My Twitter Conversion
Monday, January 25, 2010 at 2:28PM It’s hard to believe that only nine weeks ago I posted my first blog and signed up for a twitter account, having finally conceded defeat: admitting that it was time to join everyone else within these modern, social networking sites.
Even though I still had no idea of what to expect. No comprehension of the purpose or possible benefits of such online interactions.
With my blog, it seemed fairly straightforward and I ‘got it.’ My assumption being that I would write my weekly thoughts and post them and if I were lucky one or two people would find my site, now and then, and perhaps read; which they have and they are and, wow that’s fantastic.
The twittering though, I really wasn’t too sure about.
‘What am I spose to say in my tweets,’ I asked Steve, who sat beside me was being forced to draw on unknown reserves of patience, while teaching me the ‘how to’ and ‘what not to’s’ of Twitter land.
Because when you’re stood, hovering at the edges of the Twitter World, it’s hard to understand what it’s all about. And for me, it seemed questionable, why anyone else would be interested or care if I chose to share the banalities of my life in 140 characters with them.
And the business of each tweet being limited to 140 characters, well, that’s a whole other problem.
‘I’ve only got a 140 characters,’ I questioned Steve, ‘you’re kidding?’
I mean, really. How can you be expected to express yourself in such a limited amount of characters?
My first thought was: ‘it can’t be done.’
I’ve been given the unfortunate ability to burble. That means I can routinely and effortlessly waste 140 characters when 10 alone would have been sufficient.
Surely then Twitter and I were never going to be suited, not the ideal sort of companions.
Only now, I was fired up with an overpowering sense of determination to conquer and engage in this new alien world. And so, with much encouragement from Steve, I persevered, and actually began to find the challenge of creating sentences in such a short space quite exhilarating. Even better, focusing on intention and precision in each word and sentence would, I realized, undoubtedly improve my writing.
To my surprise after the first couple of weeks I was beginning to get the hang of it. I even quite liked it. The sense of satisfaction in having one of those brief throw-away thoughts that we do, which under normal circumstances would have little or no opportunity to be expressed, and then articulating it through a tweet.
Twitter, I was beginning to understand offers a powerful avenue for expressing ourselves.
After a few more weeks, as tweeting became a natural part of my daily thought process, I finally understood that after all my doubt and scathing dislike, I actually rather liked Twitter and tweeting.
It was fun.
This week though, I saw that my conversion was complete, when I announced to Steve that as I would soon be back in the weekly routine of lectures at Uni and away from my Mac at home, I now needed an iphone from which to tweet. Assuring him that I couldn’t possibly cope without being connected to Twitter for hours at a time.
Me, need an Iphone?
Did I write these words only nine weeks ago?
‘… A couple of months ago I was proudly asserting to friends my disdain of these seemingly pointless modern trends: that I truly felt the Apple Iphone was just another phone, not a lifestyle....’
Did I say that, just a phone, not a lifestyle?
What was I thinking?
Then I continued: ‘Luckily for me, my husband, Steve, is an all-round IT Guru who sets me up with everything I want, everything he thinks I must have or should be using, and absolutely will need, such as his hand-me-down iphone when he upgrades to the 3GS. A man, who believes that having your iphone in your pocket or in your hand, is as essential to your well being as breathing.’
Of course, now that I too can see the light, I can also catch a glimpse of how clueless I was back then.
In these past few weeks since Christmas it has been an upward struggle to focus on the many assignments that were due in last Thursday, and get them written. At times, feeling unwell and exhausted I doubted that it could actually be done. But I did it and they’re all handed in and forgotten about (well, sort of) and now I can relax.
But what got me through those difficult days of trying to write, forcing words that would have preferred to stay put, out, and on to the page, was the encouragement and support from the writing community within the world of Twitter.
It took me longer than it probably should have to realize that there were communities in Twitter. But I got there in the end. Where to my surprise, I found clusters of similar minded people lurking in the depths of this cyber world, united by shared passions. Groups of people, who, living scattered geographically around the world, would not normally have the opportunity to communicate with this ease and speed and in such vast numbers.
In Twitter Land, however, there’s the chance to congregate and chat about our work, both good and bad, within the seclusion of the hash tag columns.
That’s where to my delight in the #writers, #writing, #editing and #amwriting columns, I discovered fellow writers.
My introduction to serious writing began whilst I was living in the States. What finally motivated me at that time to begin writing my idea for a Women’s Fiction Novel, I’m not sure. But it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I signed up at UCSD for an evening class in how to ‘Write the Novel,’ where I met a group of fantastic writers and a lecturer who inspired me.
As I started the process of learning to write, I had an abundance of weekly support and encouragement. In time, I became involved in the weekly critique group run by the lecturer, while I continued my study attending various other writing courses. These weekly writing group sessions taught me how to read and critique both my own work and others, but more importantly it was the opportunity to chat with and learn from other writers experiences.
And for once, I felt that I belonged.
When we moved back to the UK and I was in the final stages of writing my WIP, it was a period in which I needed solitude to write alone, but was also a necessary time for me to learn to trust my instincts, rather than relying solely on the opinion of others. Although I knew that it was essential for me to uncover my own identity and opinion as a writer, I missed the companionship and encouragement from others and the sense of community.
These passed few weeks, as I have become involved within these writing communities, I have begun to feel again, as if I belong.
When I tweeted recently to say that I was struggling to write a short story, and was feeling disheartened that it simply wasn’t happening, the response I received from followers and non-followers was overwhelming. In that moment, in that afternoon as I battled to create a story with a looming deadline, I no longer felt alone.
Instead I felt as though those other writers, who were sympathetic with my creative dry spell, were standing around me, cheering me on.
And until that moment, I don’t think I’d realized how much I miss the connection with other writers.
For me, the solitary life of a writer is what appeals to me. I love to work and be alone.
Even now, years on, I have no desire to attend a weekly writing group. But it means a lot to know that there are writers out there in the twitter sphere, who understand how it feels when you’re trying to write.
And so, finally, I get it.
My conversion to Twitter is complete.
Tweeting isn’t just about random thoughts and comments. It’s a place to meet and connect with people who care about the same things as you do, day or night. An environment where we can offer support, encouragement, and inspiration as we read each other’s tweets: whether it’s about a difficult writing day, daily word counts that have being achieved, books having been completed or amazingly, publishing deals being made.
As a writer it gives me hope, it encourages me to write, and it leaves me joyful that I am a writer.
If you are in Twitter Land, you may see me tweeting as mel_morton
Reader Comments (1)
Dear Melanie,
I remember that disheartened afternoon you wrote about. And I remember how you were encouraged. What a great post. Please consider sending this on to one of the networking blogs. I know they will appreciate and run with it. Way to go!
Peace and continued good things for you, dear one!
Sincerely,
Diane