PlayNook Spotlight | Celeste Trionfo Fineo, Author
Celeste Trionfo Fineo is a PlayNook author. Twenty-four years old and originally from Matera, she has been living in Milan for some time now, and after a three-year degree in Communication and Media at IULM (and a Master’s degree in the art of storytelling), she started contributing to the PlayNook revolution. In this conversation, she tells us about her creative journey, the authors who have influenced her the most, and the AudioGame she is working on over the coming months.
Celeste, what is your role at PlayNook?
There are two parts to my job: one is listening and gathering suggestions, ideas and advice from the rest of the team; and the other is writing and trying to give shape to the collective vision we have of the character, of the plot. Writing in PlayNook is a team effort, really.
How did you come to love writing and the art of storytelling?
At first, it was mainly through mimesis, through imitation. I liked the idea of recreating the worlds I was reading. When a book I fell in love with ended, I didn’t quite accept it, so writing was a way of keeping it from ending. Then, like every teenager, I think, I had a diary, which was essential for expressing myself. But even now, when I write, what I enjoy the most is creating worlds, experiencing things that I would never even dare to imagine in reality.
Writing is a demiurgic feeling, isn’t it?
It is, yes.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Definitely Jack Kerouac. He has a sense of exploration, an exploration not only of places but also of himself, an ability I deeply envy him for, because I think it is really hard to achieve. I also learned so much from Joan Didion. I have always loved her reportages, her strong and often ironic, not to say irreverent, style of reporting on the events of her time. It is a time for which I feel a deep nostalgia, even though I obviously could not experience it; I was not born. I particularly loved Didion’s White Album, which is a kind of gateway to her work.
You are very young and yet seem somehow pervaded by nostalgia; is that fair to say?
Yes, I look back a lot. Maybe that is why I love the great novels of the past. And to be honest, I don’t relate so much to contemporary fiction, especially Italian fiction. I prefer the classics.
What do you think of the PlayNook revolution?
I love it. A PlayNook AudioGame deeply engages an AudioGamer. Not only because the sound is really evocative, but because the imagination does the rest. Unlike video games, AudioGames do not rely on images, and that is so inspiring. It is also very innovative because in today’s world we are used to seeing rather than imagining.
We talked about this in a conversation with Stefano. To focus on sound in these iconocentric times is revolutionary. Sound allows AudioGamers to immerse themselves in stories in a way that would otherwise be impossible. Sound can activate the imagination in extraordinary ways.
Absolutely so.
There are big fans of fantasy and science fiction in the PlayNook team. Do you love these genres?
Sure. I was particularly influenced by fantasy. There was a time when my mum wouldn’t even let me buy any more fantasy books because my room was full of them! I was so influenced by Tolkien, a genius who changed my vision of the genre, and of storytelling in general. I have learnt a lot from reading Tolkien’s work, and every day I try – with my limited abilities – to put his teachings into practice: I do my best to fill PlayNook stories with lots of cliffhangers to keep the AudioGamer hooked.
I should add that, like others in PlayNook, I am somewhat familiar with the gamebooks of the 80s and 90s; PlayNook’s ancestors, so to speak. I read some of them when I was a girl, and now I find myself here in Milan, helping to develop new AudioGames. It’s fantastic.
It is a great challenge, isn’t it?
Yes, it is.
What do you think of PlayNook’s first AudioGame, Marco Polo: Adventures?
Marco Polo is the reason why I joined the PlayNook team. Playing it made me realise how revolutionary and fascinating the idea at the heart of PlayNook is. It is now my benchmark, my guide to writing in a way. Let’s just say that Marco Polo: Adventures was an essential first approach in every way.
What are you working on now?
The Count of Monte Cristo.
What struck you about this masterpiece by Dumas?
It is an amazing novel. An extraordinary adventure that is able to take the reader back to a time that is not so distant, but in some respects so different from our own. In The Count of Monte Cristo, the main characters are animated by strong feelings and passions, and this emotionally involves the reader from the very first pages. Also, the novel was first published as a serial; it was a feuilleton, so the reader is often kept in suspense and tempted to continue reading. You know, as well as reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I also listen to an audio version of it so that I can immerse myself even more in the story.
Unlike an audio book, in an AudioGame the listener is also the protagonist. Does that affect the way you write?
Yes, definitely. Writing an AudioGame is completely different, much less ‘egocentric’ than traditional writing. Whatever you do must serve to keep the players active, to fascinate them, to give them the right coordinates.
All storytellers, young and old, have their own writing ritual. What is yours?
I write mostly at night; it is the time when I can switch everything off and find myself alone with the agony of the blank page. I start by deconstructing what I am supposed to do, in the sense that I usually start with an idea of how things should go, but I have to rationalise it all, find logical connections between the intuitions. Once I have completed this step, I try to write down everything that is in my mind spontaneously, and then I ‘polish’ what comes out.
Well, what can I say at this point? Happy writing.
Thank you very much!
