I wrote “When in Fire”, an action story about a routine Fire suit test gone wrong. This story is meant to take the reader on a journey through the emotions of Laura, the protagonist, during her time trapped in the fire chamber. Laura experiences fear, anxiety, and panic through the trials she faces in escaping.

I believe turning this story into an e-lit could enhance the reader’s experience by not only making the emotions in the story more realistic, but by helping create greater depth to Laura’s character. The following e-lit features would help improve the story.

1) Hyperlink

Much like in “These waves of girls” I would like to use hyperlinks as a form of story segmentation. Hyperlinks would be an effective way to incorporate Laura’s flashbacks of moments with her research team. This would improve the story by making Laura and her team more three-dimensional and realistic.  I would like to hyperlink into the main story small little memories Laura has about working on the project and spending time with her teammates.

2) Video

To enhance the reader’s visualization of the story I would embed a video of an actual fire suit test. These videos can appear very dramatic which I’m sure would increase the reader’s emotional commitment to the story. The visual of fire actually burning a human-like figure would hopefully evoke a greater feeling of distress for the protagonist. The one detail I want to be careful with is the length of the video. I would not want the video to be so long that the reader becomes disconnected to the story.

3) Pictures

Pictures will likely have a similar effect on the reader as a video, except that they provide a more brief addition to the story. I expect the reader to spend no more than a few seconds viewing the photo which is why I believe the choice of photo is important. For my story I would add a picture of a fire suit after the first two lines. Later in the story when Laura starts panicking, I would add a picture of droplets of sweat on a forehead. These two pictures would improve the reader’s image of the moment and hopefully help them become more engulfed in story.

4) Sound effects

I would like to add sound effects to the e-lit version of my story because I believe the more human senses involved, the greater the reader attachment to the plot. I would like to add audio of the initial explosion and of the moment where Laura breaks the window creating an escape for herself.

5) Change in font (Ex: Bold, italics)

Changing the font appearance to emphasize a word can have an effect on the reader’s reaction to the story. I would like to bold works such as pounding and crash because I feel it will add to the startling effect of the word itself.

E-lit is a very interesting form of writing that I was not aware of before this class. I like how e-lit can involve a combination one’s vision, hearing, and imagination to convey a story.

Laura wasn’t normally a risk taker but she knew in order for F.I.S., the main company in charge of Fireman’s safety,  to take her research team’s new fire suit seriously they would have to make one heck of a demonstration. So here she was clothed in seven years of research, steps away from the fire lab. In just a few moments the demonstration would begin and all that would be between her and scorching flames would be the suit.

As she stepped into the chamber her heart started pounding with fear. She knew it was silly to be afraid. Her team had tested the suit dozens of times and never once had it faltered. So, with a deep breath and large smile for the audience, she stepped in the chamber and the fire began.

Seconds into the burn Laura started to sense there was something wrong. Cold air was being cycled through her fire suit yet there were beads of sweat dripping down her face. Suddenly, through the observation window, Laura saw two of her group members rush over to the control station.  She knew something was wrong. The look of worry turned to panic and before she had time to react she heard a loud explosion by the door of the fire chamber. The pressurized latch had been broken by the force of the fire. The audience members ran for the exit, screaming with terror.  Horrified, Laura realized the fire intensity had been set too high. Blinded by smoke and fire, Laura felt her way to the chamber exit but to her dismay the heavy metal door had fallen on its side making it impossible to escape. She was trapped.

The red light on her suit started furiously blinking. Laura knew this meant the suit would only protect her for about five more minutes. Dismissing her panic, she swept the room for something she could use to escape. On the wall behind the observation window she found a large fireproof rod, normally used to hold test equipment. Now, with a glimpse of hope and adrenalin running high, she smashed the bar against the observation window. Nothing happened. Again she smashed the bar on the window. Still nothing happened. Getting overwhelmed with frustration she threw the bar with every last bit of strength left in her body. Like the sweet sound of music she heard the bar crash through the window. Surprised by her own strength she flung herself through the broken glass. Free at last, she ran out of the flaming building just as the fire department arrived.

After safely removing the fire suit, Laura’s group greeted her with overwhelming relief. Although thoroughly traumatic, the demonstration was not given in vain.  Once the fire subsided the head of F.S.I. approached Laura and her teammates. Surprisingly, he expressed interest in buying the technology showcased in the fire suit. He was sure if this suit could handle that nightmare it needed to be distributed to all fire stations.

Hey guys, my name is Sara. Even though I am in the DCC program I do not live with everyone in Queen Ann’s. I live with FLEXUS, another living and learning program for woman in engineering.

I am a Fire Protection Engineering major. People always ask me how I came to choose this major since it is so small and relatively unknown. When I was younger I liked to mess around with fire. When I first leaned that there was a whole field of engineering dedicated to fire safety I became very intrigued. UMD has been a great place to fuel my interest in this major.

Outside of school I always enjoy a good day at the beach, especially when the sun is really hot. I also like roller-coasters and roaming around DC with friends. My absolute favorite food is Watermelon. Oh, and I love my family!

Because I really love watermelon, I will make my avatar a picture of one.