald,

Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns. Each of these events aimed to contribute to the

growth of digital writing within QLD and engage particularly with rural communities. These

hands-on seminars were designed to provide writers with the skills necessary to build a

career as a writer in the digital age, and to consider new ways of telling stories to resonate

with diverse audiences.

In September 2014 the WDF project and Brisbane Writers Festival brought an expert line up

of world leaders in the field of digital writing and publishing together for Story+. This event

exposed Brisbane audiences to the very latest thinking and experimenting in digital writing

globally. Researchers discussed new games theory and practice, and the effects on

narrative. Google Creative Labs uncovered their latest storytelling device The Cube for

participants to experiment with. This opportunity was a rare chance for writers to meet

with experts and share ideas.

Finally, Lost in Track Changes was a collaborative writing project and experiment that aimed

to challenge experienced and well known writers to shift their thinking about technology

and collaboration. If:book Australia developed this project that commissioned five

established writers to develop their own practice and adapt their views of technology in

writing.

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Events 2014

Story +

Jeffrey Yohalem, Christian Fonnesbech, Greg Broadmore with Kate Eltham at STORY +.

Christian discussed how player discussion is the game itself in Cloud Chamber.

On the 4th and 5th of September 2014 Brisbane Writer’s Festival and QUT presented Story+,

which was supported by $8000 from WDF. This event explored the intersection of narrative,

design and technology with inspiring talks, debates, panels and workshops from some of the

leaders of the digital future.

It was a successful event that attracted an audience of 158 people (nearly 70% of the

available seats). The audience consisted of a wide demographic, including students,

researchers, industry practitioners and the curious general public.

This two-day event addressed considerations of the futures of writing: looking at where

writing and story is heading next, how games influence culture and what it means to shape

a truly interactive narrative. There is a new breed of audience that expects to be immersed

in stories and to participate in them.

Key speakers included Joanna Ellis, Richard Nash, Tom Uglow, Jeffrey Yohaelm, Lauren

Beukes, Mike Jones and more.

Story+ was split over two days, each with an overarching theme: Interaction and Authoring.

Day one brought interaction, storytelling and robots to the forefront of the gaming industry

as all speakers stressed the importance of multi-platform engagement.

Day two brought together leaders in the digital publishing world who all spoke of the

disconnect between writing for an audience and writing for a commercial purpose. All

speakers discussed the future of the book and how this affects the modern day writer. Mike

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Jones urged the audience to think of themselves not as a lone novelist or scriptwriter but as

simply a writer who is good at applying their skills across mediums and with the support and

influence of other people. Joanna Ellis touched on valuable opportunities, platforms and

obstacles that are available to writers today in the digital age.

This event delivered under the WDF challenged community and professional perceptions of

storytelling and publishing in the digital age. It is important to consider that the contribution

of funds from WDF and Arts Queensland allows Story+ to be a free event for the public. This

was significant as allowed for the knowledge of international experts to be accessible to the

general public, and assisted many of the audience members in developing new networks

and collaborations. Key national and international practitioners and thinkers in the digital

writing space attended this event and due to the conversational tone of the afternoon

workshop sessions many of the participants were able to have detailed discussions with

these professionals.

Sticky Stories

Sticky Stories workshop participants in Rockhampton.

In 2014 WDF provided Queensland Writers Centre with $4000 to further develop one of

their existing programs – the Australian Writer’s Marketplace Online program Amplified

Author (2015) – and to deliver a series of regional workshops on transmedia and locative

storytelling, Sticky Stories (2014). This face to face workshop to augment the online

program was only possible through the support from the WDF project.

Sticky Stories consisted of two three-hour practical workshops showcasing storytelling in

new literary places. The seminars, hosted by award-winning writer and artist Matt

Blackwood took place in the North East Queensland communities of Emerald and

Rockhampton. Chief Investigators Donna Hancox and Helen Klaebe also travelled to the

workshops to add their own expertise and to conduct interviews with participants to gauge

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the effectiveness of the workshops and to understand the needs of writers in regional

Queensland for future workshops.

