An Introduction to LostG!rl: Literally

For my semester project, I chose to write in the fictional blog genre. Flogs may be used for several purposes and may come in different forms. My flog is used to express my individuality, engage online readers, and it comes in the form of a pretend diary. The diary is that of a fifteen year old girl’s named Rebecca Bloom. At first, the diary comes off as a science fiction work, but as the reader follows her entries, there is a twist. Along with the bodies of text within each of the six entries, there are some forms of multimedia which include photographs, a video, and an interactive poll at the right of the blog. The poll is open to anyone who chooses to vote on it. This genre has allowed me to make my fictional story a reality to its readers because it turns out to be pseudo-realism rather than science fiction.
Creating the flog was an interesting process. During the course of my writing, I became more like my fictional character. Once I immersed myself into Rebecca, I edited my previous entries making them more realistic to her persona. I added pictures to describe the main idea or thoughts that were encompassed in each of her entries. In her last entry, I included a video. The pictures used in the flog: “LostG!rl” were found using Google Image Search, or from my personal collection of pictures from my PC. The video was found through Good Search as well. LostG!rl differs from other flogs because it is not a parody nor an advertisement. Many popular flogs today use them for marketing or entertainment. My flog is entertaining, but in a different sense because it is intimate. On the other hand, my flog coincides with its genre because it uses a blog interface, specifically www.Blogger.com.
As I stated previously, my blog uses media in order to contribute to its reality. In the first entry, Rebecca posted a picture of her and wrote about her whereabouts, in hopes of being found. In the second entry, Rebecca posted a photograph which she felt matched her description of the room she found herself in. In the entry about her nightmare, she posted a picture of some of her friends whom were in her bad dream. Finally, her last entry features a video from YouTube, which I found contributed to the meaning of the text. Overall, the multimedia aspect helps readers immerse themselves more than plain text would. On the other hand, I feel the story told through this flog is immersive in itself. The narrative stirs interest through science fiction, yet keeps the reader engaged through a twist in the middle of its entries.
The flog is also interactive in certain ways. Followers may comment on individual entries and vote on a poll on its main page. This may be limited as far as interactivity, but it does not take away from the literary aspect of “LostG!rl: Literally.” Flogs, unlike interactive fiction games, hypertexts, MOO’s, or fiction wiki’s, do not have many options for interactivity. On the other hand, a flog may have more than some digital poems. Overall, my interactivity includes a poll and the ability for anyone, including those who do not have a blog, to comment on the flog’s entries. Without much interactivity, my flog includes immersion as I claimed before. As our class blog notes state, “Using multiple forms of media (multimedia) can actually be a distraction [for some people].” I agree, and therefore, used the blog interface to publish my fictional story. “[Immersion] is a sense of being mentally planted in a virtual space [by] using an engaging narrative and characters that the reader can easily identify with.” I believe the best way for readers to focus on my narrative, is by reading it in blog-form.
My fictional blog, like others in its genre uses the same interface and has similar database capability. There are various ways of accessing the information in my flog. One way is by searching the blog through the search box at the top left corner of the webpage. Another way of navigating is through the blog archive, which I chose to be organized in ascending order, or from least to most recent entries. Unlike many digital authors, I made sure my piece of digital literature was user-friendly and organized. My work also functions as an archive because it varies its types of media and focuses on the narrative. Although the reader may access my work’s features randomly, it is logically structured like other blogs. Again, my work is somewhat interactive due to its search, comment, and poll features. The reader may read the narrative how they desire to, whether it is backwards, forwards, or randomly. All of these contribute to the database of my flog, which allows its readers to immerse themselves in the narrative.
Overall, my flog entitled “LostG!rl: Literally,” successfully incorporates the main characteristics of the digital, which are multimedia, the interactive, immersive, and database. Like a print novel, my work relies mainly on the narrative to create an immersive experience for the reader. The fictional character, Rebecca Bloom is a relatable character who reveals intimate details about her life in this flog. Hopefully, you will enjoy it. Welcome to my fictional blog.

For Those Who Still Feel They Are to Blame:

My mom said it was her fault because she left us home without adult supervision. Libby said it was her fault, maybe because she should have sensed something like I did. I am still coping with my guilt. I must remind myself every day that it wasn’t my fault. Those who have been in this situation must know the same about themselves.
I’ve been seeing a therapist, and no, I am not ashamed. The first thing she told me was that it was not in my hands. I am not responsible for what Justin had done to me. I’m still working on that though…

For facts about sexual assault and rape, see this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTtFOAePIdc

Unfortunately, Life is but a Dream…

Whoever knows me and has been reading my blog must think I am crazy. What my mother has just told me is the most horrible thing I could ever imagine. As for the comment from you, Justin: You can just go and screw yourself. I am going to tell my story in full.
So, here it goes…
I am so embarrassed. I know I shouldn’t be because this isn’t my fault. I can’t help to think though that I should have sensed something. I did, but not enough to do something about it in time. He slipped drugs in my drink when I left the room with my girlfriends for the bathroom. After my friends left, I fell into a comatose state, and he raped me. My mom came home finding me in my bed in a deranged position, with no clothing on. My mother tried to wake me, but it was impossible. So she took me to the nearest hospital, where I woke up about five hours later, but I had lost my memory. They allowed me to use my laptop, hoping to stimulate me. After I had woken up, I experienced hallucinations. According to the doctors, he slipped acid and a Rohypnol in my drink, and I was lucky to be alive. They could not guarantee that I would regain my memory. They said I was in such a state of shock that I would not speak to anyone. To their surprise I spoke in full sentences on the laptop. Therefore, they attributed my lack of speaking to extreme shock. Due to privacy issues, only my mother could read my blog, and later she told Libby. Hopefully, this did not spread throughout my school. It is insane how I could immerse myself in a fictional world in order to cope with my victimized state. I honestly don’t remember any writings. As a reminder, I am keeping this blog. Through it, I will tell my story for those who have also experienced sexual assault or rape.

