Tales from the Timeline: Experiments with Narrative on Twitter.

Abstract

This article will provide an overview of the state of the art of contemporary forms of Twitterfiction, discussing the varieties and genres that have emerged to date, and considering the extent to which they could be described as ‘experimental’ based on existing theory. The article will argue that the most innovative examples of Twitterfiction play with key features and affordances of Twitter, but that this in itself may not constitute the kind of artistic experimentation that fundamentally disrupts or changes readers’ perceptions or expectations. Moving beyond the current preoccupation with examples of Twitterfiction as ‘short bursts of beauty’, the article will examine whether Twitter can support more sustained and immersive forms of narrative. It will also argue that in order to understand how these fictions work on Twitter we need to look at the narrative environment more broadly, to fully appreciate how these narratives impact on our daily lives, while also (re)connecting us with existing and traditional patterns and practices.