Linking assignment #6 – Manize – Twine Story

Manize twine story is about something that is of interest to her, baking cookies. I actually just started to learn how to bake cookies after having kids, so it was interesting to me to follow this twine to see what I can learn. The story starts by introducing the type of cookies – shortbread cookies, then it moves to the ingredients, and then step by step it gives you the instructions to bake the cookies. Along the way, there are some tips you can choose to explore, for example replacing butter with vegan margarine. When you are in the step for baking, you are presented with a series of questions that novice bakers might have. I know I did, the first time I baked cookies. I still don’t know why you need to refrigerate your dough? The recipe I found didn’t require refrigeration, but I know most do. I still don’t understand the chemical process of all this, but so far cookies have turned out good. 

When thinking about writing a story for twine or a non-linear story choosing something you are familiar with is the best choice, as it would give you a better opportunity to branch out the story at different points. In order to create branches you need to have a good understanding of the topic. Manize’s choice made this twine refreshing and even not overwhelming for a person who is baking for the first time. On most websites when looking for a recipe, I get like a few too many paragraphs on the story of why they decided to bake and more and more, and then finally to the recipe and scrolling down for ingredients and steps. Having the visual of just one step at a time is a much better choice, just like Bolter (2001) indicates thinking in terms of verbal units or topics. 

Unlike Manize, I chose to use my twine almost as a therapeutic tool to vent about something that goes on and on in mind. I found that when we start to worry or get bothered, our mind can create non-linear stories with so many branches, based on the possible decisions we chose from. My twine story is one of those stories that many parents can relate to, stories and dinner time. My son likes scary stories, but not too scary, he is only four years old. He loves legends, and my husband one day started to tell him the story of “La Llorona” so I cringed, but the outcome was not so bad, so every time he starts, I think, my husband doesn’t truly know this story, I have to tell him, should I? So, I used my twine to tell him, he enjoyed it. If you don’t know the story of “La Llorona” and how it is not appropriate for a 4 year old dinner time story. I invite you to explore my twine. 

Manize’s twine for baking cookies.

My twine of La Llorona.

References

Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. New York, NY: Routledge