Twitter lets you tell folks what you are doing in 140 characters or less. Some writers, though, are using it to create flash fiction of the super-short kind. Others, however, are using the social media tool to create full-length novels, or share portions of manuscripts with followers for feedback, reader interactivity and publicity.
Last year, SocialMediaWorld.com interviewed Twitter author Nick Belardes about his experiences. I thought his advice on the use of Twitter was smart, and definitely for the time- and structure-savvy author:
using Twitter. In my opinion, Twitter isn’t a scratch pad. Any good
writer should have a plan, and so should either use a completed
manuscript, or a portion, as is my case. The line-by-line rebuilding of
the manuscript should be challenge enough. There should be lots of
note-taking, forethought, and not just random phrases thrown at readers.
At Twitip.com, Brandon J. Mendelson, author of Twitter novel The Falcon Can Hear The Falconer, offers these tips on how to create your own novel on Twitter:
- Throw out the manuscript.
- Have a plan
- Keep the story moving
- Create a Web site with backstory for people who start following you well into the book.
Read the full post with a thorough list of tips at Twitip.com.