I love Twitter. I think it’s because I really enjoy connecting with people who are passionate about their writing and it gives me a way to share all the cool writing articles, tools and resources I discover. Every day I read posts where writers offer insight on some aspect of craft, and it’s amazing to read. I learn new things all the time, and man, I want to share them! So, Twitter is my tool to pass things along on the conveyor belt of knowledge.
The funny thing is that I didn’t always ‘get’ Twitter. In fact, I joined up because the super talented Courtney Summers was talking about it one day on her blog and I figured I’d check it out. I started up an account and…did not see why I would want type in a sentence about how bored I was or what TV show I watched or how my dog barfed on the chaise lounger (again). Back then in 2008, Twitter was still just figuring itself out, and hadn’t really started to claim its power as a personal network builder and information highway. So, I did what a lot of people do…took a look around and left.
Fast forward two years. I tried it again, and this time, I GOT IT! Hurray for Angela! Everything became easier–I found information quicker, I met and connected with people in a fun way, and it pushed me into the bigger world of writers and creative types, not just those who wrote what I wrote. I found Twitter so valuable I started a second account. @AngelaAckerman is where I chit chat and post writing articles and @WriterThesaurus became my niche account to tweet links to really unusual resources and tools that made great writing aids. Twitter was the perfect way to ‘collect’ all these creative and informative resources I’ve stumbled on over the years. Now, my @WriterThesaurus account is closing on almost 400 TWEETS!
That’s a lot of cool writing resources and tools!
But, 400 tweets is also a lot to sift through, so, I figured a few ‘themed’ post might help organize my finds! Recently I posted on my friend Shannon O’Donnell’s blog, Book Dreaming, sharing Motivating Tools to Keep Your Writer’s Butt In The Chair. And today my friend Martina Boone at Adventures in YA & Children’s Publishing is helping me share Links for YA & Kidlit Writers (and Teachers!) So, if either of these might help you, swing by and have a look. If you like them, pass them on so more people will discover these sites!
I’m also visiting Book Blather today, home of YA author Marilee Brothers, who is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I’m discussing clichés there (and offering a small excerpt of The Emotion Thesaurus too!) I hope you’ll stop in!
Tell me, have you discovered a strange/cool/neat/helpful writing tool or resource? If so, let me know in the comments–I love finding new sites to visit!
Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.
I’m still not 100% convinced about Twitter, but I’m trying 🙂
Xx
love twitter. I don’t use it as much as I should but i love it when I do.
Traci, email can be evil sometimes. I have found all kinds of things in my spam that shouldn’t be there.
Martha, I like both as well. I think I use Twitter more for info sharing tho, and FB is almost just 99% fun and chit chat. I just wish FB did not choose what I see…I’d just like to get everything in real time and choose myself!
Yup. Twitter rocks! I enjoy the short, snappy posts and the re-tweets. I really like how they upgraded to DMs that are more like Instant Messaging. But I still seem to post more often on FB for some odd reason. I think I have more people interact with me on FB. Not sure why.
I still have tag-sessions with twitter here and there, mostly because I didn’t realize my followers and responses were being blocked by my email spam filter. I’m definitely enjoying it more these days.
Bwahahahahaaaa, you crack me up. Ava!!
Well, there’s this fantastic book called THE EMOTION THESAURUS that’s proved to be a wonderful writing resource for me. You might have heard of it. 🙂
I like Twitter, but definitely haven’t figured it all out. I’m always forgetting about using hash tags and doing the @ thing.
I love Twitter, too! At first, I worried that I’d have to be online all day to keep up, but it’s fine to jump in whenever I have a moment and see what’s up. I learn interesting things, pass things I’ve found along, meet new folks–all good.
I haven’t taken the Twitter plunge yet. At this point I am content with FB and my Blog.
Big fan of the Twitters, too! 🙂 It’s the closest thing I’ve found to ‘actually’ connecting with people in the digital world. I think because it’s such a second-by-second thing people have less time to filter who they really are, and less time/incentive to correct their mistakes. I love the mistakes! 😀
I’ve been thinking about starting a second account, too–my personal one and adding one for Writer’s Alley. I’m hoping to release the twitter account for WS4U soon. Hmmm….but could I handle all that?
Me and Twitter? We’re still figuring each other out. I’m glad you’ve learned to use it as the resourceful tool it can be. I’m taking baby steps to get there lol!!