General Description
Something I’ve been developing in the course of my publishing support business is what I call generically a storygraph. A storygraph is a directional sequencing of images and textboxes laid out on an electronic page, where the images (or textboxes) are linked to books, videos, or sound recordings on the World Wide Web. My construction method uses a Visio graphics software package combined with printing to a portable domain format (pdf) file, then I run a pdf ‘write’ program that enables me to specify for any of the regions on the page a corresponding Web link, if any.
As a Memorial
I composed my most recent storygraph to commemorate a friend of mine who had passed, Mr. Doug Brown. It was my first memorial storygraph and turned out quite well according to the family and friends who attended Doug’s service in spring of 2014. The creation process uses substantial input from family. Doug’s storygraph appears at this Web location.
Development History
- The first storygraph I composed was of my own personal (mainly ideological) history that I used to give me a context for a presentation on political strategy to a local Libertarian group. This general type of storygraph I call a life scroll. Go to this page here for a sample: http://www.brianrwright.com/Swing.pdf.
- The second storygraph I composed was a cause-oriented diagram of an argument for principles and practices that I see as leading to a general benefit to humankind. I sent these as Christmas cards, and I call this type of storygraph a syllograph. The Paradigm Shift diagram is here: http://www.brianrwright.com/Shakabuku.pdf.
- A third type of storygraph—which I have yet to ‘paint’ but probably will soon—is a general description diagram, usually technical. It is akin to the data flow diagram in systems design, or processing documentation in manufacturing, or even a map of landmarks showing directions. I guess I call this a technograph?
Each of the main types has important subtypes. For example, the life scroll can focus on one’s career like a resume, or it can show one’s lifelong learning milestones like a living diploma. Another subtype for Type 1 is significant enough to be its own type I suppose, but you simply apply the life story to a business or to a family or to some other grouping of humanity. It’s still life, just another aspect of it. In reality the life scroll opens up a vast new enterprise of living historical documentation.
The chief advantage of a life scroll is self-discovery…
I haven’t got to the point of naming the several applications I envision. It’s all ‘open source,’ so who knows where the new medium will go. [Note: storygraphs can be ‘nested’ into several layers.]
Integration with Book Publication
A storygraph is truly a robust outline of what may easily become (or has already become) a full written description of a subject.
Storygraph General Process
I am firming up a general process, and you and the family would have as much a role as you want. Typically the loved one(s) provides images, textbox roughs, links, and a layout concept. Then I scan and edit, putting it all together, making it available as an active-link file or on the Web.