Blogging from Beyond the Grave

With the release of Amazon’s Kindle 2 and the continued expansion of Google’s scanning project, the traditional concept of the book is undergoing a radical redesign. Why then would we assume that the structure of the story would remain the same? Writing has historically been viewed as a one-way conversation between the author and the reader, but does technology spell new possibilities for the narrative itself?

In his debut novel, Generation Dead (Hyperion, 2008), author Daniel Waters explores new ways in which a story can live and grow in this dynamic, digital world. Tommy Williams, the lead zombie in Waters’s book turns to blogging as a way to build a community of support for his fellow undead. Facing prejudice and violence, the “differently biotic” teens in Generation Dead blog as a means of promoting social justice. After finishing the book, Waters realized that Tommy still had more to say. In between writing a more traditional sequel, the author established a venue in which his protagonist could continue updating readers: an actual blog called My So-Called Undeath: My Life as a Zombie.

I recently spoke with Waters about the blog and how its development over the past year has changed his view of books. Unlike other techno-hip titles, such as Lauren Myracle’s ttyl (Abrams, 2005)—written in IM—or Robynn Clairday’s Confessions of a Boyfriend Stealer: A Blog (Delacorte, 2005), Generation Dead incorporates blogging as a natural element of the story. As Waters says, there’s a strong focus on social commentary in the book; Tommy’s blog was simply another tool for drawing readers’ attention to social issues. The idea to extend the blog beyond the tree-pulp version came afterward. It was “a chance to work out material that I wanted to address creatively, but that didn’t fit in the book,” says Waters.

Soon after publication of Generation Dead, curious readers began showing up on the blog and immersed themselves in the ongoing story. Commenters seemed aware that they were posting to a blog penned by a fictional character, but even so, they wrote directly to him. “tommy williams, i thought you were amazing in Generation Dead! and i cant wait till the next book comes out so i can read more about you,” wrote one fan. Waters himself was surprised at the commenters’ level of participation. He never anticipated readers coming to the blog and assuming personas that maintained the story line. One visitor, for instance, wrote of his experience working “with the undead kids at my school... .”

So how does an author deal with his or her book gaining a life of its own? For Waters, it has been an interesting journey. One of the more exciting aspects: his observation that the characters do, in fact, “continue to live beyond the books.” However, as he explains, “they are progressing in ways both in and out of my hands. This hasn’t altered the direction of the overall story arc, but it has validated the direction being taken,” he says. “Feedback from the Internet and the critical community is tough enough to keep out of your head as you sit down to write books. Actually inviting people to come in and participate in a communal way can be dangerous.”

By extending Generation Dead into an interactive blog, Waters acknowledges that he’s surrendering some of the author’s omniscient authority. “Initially I didn’t know how to feel about the loss of control,” he says, “but I am glad that my work inspired someone else, just like others’ works inspired me to write mine.” Could this expanded view of writing, books, and the very stories themselves become the new norm in the world of digital reading? As digitization projects and the development of e-book readers continue to push our notions of the book, fan fiction, online forums, and blogs such as My So-Called Undeath are challenging the story form itself. The next big thing in reading might be what Waters has already witnessed with his blog: “a more interactive experience as opposed to a static one time reading of the book.”