Writing a novel via Twitter is challenging, especially if you use the medium in the way users do. That means incorporating hashtags and @ signs and twitpics into your tweets. It means your protagonist telling the story as it is happening. We call this live tweeting.
Well, I love challenges and this was one that I couldn’t wait to take on. I had been thinking about it for awhile but the Twitter Fiction Festival gave me the push I needed.
My idea was simple. I wanted to tweet a middle-grade novel aimed at kids 8 to 12, and I wanted to tweet it as if it were occurring in real time. I chose a novel that was plot driven because I thought it would hold the attention of tech-savvy kids who prefer video games over books.
Here’s an interesting look at my entry in the Twitter Fiction Festival by the numbers. Read compilation of my tweets.
869: the number of tweets posted during the festival from the @Brain_Invaders account
96+: the number of hours of continuous tweets
4: the number of days over which the story unfolded
5: the number of minutes between each tweet
29: the number of followers of @Brain_Invaders on Twitter at the time of this post
45: the number of likes on Facebook at the time of this post
To read about the social media platforms I used during the festival, go here.
So who's entering the
Twitter Fiction Festival?
From its blog post: At the end of November, we’ll host a five-day Twitter Fiction Festival — a virtual storytelling celebration held entirely on Twitter. The Twitter Fiction Festival (#twitterfiction) will feature creative experiments in storytelling from authors around the world.
Follow this link to enter. And good luck if you decide to try. Submissions due by Nov. 15. Selected authors and festival agenda will be posted on Nov. 19.
