A while ago, I mentioned the Guardian’s requests to various novelists to write a novel as a Tweet. I believe I called it Twitfic, but it’s also known as Twitterature and my friend Sally Allen has some great pointers on how to do it yourself. If you can manage it, it’s a great way to get your skill as a writer showcased on Twitter. Sally is the editor/owner of Hamlet Hub Westport, a local online newspaper/magazine, and writes a regular Tuesday column about books. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook. Here’s the beginning of her piece:
Photo by Anthony Karge
Every sentence tells a micro-story. We have an actor (the subject) who does something (the verb) and then consequences ensue (all the other stuff, like objects and direct objects and all kinds of phrases and clauses). We can be spare in our telling (“Run!”) or embellish the story with details (“As the tornado bore down on us with alarming speed, Bonnie hollered, “Run!”).
This is how I explained the structure of the English sentence to my English-as-a-second-language students back when I was a graduate writing instructor. I thought I was a grammar geek, the kind of grammar geek who finds sentence diagramming relaxing, but my students put me to shame with their awe-inspiring ability to recite the rules of English grammar. I mean, their textbook knowledge was impeccable. So I was rather surprised to discover that knowing the rules did not mean they could implement them (I was young and foolish, I suppose).
To address this, my students and I took things vertical, making lists of all the people, places, and things that could do something (potential subjects), lists of all the actions they might take (potential verbs), lists of everything else going on in that moment (the other stuff). From there, we would painstakingly construct sentences simple and complex (and sometimes compound-complex).
And this was also how we began to think of every sentence as telling a story, with a beginning, middle, and end, and even, possibly, an Aristotelian dramatic arc.
This, by the way, was all before Twitter existed. But Twitter would have been an interesting case study for the study of the sentence—140 characters to do and say something interesting? Quite the fun challenge!
Just about anything you can dream of has a Twitter handle—Salman Rushdie’s tree, Paul Ryan’s bicep, a llama in Easton, cats and dogs all across the country, more inanimate objects that I can possibly account for here.
But for book lovers, the social media site is also exploding with literary diversions. Oh, and also? “Twitterature” is a thing.
So here are 4 ways for book lovers to geek out, literature style, on Twitter:
Last Friday, the Guardian published this great inspiration for those of us with writer’s block. Even blocked, surely you can write a 140 character story, right? here’s the beginning of the article. You can see the whole thing here.
We challenged well-known writers – from Ian Rankin and Helen Fielding to Jeffrey Archer and Jilly Cooper – to come up with a story of up to 140 characters. This is their stab at Twitter fiction
I first met Adair Heitmann at a friend’s book launch, but we’ve become closer friends online. That’s because she’s easy to find on Twitter, Linked in, Facebook and other social media. Having an unusual name helps (try Googling her.) She’s a creativity and wellness expert as well as an award-winning author, popular professional speaker, and a fine artist. She writes a regular blog for the Fairfield Writers as well as her own, and gives regular workshops on how to use social media to promote your writing, so I asked her to write me a guest post on the subject:
Social Media has become a fact; any writer who wants to be taken seriously, be published, and stay published needs an online presence. Just as the basic ingredient for chocolate mousse is chocolate, it’s important for writers to use Social Media as a way to build their author platforms.
Social Media is also like chocolate mousse; if you’ve never tasted it, it’s hard to describe the velvety smooth texture or appreciate the rich bittersweet taste. I must confess I love chocolate mousse, and, full confession, I adore Social Media. However I think it’s easier to use Social Media then it is to make a good chocolate mousse.
As a writer, originally I was a snob, thinking that I was above the Social Media game. “My time should be spent writing,” I proclaimed, “not engaging in social networking trivia.” Then I tasted the power of Social Media and was hooked.
Various Social Media vehicles attract different personality types. In my workshops and programs I like to say, “LinkedIn is for introverts, and Facebook is for extroverts.” I’m an ambivert so I have found ways to navigate both. Every day however, there seems to be a new online communications tool – Google+, Branchout, Pinterest, Etsy, Prezi – the list goes on and on. As in any good recipe I suggest that you start with the five basics: LinkedIn, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Having Fun. Once you’ve mastered those you can add others (or not) to suit your own time and taste.