During the workshops participants experienced new ways of thinking about story, books and

how the world accesses these materials. The purpose of the seminar was to encourage

community building in regional areas through place based storytelling. Matt Blackwood

explained the growing self-publishing market through locative storytelling and different

projects happening all around the world.

It became evident to the audience that emerging writers can easily create ‘tangible

publishing’ by putting stories in the real world for people to come across. With this in mind

the participants roamed the vacant Rockhampton library picking out different observations,

which became short post it note stories. The workshop allowed everyone to produce new

creative work that was shared throughout the group and placed in the location in which the

story was set.

The audience made up of primarily emerging or amateur writers learnt how they can

develop their craft and reach an audience by putting stories in the real world for people

to come across.

Lost in Track Changes

Lost in Track Changes is an ongoing literary experiment featuring five established Australian

authors: Cate Kennedy, Fiona Capp, Krissy Kneen, Ryan O’Neill and Robert Hoge. This project

run by Simon Groth was a part of if:book Australia’s 2014 program.

The small group of authors each wrote a short work of memoir, which was then passed

around to each of the other authors who intentionally remixed the stories until they had

been modified. Throughout this process all of the changes were tracked. Simon stated in

relation to the project, “one thing worth noting is that remixing is distinct from editing. An

edit seeks to strengthen and clarify the original author’s intention. A remix is made with the

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understanding that the remixer will intentionally change the original work as a creative act.

Though a good remix contains recognisable traces of its source material, it is a wholly new

work and its authorship is shared.”

Lost in Track Changes was first published on the web, the stories were uploaded with the

track changes retained, allowing the reader to use the tabs to read the different versions of

the story. The ebook edition similarly presents these changes. One hundred print editions of

the book was also created (which have subsequently sold out); however, in this version

whilst there is still a sense of the changes between each remix not all changes are included.

The project provided an opportunity for five authors to participate in an experimental form,

mediated through a digital platform. The authors dealt with the difficulty of handing their

work over to others and the discomfort of modifying someone else’s work. By tracking all of

the changes the project reveals the decisions the authors made in transforming the texts.

Events 2015

Digital Writers Room

In February 2015 WDF, in collaboration with Queensland Writers Centre, presented a three

hour practical seminar titled Digital Writers Room in Townsville and Cairns.

The workshops explored transmedia practice and digital storytelling and was hosted by

award-winning digital writer and designer Christy Dena. In the past Christy has created

playful stories for Apps, installations, and live events. She was the first Digital Writer in

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Residence (funded by the Australia Council) at The Cube (QUT) and in 2014 she won the WA

Premier’s Award for Digital Narrative for her app AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS. Her work on

award-winning pervasive games, film, digital and theatre projects combine narrative and

technology. Christy is an in demand speaker internationally.

The project provided an opportunity for the local audience to learn about transmedia

storytelling and to experiment with techniques and ideas themselves by adapting the

traditional narrative of the ‘three little pigs’ into an interactive branching narrative.

Feedback The collection of data will be for the purpose of performing on-going evaluation of the

project over the three years. The evaluation process will involve collecting and analysing

qualitative, quantitative, and ephemeral rich media data. The project uses a consultative

approach, asking for feedback through questionnaires to engage all project stakeholders in

the process. It will also utilise data collected by the partners, such as BWF, using their own

feedback systems. Other data, such as social media feedback will be collected from freely

available public domains and included if relevant.

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Story+

Brisbane Writers Festival recorded that Story+ attracted a large audience of 158 people. A

number of these participants wrote blogs online about the event, all praising the networking

opportunities and insightful guest speakers. These audience accounts that were written off

their own accord highlight what a positive event Story+ was. Included below are the details

and quotes from some of these blogs.

Blog Feedback

Blog One: Story + Conference at the Brisbane Writers Festival

http://www.theunreliablenarrator.com.au/unreliable-phd/story-plus-conference-at-the-

brisbane-writers-festival/

“Okay, so attending Story Plus was not completely related to my PhD but I did meet

up with a group of like-minded people to talk about all things digital writing. The

Story Plus Conference hosted by Brisbane Writers Festival and QUT Writing the

Digital Futures turned out to be a wonderful event.”

