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Twitter – The Power of the Tweet 9/22/2009 6:54:02 AM
Making Connections Through Social Networking Earlier this year, Allison Winn Scotch, the NY Times best selling author of ‘The Time of My Life’, posted an article on one of my favorite writers website, Writer Unboxed, stating how she was reluctant to open a Twitter account. She also explained why, voicing all the same concerns and doubts I had.
With the little time I have to devote to writing, opening my own Twitter account was sure to be my doom! As it is now, I already struggle to keep my official website and authorsden.com page up-to-date. How was I going to cope with the latest social networking phenomenon, if I were to venture forth and dare test the water?
Truth of the matter is, I could nay-say with the best of them when it came to Twitter! However, Allison, being newly converted and totally enthralled with Twitter, did have some strong points to back her about-face. These revelations forced me to rethink my reluctance to open my own account. Yes, Allison lured me to the dark side, but there was light at the other end once I opened my eyes to the possibilities.
I turned to my technology geek/god adviser, fellow fantasy author Brian Rathbone (.BrianRathbone on Twitter) for some tips on how best to tackle this Twitter thing. Brian got in touch right away to help ease this technology cursed dinosaur into the 21st century.
After he convinced me that my head was not going to explode from information overload or complicated setup, etc. he explained about the how-to’s, why’s and the benefits of Twitter as well as etiquette (i.e. do not use Twitter to constantly flog your novels; use it as a tool to give people some insight to you as a person/author). Much of what Brian had to say echoed Allison Winn Scotch’s sentiments and conclusions about Twitter.
With some trepidation, I opened a Twitter account and loaded Tweetdeck to help manage the tweets, but the next step was to convince myself it was okay to use abbreviations such as RU, BTW, WTF, LOL etc. in order to write messages.
This definitely took some getting used to, as I am not big on contracting my words. In fact, some of my characters in Imago speak what is referred to in our world as the “proper, Queen’s English”. Forget about can’t, don’t and I’m; it is: cannot, do not and I am! So all that went right out the window!
I also had to learn how to write in a short, concise manner. Not an easy task for a little person used to writing big, epic fantasy novels.
Once I got used to how Twitter and TweetDeck worked, I immediately came to see the bad and good points about this method of communication.
Bad point: Message must not exceed 140 characters.
Good point: Message must not exceed 140 characters.
In other words, for long-winded writers like me, it is an opportunity to practice the art of brevity.
Once I took this step into Twitterland, I soon discovered it was a wonderful way to connect with other writers and readers.
Not only can you follow those you find interesting, you can block unwanted followers like those peddling free porn videos, or, if you like that kind of stuff, you can follow them back.
Thankfully, you tend to attract those with the same interests or those who find you just plain interesting, even if you do not have a great deal in common.
I’ve connected with many talented, aspiring writers like .LaynaPimentel and Tonya .mikodragonfly, both of whom continue to inspire me with their drive and enthusiasm.
I’ve even made friends with a follower .KermitMash from across the ocean in “Blighty Land” as she calls it. Michelle (or .KermitMash as she is known on Twitter) is an avid reader, plus, she is charming, smart, witty and amusing. I love her tweets that range from rummaging through her shelves to sate her need for crumpet smothered in marmite and letting her kids goes crazy with the glue gun to “pimp nana’s urn” or her Friday afternoon lobbing of the financial grenade at her work place. In fact, when she’s off for a day or two busy with other matters of family & life, I find myself missing her tweets because they were always sure to make me smile or raise an eyebrow (in a good way).
There’s also those late night twitterings of .CorbSilverthorn of e-zine Silverthorn Press. A self-confessed Twitter addict, Corbin is a talented writer and he is fun/funny to follow as he tackles all sorts of subjects, even when exhaustion is causing him to babble somewhat incoherently. He has become a welcome distraction from editing and proofreading in the wee hours. And when he falls under the radar to take care of matters pertaining to family or work, Twitterland becomes strangely quiet to me.
It was a wonderful place to meet talented musician and equally talented writer David Lee (.worldblee) whom not only allowed me to take a sneak peek at his manuscript, he introduced me to the wonderful music he and his band members have created (www.beat-concrete.com for a sampling of David’s works).
I’ve come to know some fascinating, established authors like .loriamay, Caroline Leavitt (.Leavittnovelist), .KimFalconer & Christopher Belton (.beltonwriter. I’ve introduced my blog followers to talented authors like debut novelists .KathleenBolton and .ThereseWalsh. I’ve been introduced to talented indie author of dark fantasy .AlanBaxter, the wonderful artist/author of ‘The Tales of Tanglewood’ .Scott_Kessman to name only a few.
Thanks to the power of Twitter, our paths have crossed and all these authors have willingly shared their experiences on the road to publication. They have kindly guest blogged on my Authorsden.com page, offering excellent writing tips and other valuable information to keep the aspiring author writing.
From a creative point of view, yes, Twitter can be quite distracting. Once you begin making connections, it’s difficult to curb the urge to see what’s happening outside the realm of your own little world. At the same time, if you keep your nose to the grindstone and constantly remain fixated on work, there will come a time you eventually grind your nose right off your face. In other words, sometimes a little distraction is healthy for you.
With that said, thanks to the lovely and talented Allison Winn Scotch for sharing in her wisdom and giving me the nudge to Twitter and Brian Rathbone for getting me on my way. Now, I really must go! I have a whole bunch of DMs waiting for me to respond to on my TweetDeck! (Ha! Did you think I was going off to pound off another novel on my laptop? I think not! At least, not tonight!)
You can follow any of my Twitter friends on their personal road to publication or any of these wonderful authors, including Allison Winn Scotch on Twitter at .aswinn or read her postings, as well as writing advice and interviews by Kathleen Bolton and Therese Walsh at www.writerunboxed.com.