1. LinkedIn. Join LinkedIn first. It’s the world’s largest professional social network. LinkedIn is a living breathing, walking and talking résumé of you and your professional endeavors. It’s free, and you key in your profile on your own time. True story: I met a speaker at a health and wellness conference in Westport, CT. We exchanged business cards to meet over coffee at a later date. (Yes, you still need to have those in your pocket.) She then moved to San Francisco, so it was two years later when I added her to my connections on LinkedIn. I already had my writer’s website in place, and was a contributing author to two professional blogs. She got to know me through my online presence, not over coffee. I didn’t know that she was the editor of an online journal of women’s wisdom until she invited me to be a contributing author to that journal.
2. Blogging. If you have something to say, beyond your online résumé, and website, then you can start a blog. Blogging is free and you make it all your own. Defend your cause! Educate the public about your mission! Enlighten! Entertain! Blogs are like water to yeast, when used in the right amounts they can expand your platform and help you rise above the competition. Blogs can also be a perfect, soft-sell, e-commerce tool. Belgium-based nature artist, Paula Kuitenbrouwer, has a blog.Either she read my creativity and wellness blog first (through a LinkedIn writing group) or I read hers, but we have been subscribing to each other’s blogs for about a year. Her recent blog came into my email box. She is now using Pinterest on her Mindful Drawing. Pinterest is a content sharing service that allows members to “pin” images, videos and other objects to their pinboard, and includes standard social networking features, plus a link to Etsy. Through Etsy she sells her hand-made note cards online.
3. Facebook.Facebook is free; you set up your page, and reach out to friends and colleagues. You can become magnetic, offering mentally stimulating posts, or be the information conduit about local writing conferences. I find out more about what’s happening in my writer’s world through Facebook then through any other medium. I learned about both NaNoWriMo and The Sketchbook Project first on Facebook. Are you into images? A local writer shows pictures of her colorful garden on her Facebook page. You don’t always have to write about writing. Some of the more interesting Facebook pages show diverse sides of a writer’s life. Author of Your Book Starts Here, Mary Carroll Moore, highlights her pastel paintings on her Facebook art page. If you are stymied about what to say on Facebook use my rule-of-thumb: If you have something to say, say it, if you don’t have anything to say, don’t. Instead you can comment on other people’s posts or share their helpful information with your friends. You don’t have to do all the talking.
4. Twitter. Twitter is a fascinating social networking tool. For any writer I think it is the coolest thing since dark chocolate became available in grocery stores. With Twitter you have to say what you are going to say in 140 characters or less. It’s a great tool for honing your writing craft. Twitter is a micro-blogging free service. You can tweet your way to success! Before I added Twitter to my communications toolbox, I researched the funniest tweets of all time. The book Twitter Wit: Brilliance in 140 Characters or Less edited by Nick Douglas showed me that I will never be as funny as many tweeters out there. It did inspire me though to take a stab at tweeting. I use it to share information about literature, the arts, creativity, wellness, and all those things that interest me. I’m still searching for my inner twitter wit, but while I’m exploring I’m building a fan base of followers.
5. Have fun! Embrace your inner spark. Be fearless when learning new technology. If you enjoy doing something you are more likely to repeat it. I recently heard an introverted author interviewed on NPR. Sorry I forgot his name, but I remembered his niche is cats and writing about cats. His Facebook posts are all about his life from the point-of-view of being a cat. Brilliant! He’s an introvert but he’s using Facebook in an extroverted way, but, no wait it isn’t him talking, it’s his cat. Only an inventive writer could do that.
LinkedIn, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are communication tools that are all about building relationships. I encourage you to let your online relationships naturally evolve. Remember to avoid forcing anything and to set clear boundaries for yourself. Gauge how much or how little time you want to spend on Social Media and stick to it. Present yourself online in thoughtful, constructive ways. Support and promote other writers in your own Social Media platforms; it’s not all about you. Take time to reflect on who you are and to develop your unique brand. As a writer your business is writing, so promote yourself professionally. Lastly, whenever possible, refer people back to your writer’s website.
After you’ve added the Social Media ingredients, mix them well because they will help build your author’s platform. Then be sure to walk to your refrigerator. Swing open the door and take out that chilled, parfait glass full of light, airy, and rich chocolate mousse. Dip your spoon in, close your eyes, savor, and enjoy.
