Challenges in Writing Hypertext
Just
as the definition of “text” moves closer to the definition of “reader,”
the definition or “reader” is undoubtedly also moving closer to the
definition of “writer.”
George Landow notes in Hypertext 2.0 that “the figure of the
author approaches, even if it does not entirely merge with the reader; the
functions of the reader and the writer become more deeply entwined with each
other than ever before” (90).
The writer of hypertext finds themselves "entwined" with others in a
more immediate way than most other authors. Not only, as Landow, suggests, does
the author find him or herself in partnership with the reader, but will find
themselves challenged by the necessity of working as part of a team and, at
times, confounded by the very nature of language itself.