Blog Two: Brisbane Writers Festival Story+ Workshop by Helen Stubbs

https://helenstubbs.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/brisbane-writers-festival-story-plus-

workshop/

“Everything I saw at Brisbane Writers Festival was fabulous, and there were several

highlights for me including the Story Plus workshop. At Story Plus, industry experts

talked about the creative projects they were leading, using story and information

technologies creatively. It was an amazing day of short lectures and panels by about

thirteen creative professionals, all of whom had different insights and fantastic

projects to talk about. I want to share their projects and insights with you.”

Blog Three: Storytelling in a Digital Age by Dr.Jenny Ostini (University of Southern QLD)

http://adfi.usq.edu.au/blog/storytelling-in-a-digital-age/

“What do novelists, makers of transmedia games, computer scientists, indie

publishers, movie directors, artists, poets, mega-commercial game makers, and

academics have in common? In this case, it was an interest in the intersections

between storytelling and technology. Over two days, at the Brisbane Writers’

Festival, a weirdly disparate group of people gathered to discuss how people who

make things up can survive, indeed thrive, in a technological world.

The theme of the first day of Story+ was Interactivity and that of the second day was

Authorship. In general, this broke down into gaming on one day and publishing on

the other, but the lines were not so clearly drawn. The dominant concept that

emerged was that of “transmedia”: that content is no longer bound by a single form

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but reformulated according to the platform by which the reader, gamer, viewer,

listener, creator is interacting with it.”

Blog Four: Passion and Possibility by Debbie Terranova

http://dterranova.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/passion-and-possibility/

“The Story+ conference which was part of the 2014 Brisbane Writers Festival was

pure inspiration. Described as ‘an intensive two-day conference exploring the future

of writing and storytelling shaped by technology, design and data’, I didn’t know

what to expect. Except maybe a roomful of young male techno-geeks and one

middle-aged female (me).

The reality was completely different. There was an eclectic mix of writers, illustrators,

film makers and game developers all with one shared attribute. Passion for what

they do.”

Blog Five: BWF 2014 and Story+ by Tamara Rose Pearce

http://tamararosepearce.com/2014/09/08/bwf-2014-and-story/

“Story+ explored ideas and projects from a range of creative working in games,

interactive multi-platform media, writing and publishing. The who’s who of

visionaries seemed to assemble before my eyes and share their perspectives, their pet

projects and their ideas about future directions.

As someone who is not a formally trained writer, I’ve been clawing my way up an

exponential learning curve in the literary world…My work is recognised as very high

quality but that doesn’t make it a viable option for earning an income, especially with

the publishing industry in its current state. The speakers on the second day of Story+

suddenly presented me with a positive, inspiring view of the opportunities in front of

me.”

Story+ was the highlight for me this year and I hope BWF continues to feature this

exciting event. Not only was my mind altered, but I realised the importance of a

creative community to collaborate and cross-pollinate ideas. My next big goal for my

creative practice is to build my creative community, so that the high from this past

weekend continues throughout the year.”

Blogs Six & Seven: Brisbane Writers Festival Blog

http://bwf.org.au/luminary-richard-nash/

http://bwf.org.au/digital-leader-joanna-ellis/

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Brisbane Writers Festival volunteers also wrote some blogs online – specifically about their

interviews with Richard Nash and Joanna Ellis, both key speakers of day two.

Richard Nash, commented, “We need occasions to allow for formal – and even more

important, informal – conversation amongst writers and ideas, and that’s what this festival

is doing.”

Joanna Ellis also made a useful point:“so what technology does is bring with it a set of tools

that enable writers and creative and artists to actually push the creative boundaries, and

culturally I think that is thrilling…the positive of having all these technologies is that there’s

not just one way of being, there are just more ways of being, more ways of expressing.”

