Short Story on a Spreadsheet

Davud Nygren decided to ‘tweet’ an idea he had and see what response he would get. The idea was to write a ‘novel’ in an Excel spreadsheet. And thus “Under the Table” was born!

Idea: write novel in Excel spreadsheet. Column A=action. Column B=dialog. Columns C-? for each character’s thoughts. (Link)

The first worksheet of the Excel file has the “raw data,” the story itself (8 columns x 30 rows). The easiest way to read it is to click on the first cell and then use the arrow keys to move to the next cell you want to read. The second sheet has a line graph that gives graphical representation to the “Character Intensity of Thought Units” (CIT Units) for each “Action Segment” in the story. The raw data is formatted to print nicely, if that’s your thing. However, I encourage everyone to read the story in its electronic format. I’ve turned on “Track Changes,” thereby cordially inviting you to collaborate with me on this short storyspreadsheet.