As I first came across this project from Penguin, I thought, what a good idea : a website to promote 6 stories from 6 different authors over 6 weeks, that's a very good way to get people back into reading. I say "back into reading" because although I cannot find any figures, I'm convinced that less and less people read books nowadays with the Internet...
Anyhow, at the beginning I thought this was a perfect way for me to discover new writers through shorts stories and decide whether to later on buy one of their books....
But as I was reading their first short story : The 21st Steps from Charles Cumming, I realised this was much much more than just short stories online... This was properly a brand new experience in terms of reading, a digital experience where your book is no longer just a mix of words... You visualize on Google Map your story as it develops, you get the chance to see where it all happens and clearly althought I'm not a "gamer" I thought this was the kind of story that could attract kids (and older gamers lol) into reading !
Little was I surprised then when at the end of the story, you get the Credits and realise that the digital fiction was designed by Six to Start. Who are they ? Well, that's when it gets interesting - here is what Six to Start say on their website : "We create Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). ARGs use multiple media — the web, email, IM, mobile phones, radio, newspapers, TV and live events — to tell a story to hundreds of thousands of people, who can follow and influence the game in real time. People are dividing their attention across more media than ever before. ARGs are the best way to tell a story that spans them all, and that’s what we’re experts at."
Have a look at the Six to Start website, but before you do this, have a try at one of the digital fiction from Penguin on the site We Tell Stories - it's worth the detour as it's clearly a revolution in the way we read stories !
