Twitter - Thoughts on Following & #FollowFriday

This post is about how I feel towards twitter, so it's a purely personal view. I wonder if readers will agree.

HikingArtist.com

Following You on Twitter 

Twitter was created primarily as a social media site, and much of its content is indeed social. 'Which is nice.' It's fun to read other people's news, views and recommendations, and to reply to some. Like chatting to someone you meet on the bus, in the library, outside school. There may be links to interesting/informative/funny articles or pictures, and recommendations to follow others, and I might check them out and follow if I fancy, widening my range of follows and sometimes going through them to see if there's anyone I might want to unfollow. 

If I unfollow you, though, it's not an insult. It may be that you tweet only about things you'd like me to buy, or you repeat the same tweets over and over again, you tweet every five minutes or you've changed tack and lost my attention. I may come back later.

Similarly, if I don't follow back immediately, it's not an insult. Maybe I don't share your interests (as shown in your list of tweets) or maybe there's a hint of language which I don't like to read. (Being, as I've said before, something of a prude.)

I do like to comment on people's tweets where I feel strongly or especially enjoy them or find them useful. Most of us surely love to think someone's read our tweet and has something to say to us. If someone's unwell, or has a life hiccup, I'll send cybersympathy. If I know the answer to a question, I'll write it. And as for competitions, if the prize is attractive I'll usually have a go. Numbers of entries can be low, even if the setter has a long list of followers.

Following Me on Twitter


I'm inordinately pleased to have new followers, even if you're a business and will quickly unfollow if I don't respond or follow back. I don't get intense about numbers of followers otherwise I guess I'd make more use of hashtags to scoop up more. Perhaps that's a mistake. 


Even more pleasing is if people respond to something I've written. It makes a person feel noticed and appreciated. And if anyone should retweet me, well that's like being given a large bar of Toblerone (but lasts longer).


I've decided to opt out of Fllwrs (who tell you who has recently followed and unfollowed). This is partly because of suspicion that there may be a connection with spam, but also because I don't want especially to know who's unfollowed so I can't be miffed. Bye bye techno geeks, tarpaulin providers, Scottish holiday firms who were on my unfollowed list before.

Alan Levine

Follow Friday

#ff is interesting. I try to use it at least every other Friday. As everyone knows, it's a way of passing on to followers some people who are good to follow for whatever reason. Still, it seems to have turned into just a way of expressing appreciation and it's good to get a mention. What's funny is, if someone does a #ff to as many people as will fit in the tweet, some of those will retweet the whole list, making it seem that they are appreciating them. If you see what I mean. My #ff lists have gone in some interesting directions and this is certainly not a complaint!

Win a Book Token!

Welcome, and here are details of this new competition.


Why a Competition?
I've been reading books avidly on my Kindle lately, and feeling that they are absolute bargains for (a) how much work the authors put in to produce them and (b) how many hours for which each one entertains me. So it struck me that it would be appropriate to 'give something back'.


What is the Prize?
There are two prizes of national book tokens. (Sorry but this means UK entries only.) The first token is worth £15, the second £10.


How to Enter
Simply describe, in fifteen words or fewer, how you would use your book token. Maximum of two entries per person please. There are two ways to enter: either leave your answer as a comment on this blog post, or on Twitter to @JacquelinePye with the hashtag #bookcomp


When Does It Close?
Open now, and closes at 6pm on Wednesday February 8th.


Who Is Judging?
Richard Morris, Founder & MD of TheGivingMachine, has kindly agreed to judge the competition, and all entries will be passed to him anonymously after the close. TheGivingMachine is a thriving not-for-profit organisation, perfect for online shoppers to support their favourite charities absolutely free. Participating online shops (over 350 of the most popular sites so far and counting) pay TheGivingMachine commission for whatever we buy through the portal - only one extra click. These commissions are converted into cash donations to the shopper's chosen charity. Details are on The Giving Machine website. I use it for all my online shopping, and donations go to Leukaemia Research. It seemed the ideal 'partner' for this competition, going with the theme of 'giving'.


Anything Else?
There are no other conditions - I'm not insisting on a follow or RT on Twitter! I'll provide a link to the competition on Twitter, and on Facebook too although I'm, er, rather inactive on Facebook! If you decide to enter, the best of luck. Winners will be announced on Monday February 13th and contacted individually. 

Writers: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream - If Only!

There's so much evidence lately that lack of sleep is bad for our physical and mental health. Performance in everything we need to do can be affected, largely because of less efficient concentration and coordination. For this post, I am wearing my psychologist's hat.

A glance at tweets first thing in the morning throws up a number of problems with sleep - can't drop off, waking in the night, tired in the morning. Waking in the night may be due to outside disturbance, e.g. from young children, neighbours, snoring partners, all of which are hopefully transient. Tired in the morning may be due to disturbed sleep, but also to ...

Difficulty Getting to Sleep
People whose work depends on thinking skills may have particular problems with this. My theory about writers is that their creative minds just keep on, well, creating. Their work output is dependent mainly on creative thinking, and Twitter timings show that they may be planning, writing or editing at any time of the day or even night. Simply trying to switch off the buzzing brain will not work.

One good way round this is to change tack and concentrate instead on unimportant, mundane things which will allow the brain to wind down slowly. Another is to visualise taking concerns out of your brain and into a safe place where they can await your attention. Here is one of my own devised methods for each approach.

Supermarket Sweep
This involves visualisation and simple addition. Think of the supermarket you visit most often. Then imagine collecting a trolley outside, and walking up and down the aisles in your usual order. As you go, pick up any items you like or tend to buy, and place them in the trolley. Estimate their price in multiples of 50p, e.g. cauliflower £1, bananas £1, baguette 50p, Toblerone (my favourite) £2.50p, and so on. Keep a running total as you go (£5.50 so far, zzzzz).

