itch.io

Sorry for the late reply, itch.io figured it wasn't necessary to inform me about it, so I've just been scrolling past it...

But thanks for those essays, after a quick gloss through, I think I can use them in my thesis, if you don't mind. And I'll definitely check the movie out in the upcoming week or two (I've been going through movies by year starting from 1920, currently in the year 1962). There have indeed been quite a few works in fiction about future that are getting eerily true (Orwell's 1984 becoming truer by the year thanks to IoT, for one). And adding to tablets, the history of compact e-readers goes all the way to 1949, when a Spanish teacher, Ángela Ruiz Robles, build a machine that would display books printed on stools, the Enciclopedie Mecánica (Mechanical Encyclopedia), which she hoped would lessen the burden of her students (unfortunately, it never went into production).

And my reason for focusing on tech is simply the fact the tech has been a major aspect in the evolution of literature, from stone tablets to ink and paper to printing... and as you yourself mentioned Twine, which is an advancement in hyperfiction tech, that has helped revitalize the genre somewhat. So tech is not something that should be completely cast aside either, as you again mentioned "more and better tools" which usually take the form of new tech.

I'm of course not demeaning the need for more authors but from a futuristic point of view it's quite hard to come up with scenarios that would include how we get more authors to the scene other than by introducing tech that summons more interested individuals. Creative writing classes are already being introduced all the way in elementary schools, publishing online is about as easy as it can get, tools and documentation on how to use them for nearly any format of literature exists free and open to anyone and everyone. So at least in my eyes there is not much we can do in regards to getting more authors, other than by hoping that more and more people get interested in trying and writing (maybe there could be an in-depth introduction to all the possible tools and platforms in writing classes so everyone would know to search for them if they are interested, perhaps). And again, as you've said, "Books are already as close to perfect as any medium can get, after thousands of years..." and yet we've still seen how the introduction of new tech outside of books has pulled people into writing. So, essentially, the new and better tools or tech are what get people interested by giving everyone the platform they are most comfortable working with. Which I, personally, think is our best bet in getting more authors: by giving people as many different formats, platforms and tools to write as they can and hope that everyone who wishes to write finds the format, platform and tool that allows them to best express themselves and as comfortably as possible.