Creative Narrative Sites

The first site I viewed was http://www.stories1st.com . This seems like a revolutionary idea, at least to me. The front page of the site gives the reader (or viewer) a choice of medium to experience the story. The reader's choices are sound, words, vision. I looked at a story located in vision first. There is a selection called flashSTORIES, which contains a group of stories told in macromedia flash. The one I viewed was called cut.sharp. It contained different speakers telling stories of unjust and unfair treatment due to race and/or religion. Different quotes flashed across the screen, some biblical, some from philosophers etc. There was also an asian dancer that danced fading in and out. A somber, new age compisition played in the background. It was interesting to see movement and artwork while listening to stories and music. It was multi-tasking for the senses. What works for the site is its simplicity. The reader can choose their medium, read a little blurb about each story's content and go right into the story. They accept submissions, though they say they are unable to pay the artists (sadface). I would like to see poetry added to the categories of submissions, people oft forget you can tell an amazing story through a poem.

The second site I viewed was http://www.classicshorts.com . This one is a mess. There is no submitting for writers here. Only stories that one would find in a Norton Anthology. Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Joyce are some of the authors within it's "pages." The real problem is the site design. On my particular visit, there is supposed to be something on the side bar and at the bottom but according to my browser those pages are not available. When the reader approaches the site, you are supposed to know the name or the author of the story you want to read. No leisurely browsing can take place here. There is no summary of a story before you read it so the reader will have to sit through 100 words (my guesstimate) before they decide they've lost two minutes of their life that they can never get back. The story is on plain white background with words the editor decided may be difficult or foriegn hyperlinked. It also gives you a daunting word count before you read the story, which some of these require intense mouse action on the scroll bar. The one great thing about this site is it contains many famous English, American and European authors, and their lesser known stories. But my final take is that this is not a site for readers but for the empty pocketed college student who can't fork over eighty bucks for Norton. Happy scrolling.

The third site I looked at was http://www.storiesville.com . This is a very interesting site. The writer is to submit a story and then it is packed into a genre sub-category. There is also a place to submit poetry (smile.) Each story that you read has a spot where you can rate the story on a five point scale from poor to best. Each story comes with a picture although I am not clear if it author selected or editor selected. Another questionable feature on the site is the home page which contains "Promoted Stories." It isn't entirely clear how those stories are chosen to be promoted, but I'm sure that the author lucky enough to attain this special position has their story read and rated most. There is also a place underneath each story where you may comment. Each story contains a warning if it may contain adult content. Overall this is a great place that functions equally great for the writer wanting feedback and the reader looking for something different.