This article was first published in the August 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
A bookis a finished product -- or is it? British poet Martin Jackson, 33, is writing his novel TBC, live on Google Docs. (The name, like the content, will be decided by the crowd.) TBC's plot centres on a drone attack on Whitehall. But although Jackson has a skeleton of a storyline, the reader is invited to comment, research -- and contribute.
According to Jackson, the aim is to make editing a collaborative effort. He's previously played with Google: in 2014 he declared himself "writer in residence" of Google Maps, publishing a series of poems exploring the app's social politics. Twitch streaming, Jackson believes, may signal the end of an era for reclusive authors.
"The encasing of a 'finished' text within the hermetic seals of covers has to end -- or at least be seriously messed around with" for literature to stay relevant, Jackson says. The crowd is coming: WIRED editors, look busy!
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
