To After That (Toaf) - A Blog

Every author has his or her own style of writing and a voice that is unique. Stephen King is good at writing dark and mysteriously when appropriate. John Green writes from the perspective of young people well. In the case of To After That, Renee Gladman seems to use an almost blogger-type of voice. Throughout the book, it sounds like she is telling a personal story to close people who want to read everything she wants and needs to say. This style of writing helps the reader connect to the author and feel like he or she is part of the life.

One example of Gladman having a blogger-like feel in To After That (Toaf) is she uses nicknames for everyone in her life who was of some importance. Examples include "Chubby"/"Frog" and "M." Both of these people in her life had an impact on her writing. Gladman dedicated her book to Chubby and M. helped her with the book. In many blogs I have read, a nickname of some sort is used for the important characters in the blogger's life. One example is HayleyGHoover, who calls her boyfriend "The Situation," after Jersey Shore, because she wants to keep his actual identity less well-known when she talks about him as her boyfriend, rather than as the musician he is.

Another example of Gladman having a blogger-like feel in the way the book is set up. While telling her story, Gladman goes between different times in her life to explain different things that lead to a part in her book. There is even one time on page 33 where she stopped in the middle of nowhere to correct herself about a date she had mentioned near the beginning of the book that she had not been able to recall at the time. It is also at this part where she has giant white spaces to show how this part of the story is different from the rest. Both of these are not too different from reading a blog. Oftentimes, while reading someone's blog, they will mention something in one entry, and then down the line, they correct themselves, even if it really has nothing to do with the rest of the entry. Gaps in the form of the writing are also common to give the entry some flair and better the understanding of the reader.

Renee Gladman's blog-like style of To After That (Toaf) helps engage the reader more than if she had just written out her story like a novel. By using nicknames for those who influenced her the most and having a form similar to a blog, a reader can feel like he or she is actually part of the life of this woman and capable of just talking to her like any other person on the street.