A Map to the Road Narrative Spectrum: 11/16/18

Visualizing the Road Narrative Spectrum remains a challenge. It remains a work in progress. I understand it, but I'm the one who chose to map narrative elements to the 216 colors that make up web safe colors.

If you do a web search for images of web safe colors, you'll see diagrams similar to what I've made here. The difference is, that my six groups are organized by the traveler.

Download a full scale version (PDF)

Reading from left to right, are the 216 road narratives I am researching and analyzing. The top row of travelers: orphan, siblings, scarecrow or minotaur, are the most likely to be set in a fantasy or science fiction narrative. They are also the ones who have the most power to transcend the road and other expected means of travel. The bottom three categories feature stories with marginalized, family or romantic couples, or privileged travelers. These three groupings tend to be more realistic fiction or even nonfiction.

In the gap between the two neighborhoods, the places were powerful / magical travelers take mundane journeys and where mundane travelers go to extraordinary places or via extraordinary routes is where the horror genre typically sits. It's also possible that the romance genre (paranormal romances between women an minotaurs, for example) sit, but I haven't read enough of them yet to say for certain.

I've placed a link to the PDF in the blog's left navigation. It will always be there if you need a visual refreshers for my reviews or essays.

Comments  (0)