Social Media Engagement

Story+ had a significant presence on social media, both through Facebook and Twitter. This

involved interaction (particularly on Twitter following the hashtag #storyplus) between key

speakers and the audience. Included below are some of these tweets expressing this

audience engagement.

1. Keynote Speaker Mike Jones encourages the audience to engage in the conversation

online:

2. Audience member tweets about location based games:

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3. Audience member tweets about the opening of day two:

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4. Keynote speaker Tom Uglow engages with other speakers:

Sticky Stories

At Sticky Stories in Rockhampton a survey evaluation form was distributed to the audience

of thirty-two participants. The following graphs and analysis are based on their responses.

Survey Feedback

A very positive result is that over 90% of the audience enjoyed the event, 73% responding

‘very much’ and 18% responding ‘yes’.

73%

18%

9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

very much yes somewhat

Did You Enjoy The Event?

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Importantly over 90% found that the event introduced new ideas around digital storytelling.

In particular, some participants commented that they discovered how to implement digital

storytelling locally and they, “learnt about different genres”. Events such as this provide

whole communities with new knowledge when participants use the skills to create stories in

and about their local area. This is particularly important considering the rural location of the

participants and the lack of access to these types of workshops for many community

members.

Over 90% found that the event was useful for them, with only one participant believing it

wasn’t useful, most likely due to a misunderstanding of the workshop content.

91%

9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes

No

Did This Event Introduce New Ideas To You Around Digital Storytelling?

36%

45%

9% 9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

very much quite useful somewhat not at all

How Useful Was The Event For You?

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The majority at 82% would prefer to attend workshops such as this in person as opposed to

online. Again, this is perhaps due to the location being regional Queensland and the

community not having access to as many of these workshops as metropolitan writers.

The majority at 50% did not respond to this question regarding other topics they would like

to learn about, suggesting that they do not have a great understanding of digital storytelling

originally. However, a significant figure is that 17% would like to learn more about QR codes,

which Matt Blackwood touched on in the seminar.

Over 90% of the participants were able to extend their knowledge about digital events, in

particular digital storytelling. Another significant outcome of the workshop was that the

82%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

In person Combination of online & in person

Would You Prefer To Attend Online Or In Person?

17%

8%

8%

8%

8%

50%

Any Other Topics You Would Like To Learn About In Relation To Digital Storytelling

QR codes

Digital publishing

Gaming

Social Media

Anything

No Answer

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participants were able to meet and interact with like-minded people and establish a

writing/reading network.

Included is some anecdotal feedback from the audience on the highlights of their

experience:

“It was fun with other writers. In the regions, this is much harder to do and writing

can be isolating.”

“I liked the ideas about putting written works in public places.”

“Meeting people & looking at writing styles of other attendees. Getting to come to

the Rocky library (it's gorgeous).”

Social Media Engagement

Sticky Stories did not have the same level of social media engagement as Story+, however

the audience was much smaller and the activity was more hands on and involved. It is also

worth considering that the participants were primarily from an older demographic.

1. Seminar host Matt Blackwood tweets an Emerald sticky stories:

64%

18%

9%

9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

very much

yes

somewhat

not really

Did You Extend Your Knowledge About Digital Events?

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2. WDF tweet for Matt Blackwood pre Rockhampton seminar:

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3. Queensland Writers Centre CEO Meg Vann tweets from the Emerald Seminar:

4. Rockhampton seminar participant tweets her own sticky stories post it note:

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5. Rockhampton seminar participant tweets her own sticky stories post it note:

Lost in Track Changes

The launch of Lost in Track Changes was held at Avid Reader on the 2nd December 2014

where some hard copies of the book were sold. Compared with the other events this is

considered more of an ongoing project. There has been some online engagement with the

remix experiment as seen on twitter.

Social Media Engagement

1. If:book Australia updates its audience on Lost in Track Changes:

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2. If:book Australia tweets from the Lost in Track Changes launch:

3. A reader engages with the authors:

4. A reader happy with their new arrival:

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Digital Writers Room

At Digital Writers Rooms in Townsville and Cairns a survey evaluation form was distributed

to the audience of twenty participants (at each event). The following graphs and analysis are

based on these participant responses.

