twitter

About three weeks ago, I joined Twitter.

I’d been hearing about Twitter for several weeks, but had no idea what it was. Even when a friend and fellow writer tried to describe it to me, it still didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Why would I want to post tiny little descriptions about where I was and what I was doing, and read similar offerings from other people? It sounded like a self-indulgent waste of time.

The reality of it has proved far different.

I don’t have a huge number of followers, nor am I following all that many people on Twitter. There’s not a whole lot one can say in 140 characters or fewer, so I choose my words and phrasing carefully, and I don’t post every little thing that comes to mind. Sometimes it is pure whimsy, but mostly it’s about some of the smaller details of life that I’d just like to be able to share.

Rather than being a source of distraction and procrastination — big reasons I don’t keep IM windows open when I’m trying to work — I’ve found Twitter instead to be a means of motivation. Many of the folks on my follower/following list are other writers, and I like reading about what they’re up to during the day. The mundane and sometimes even tedious daily tasks of the writing life make sense to me, and there’s a kind of solidarity in keeping abreast of other writers’ activities, and in posting updates of my own.

And when I do start feeling various diversions and interruptions pulling at me, knowing what my fellow writers are doing can even help me stay on task — not so much out of competition, but more in the spirit of right association. When those around me are being productive, it’s easy for me to be productive as well, and vice-versa. Hearing about other authors’ book signings, e-mails from editors, and book proposals in process can inspire me to dive into some of my own query and proposal work that I’ve been putting off. Even reading complaints about sources and PR people is a comfort when I’m dealing with the consistent frustrations and tedium that come with writing professionally.

I’ve also found Twitter a fun way to stay in touch with “real friends” as we all go about our days, and to learn from relative strangers who are skilled in areas of expertise that are completely foreign to me. I may not have the intimate and far-reaching international network that others have built, but I’m enjoying myself all the same.

I’ve not yet added my “Twitter feed” to the Ravenwald website, but I’ve been thinking about it. For now, you can find my Twitter page and profile here: http://twitter.com/jenwillis

I’ll keep twitting away.