March 12th, 2008
Six to Start: making the Classics interactive
Dreadful Thoughts kicked off on Monday and was lots of fun (we’re looking for suggestions for the next ghost story to discuss, so please get in touch). No one tells a creepy tale like MR James and this week I discovered that his collection The Haunted Doll’s House has been co-opted into an interesting project involving Penguin and Reality game-makers Six To Start. The idea, www.wetellstories.co.uk/ starts on March 18th and involves six writers, six stories, six classics and will run over six weeks. It has been pitched as a digital writing project and the featured writers - Charles Cumming, Toby Litt, Nicci French, Matt Mason, Kevin Brooks and Moshid Hamimd - will use existing classic stories to create a new work.
What happens next is this:
“But somewhere on the internet is a secret seventh story, a mysterious tale involving a vaguely familiar girl who has a habit of getting herself lost. Readers who follow this story will discover clues that will shape her journey and help her on her way. These clues will appear online and in the real world and will direct readers to the other six stories.”
A tad complicated, perhaps. But if you answer a series of questions related to the stories you can win the complete Penguin Classics collection (”more than 25 metres of books”).
Link: We Tell Stories
March 12th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Sinéad,
How frustratingly clever are those folks at Penguin and Six to Start?
This is fierce smart stuff!
Eoin
March 12th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Eoin, it’s a damn clever idea, but I’m wondering if some people will find the ‘game’ element of it a little hard to follow.
Still I’ll be glued to it, no doubt.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I see the point. I think it only matters that a few loud proponents get it and then tell everyone else how great it is/was.
Eoin
March 12th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I love this idea! But I have questions - lots of questions… Are the real life clues going to be in strategic positions in London or another UK city (I see Ireland’s excluded) or in one of the original real life books? Will the UK friend I have lined up to accept the prize I’m now convinced I’m going to win run off with all of my lovely lovely books? Is it remotely likely that I’m going to win when I don’t even really understand how this works?! I need answers Sinead!
March 12th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
25 metres of books!
*droool*
March 12th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
What about Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart for the next Dreadful Thoughts?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
It may be smart stuff….but I can’t make head nor tail of it.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Claire, I’ll add that to the list. I’m just putting up a post about the next choice (already decided upon) but Poe is (of course) a MUST!
March 13th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Martina, I do too! It’s being presented in very oblique terms and not very user-friendly in terms of imparting what the hell it’s all about. I think the clues will be presented in London locations (I think?) but will have a link to the books. I could be totally wrong on that. Maybe it’ll become clearer when it kicks off next week?
Mish, you and me both missus. Where the hell I’d put them, I don’t know.
Claire, a top class suggestion, I love that story. Although I can’t think about it now without thinking of Lisa’s diorama in The Simpsons.
Fustar, let’s keep an eye on this when it starts and see if we can figure it out.