Survey Feedback

A very positive result is that nearly 70% of the audience enjoyed the event with 54%

responding ‘very much’ and 15% responding ‘yes’.

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It is clear from the participant responses and anecdotal feedback that there were a

percentage of the audience that only felt the event was ‘somewhat’ useful. This is most

likely due to a lack of understanding about the workshop as a digital and interactive

experience. One participant explains, “I wasn’t really coming to learn how to design a video

game”. Therefore, this attitude must be considered when analysing the results of the

questionnaire.

Significantly, 92% of the respondents found that they were introduced to new ideas around

digital storytelling. Some anecdotal feedback clearly outlines this new knowledge:

“Opened my eyes to a whole new world.”

“Provided a complete understanding of digital writing for apps.”

It is particularly important to make aware to amateur or emerging writers the digital

opportunities available to them. Many of the respondents were very interested in the

54%

15%

31%

Did you enjoy the event?

Very Much

Yes

Somewhat

23% 23%

54%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Very Useful Useful Somewhat Useful

How useful was the event for you?

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content of the workshop and many commented that they wanted to personally understand

the intricacies of eBook publishing practices/skills, which we will address in coming events.

Similarly to the feedback from the Sticky Stories participants the vast majority of

respondents from Digital Writing Room would rather participate in person at 77%. This was

followed by 15% who like to participate through a combination of in person and online. Only

one person responded that they would like to participate solely online.

The majority at nearly 70% felt that their knowledge about digital events had been extended

by attending this activity.

92%

8%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Yes Not really

Were you introduced to new ideas around digital storytelling?

77%

15%

8%

Would you rather attend/participate online or in person?

In person

Combination

Online

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Anecdotal feedback regarding other topics participants would like to learn about are as

follows:

“How to epublish novels.”

“Incorporating the digital into traditional texts.”

“Marketing & promotion.”

Overall the audience responded enthusiastically and positively to the workshop, as

identified by this comment, “the interactive exercise was an effective way of gaining an

understanding of telling a story.”

Social Media Engagement

The Digital Writers Room did not have the same level of social media engagement as Story+,

however the audience was much smaller and the activity was more hands on and involved.

Included below are examples of some engagement by the WDF online platforms with a

greater audience.

1. Engaging with an online audience during the Digital Writers Room workshop in

Townsville:

54%

15%

31%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Very much Yes Somewhat

Did you extend your knowledge about digital events?

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2. The audience at the Digital Writers Room got to develop their transmedia writing skills by

adapting classic nursery rhymes:

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3. Engaging with an online audience:

4. Christy Dena, award-winning writer and artist addresses the Townsville Digital Writers Room

audience:

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5. WDF is active on twitter throughout all their events

Conclusions

The first year of the WDF project has been very successful and has set up the project for the

next two years to deliver important and innovative events to Queenslanders. The diverse

range of activities has engaged a number of groups across a range of platforms. WDF has

captured all corners of the writing world and publishing industry, it has engaged with

amateur and emerging writers, challenged experienced writers and involved professionals

and developers.

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Each of these different events further established QLD as a centre for digital writing. It has

clearly demonstrated that there is a genuine interest in digital writing, people are seeking

information about this area and are interested in hearing from experts and experimenting

themselves in hands on workshops. The WDF project has presented fantastic possibilities of

what the future might look like. In 2014 we provided different cohorts amongst the

Queensland public with information and possibilities about digital writing. In 2015 we aim to

deliver public events that will give writers – emerging and established – important

information about models for developing a sustainable career as a writer across a range of

platforms and creative projects that allow writers to engage with social media as a tool for

storytelling. In 2016 we will bring together publishing industry professionals, writers,

interactive and visual designers, funding bodies, academics and agents to disseminate the

information we’ve gathered and to formulate concrete plans for a sustainable and

innovative future for writing and publishing in Queensland.