Twitter – A bad case of Self- Importance?

I have been reading some great posts on authors’ blogs about Twitter the good, the informative as well as the useless aspects of it. Therefore, I wanted to wade into the melee with my own take on Twitter – perhaps from an intuitive perspective.

Twitter for me seems to be a lot like the mental chatter that goes on in our heads, usually this stuff never sees the light of day, however… Now with each of these social media outlets, we humans have a way to purge our every waking thought into the Universe. For the good of all of human kind….or not.

For the most part commenting, writing or working in such a manner all comes with some basic common sense amid this muddle of information bombardment, or at least we would assume this is the case. But, how much is too much, where do we draw the line and are there ways we can be more efficient at helping each other? 

It might be useful to point out of course, what’s really going on here (with any SMS) is a virtual uproar of the plaintive cries of human souls letting the world know how badly they want to be found, recognized and listened to for who they are.

Then we can wade into the commotion of this Twitter world and look more closely at strategy… not that I am one who pretends to know anything about marketing approaches in social media. I studied food marketing….

I happen to agree with many of the comments first of all – too much spam, too many DM’s, repetitive comments and adverts, blah, blah, blah. Same old stuff recycled over and over again ad nauseam. 

There are many complaints about repetitive advertising that I would have to agree with – this is annoying and not productive. Perhaps it is for the spammers, but, after a few of these ‘infoblurbs’ (it’s not just books) run down my screen, I am no longer paying attention.

I agree with a lot of what I am reading on the posts about direct messaging too, although the DM’s don’t bother me overly, I just ignore them. Even the spammers can be overlooked (well some of them anyway!) 

One of the things that I would say I have noticed and pointed out to people who ask me about my own take on Twitter, is the arrogance. It appears an utter lack of manners can be shown (by some, not all) in this Twitterverse stemming from a bad case of self-importance. 

Often these are not the people you see with 80 000 or some such number of followers. Those people are usually quite interactive, gracious and appreciative of the people they tweet to and work hard to maintain their following.

The people I am talking about here, are the ones who are clearly clawing their way to the ‘top’ – higher numbers? Those who make Twitter a game of follow me, I will unfollow as soon as I think you won’t notice. Or follow me – I don’t have to follow you because I am better, different, special, needy, weird etc. And then there are those who see everyone else who does anything remotely similar to themselves, as a threat. 

What I can say, is that when you are real, sincere and bonafide – consistently showing yourself to be who you are in good faith, your presence here will be both felt and known. No gimmicks required, just be yourself.

There is not much we can do about these ego tweeps, except perhaps to avoid them, pity works well for a time, but then they just become annoying. One of the reasons I don’t use Facebook anymore is because I did not want to be linked to someone who didn’t have the time of day for me in college. 

I am not interested in constructing a false reality on Twitter either – I want real time interaction, access to decent information and to share great banter with all sorts of people from all over the world. Twitter offers that and is brilliant at it. 

So, for me, as someone who enjoys using Twitter and wants to get the most from this experience I offer an outline of fair play -

Be gracious, thank people for following, retweeting and paying attention to your corner of the Universe. It should mean the world to you, it does to me.

Have a bio – about you preferably, that is always a great place to start or say something witty. But don’t leave it blank, because then I don’t know what to think and most often I don’t follow you. 

I like Twitter because I can get a message out there – without being intrusive. The last thing to do is be obnoxious, intrusive or overly repetitive, especially when it pertains to writing or anything you love doing.

Twitter also makes me laugh – a lot. I really enjoy people’s funny jokes, thoughts and sayings – they often hit a cord with me and my own experiences here. And provide comic relief at the end of a day spent mostly pursuing my own dreams- so please, keep them coming, you are a witty bunch! 

April 

Part II - Life of a Writer - Staying Sane

Part II

In part one, I talked about the physical aspects of working (writing) from home and how it can be a challenge to get motivated to move your ‘butt’, once in a comfortable position and the ideas are flowing. So, yes, there is a way to stay active, healthy and fit. But that’s not the entire picture – there is more….

Another major issue with writing at home is the isolation and time spent on our own without the company of other adults or even adult conversation especially for those of us with small children. Feeling disconnected from living can be an issue for some, requiring a period of adjustment in the beginning. 

Some ways to ease the transition to your new schedule might be to adjust your day to incorporate some fun, family time, outside time and other personal space. In other words don’t get so caught up in the writing that you have nothing else going on in your life.

But, if you are a writer – your life is the story and everything you do is about honing your craft. I know, I live this way too and have for several years. However, I still have to remind myself to have, keep and maintain a life. Even if it’s the ‘life’ of a writer. 

This is where social media such as Twitter can be used to connect with other writers and adults for some conversation, ideas, information and ‘silly time’ conversing with people from around the world. Many of whom are in the exact same position as you!

There can also be the sense of how life is passing us by and we are not engaged in any of it. The sun may be shining outside and we are sitting at a computer, or worse, fail to even notice it! Therefore we must have other irons in the fire and various interests (besides housework and eating or coffee!). 

These activities can be vital to our overall well-being and health. It’s also nice to completely switch gears from time to time and use another part of the brain. While working away on a hobby, you will get new insights and ideas for your writing. Go Figure!

Here are a few things that I do (some reluctantly) to keep my brain and mind in working order;

• Keep a garden or some other hobby you enjoy – even if it’s a few pots of herbs or an acre of oats

• Paint, colour or draw – it can be squiggles, but it engages more parts of you and that is important in any creative process

• Talk to someone your trust about your writing, or join a group – online webinars are something to consider as well, groups of like minded people discussing their craft

• Get involved in your writing on a different level – if you are writing a novel about historic Prague, plan a trip or find someone who lived there and have a conversation

• Keep a journal, yes, you write all the time, but how much of it is about you? Record your dreams, thoughts, moods, ideas and more – it is all part of the bigger picture of who you are. 

• If suffering from writers block – get moving, drink some water, go outside and walk , change locations, use your other hand and write with a pen for 5 min, once you do something different you  can get the energy flowing again. 

• Read – a lot. Novels, blogs, Twitter, newspapers, information – outside and inside of what you do for a living. There is so much to learn and know and so little time!

These are just a few of the ways I attempt to keep sane, keep going and try to live my life at the same time. Everyone out there probably has 10 more that work for them and because we are all different, we find different ways to cope. 

Would love your comments on the life of a writer….

April

Sunset in Leap, West Cork on Mabon 22 September 2012