Am I Dreaming..?

I woke up again, which is confusing me… I don’t know what is real anymore. I’m home in my bed with my cat, Midnight, and I feel lost. Where was I before? I’ll be back to update; my mom just walked in my room.

The Next Morning: Glad to at Least be Awake

As I woke up, I found the cat sleeping beside my bed on the floor. It was comforting to have company in the morning, especially after having horrifying nightmares….
The nightmare I remember most was so vivid; I swore it was real. In this bad dream, I was at home, to my surprise. I was with my best friends, Libby, Justin, Dani, and Tara. We were sitting in my room, and we were doing normal stuff that we usually did at my house. We were watching MXC, cracking up, eating popcorn and drinking hot cocoa because it was always too cold in my room. But then something weird happened. Justin was looking at me in a way he never had before. I got this funny feeling when he did, and in the worst way. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, and it was so confusing. Justin was always like a brother to me.
I looked away as if I did not notice, and I continued to watch the show. I got up to go to the bathroom, and I motioned for the girls to come with me. In the bathroom, I told them about my suspicions about Justin. Tara thought I was crazy; I think it is because she likes him, and any information that would contradict Justin liking someone else is unacceptable. Libby believed me though, and she said she would look out for me and watch for signs from him. Dani agreed. When we got back into the room, Justin looked annoyed. I prayed he didn’t hear us talking about him in the bathroom. Even though he was grossing me out, he was a good friend.
I brushed off his peculiar attitude and ate my snacks while watching TV. I drank my hot cocoa, and when I did, Justin was staring at me. This time I couldn’t ignore it, and I said to him in a joking matter, “Sup, creeper?” In a condescending way he responded, “Nothing, dumbass.” I started to feel physically weird. Everyone was laughing, but it sounded as if I was under water, and I could hear only their echoes. No one noticed the way I was feeling, but I couldn’t say a word. The girls left because Libby’s mom was there to pick them up, and Justin stayed. I tried to say something, but I could not. Justin looked at me, and started to undress me. I can’t bring myself to say the rest, but you get the idea. I felt so helpless…Even more helpless than I am in this unknown world I am in.

Response to Anonymous and whoever else is reading...

After looking around the room, trying to find something I could use for protection, I could only think of one thing. I unscrewed UV light bulb from its lamp base and cracked it on the steel bedside table. After about thirty minutes of deep breathing to calm down, I opened the door to see what was out there…
You wouldn’t believe this, but I must have been in some sort of shed. My door led to outside. The light was so bright compared to the dark room I was in. My eyes were in shock, the way they would be walking outside from a matinee showing of a movie in a theater. It was hot outside, about eighty degrees. I took off my sweatshirt, carried my cracked light bulb in my right hand, and walked into the oblivion. There was no one out there. It was a barren city, yet nothing like my home in New York City. On the streets there were a couple of strange hovers. The store fronts were all closed down, with metal bars drilled on top of their doors. There were no trees, and the sky was gray. The air was thick and humid.
I felt awkward and tense walking solely by myself on the streets of this unknown place. Every second I waited for something to jump out of somewhere. I was tempted to run back into my room and just write about what I saw, but I felt I should explore a bit more. I heard rustling nearby, and I walked towards the sound.

In an alleyway I found a stray cat rummaging for something to eat in a dumpster. She had a collar on, so I picked her up to see if she had an owner's information on its collar. Then, I threw away the light bulb so I wouldn't drop her. On it was a code, “F-8976532.” What a peculiar way of labeling an animal. It frightened me. It was as if she had a serial number. Did people have names in this world?
After I found the cat, I decided to go back to my room before anything could possibly happen. I walked back in my room, set down the cat, and here I am. I am going to try to sleep now, although I am scared. I want to go home…

Unknown Location

Hi. My name is Rebecca Bloom, and as of this morning, I have been lost. I woke up, and to my surprise, I was not where I fell asleep last night. Too scared to walk out of the room I found myself in, I logged onto the laptop next to the bed. Thankfully, I had a means of communication. For some reason though, this computer will not allow me to log onto any instant messaging sites. Of course, there was no phone in the room either. So, I locked the door, and decided to write on a blog site, in hopes of getting some advice as to what I should do in my situation.
I will begin by describing my surroundings. I’m in a room with a tall, ceiling with angles. There are no windows. My only source of light in a halogen lamp placed on a steel rectangular bedside table type thing. There is also a floor lamp made out of metal with a UV light bulb inside. How odd. Why would someone put a UV lamp in their room? The floor is freezing because it seems to be made of steel as well as everything else, including the walls. The place looks like a futuristic jail cell, only with a Tempurpedic mattress and pillow in it. At least it's somewhat comfortable in here. It is no wonder why I was able to sleep in a bed other than my own.
The laptop I am using is interesting in itself. It is black, and very small. So small, it is taking me much longer than it should to type this entry. The screen looks like it is only eight or nine inches wide. The keys are lit up when I type. On the back of the screen, “MW” is engraved. For now, I am distracting myself with these petty details, but I know I must do something. Please, if you are reading this give me a response. What should I do next?