When I've used this, I have never got as far as the checkout before falling asleep. However, it only works if your brain is already whirring.

Pile Them Up
This works well if you have multiple writing-related to-do things on your mind, especially decisions to make about various writing matters. It is less rousing than switching on the light and writing notes. The issues could be sourcing or researching, character name/trait, resolving a plot problem, when to submit, what to enter for a comp, how to phrase the next blogpost even. But it also works for other nagging matters such as choosing someone's gift by next Wednesday, whether to buy an omega 3 & 6 supplement, or which book to start reading next. Here goes:

Imagine a large room, lavishly decorated (for some reason this helps me) but otherwise completely bare. Smooth, antique oak floorboards. You enter the room, carrying all these to-do things as objects in your arms. Take the first, most pressing item, think about it briefly, and then carefully place it on the floor. Walk away slowly, and do the same with each item you are carrying. This should be mentally relaxing, and - oddly - the dumped items seem to be readily accessible in the morning.

             *             *             *             *
Well I hope one or other of these methods might be of use when you feel tired but can't stop the words and issues buzzing in your brain. I'd love it if anyone would comment, and maybe let me know if either of them helped.

Twitter the Seductress, and Other Things

Twitter must be the great seductress of our time. (I think female.)  She lures us in, so that she can take from us our time, and then our money as she persuades us to buy books, cheesecake, tools, jewellery, and anything else in tweets in our timeline.

I can't be alone in not wanting to 'miss something important'. This means I return time and time again to Twitter to keep up with the timeline and make sure I scan everything there. Then there are links - who can resist the pictures of pet cats and dogs (I can't) or the clamped car with graffiti on it: "F***ing Keep It"? On the positive side, I have found the odd writing opportunity and have won a few prizes, too, as a reward for monitoring.

The last four books I have bought have been written or edited by writers whom I follow on Twitter. It's a great marketing tool;  friendly tweets modestly mention their latest book, give quotes from it, and make it really easy to buy, interspersed with some fun and maybe interesting personal revelations. Then other authors praise the book. In the end, I may decide to order - though impressions must be accurate, since I seem always to enjoy the books and can then write a good review. Interestingly, though, authors whose tweets are never conversational or amusing, but almost always just impersonally promote their book, can have the opposite effect.

Twitter sucks us in to respond to other people's questions and comments, and to show appreciation. Then we return to see if we have a reply, or we investigate those followed by our favourites, and add them to our ever-growing list. And oh, the guilt at unfollowing (except for irrelevant businesses such as tarpaulin loans). Thus Twitter feeds on us, which makes it grow continually. A winning formula indeed.

And "in other news", I have now received the set of posh pans as the prize for my star letter in June Sainsbury's Magazine, and have entered another writing comp. My commissioned article on sleep is researched and ready to write, and other pitches are planned. And the set lunch at Rasraj restaurant, Oxford Street, Southampton is organic, very nice, and only £5.95. My first foodie note for ages.

My 10 Reasons Why Twitter is Good for Writers

Oh yes, I know this may not contain ground-breaking information, but it represents my thoughts and I hope it may be a reminder of why we keep tweeting.

  1  Twitter is, of course, a great way to marshall followers into noticing and hopefully reading our work,
      whether the writing is available free or at a cost.

  2  Followers can be tempted by offers through our tweets or through links to our websites.

  3  Opportunities pop up occasionally for paid work, free books for review (which is writing), etc.

  4  All sorts of (free) writing advice is offered through links to sites and blogs.

  5  Tweets can convey requests for practical advice, e.g. writing-related technology playing up, whether
      one character name might be preferred over another.

  6  Author events can be promoted in advance and up to the last minute. Feedback after events can help
      writers decide whether to attend next time.

  7  The huge variety of tweets can be a source of ideas for writing, whether its their content or the
      use of the medium itself.

  8  The original wit which floods Twitter can be a stimulus for fast creative thought, e.g. read the
      comments by @DowningStCat or @tom_cox, and reply comments start to spill out - this can keep
      thinking sharp.

  9  It can be good to realise that nearly all writers have 'issues' in common, such as distractibility, self
      doubt, and evidently our passion for alcohol and chocolate (preferably together).

10  Finally, Twitter gives an idea of what people are writing, what agents are looking for, and what
      publishers of books and magazines want. So many people in each category are generous with their
      advice and information.

Although that's my 10, I must add that, as all regulars know, Twitter is a source of enormous fun most of the time, and sympathy, support and congratulation when needed. I just love it. And I blame author Catherine Miller (@katylittlelady) for persuading us at Southampton Writing Buddies that we can't live without Twitter!

Be still, my pen, for five minutes!

Yes, the writing bug is still strong and biting. Whether tweets, occasional Facebook notes (I like less than Twitter), pitches, comp entries, or novel, 2011 is going to be a year of achievement if I have anything to do with it.

My poem, Postie's Last Round Before Christmas, was well received at the family gathering in London, and Martha read a seasonal poem for us too. There wasn't much time for writing over the holiday, but I'm now back with my regular slot arrangement.  Since the previous post, I've entered the HowTo Books December competition - still awaiting approval so hope that doesn't mean it's trashed. Working on the children's novel, and have an agreement with flair4words that they will critique it for me when it's ready sometime in February. Once this was decided, it was a further incentive to edit until the pips squeak.

I've also applied to be considered for a (very) part time freelance job, and am pitching a new idea for a till-side book, probably to Hodder & Stoughton initially although they did not respond to a pitch about another idea. Need to swan around Waterstone's to see who's publishing my sort of little book for alternatives.

Went mad over the holiday and acquired a Wii, an iPad, and a SatNav. These varied in the time needed to sort them out ... Now using Wii sports and Wii just dance for half an hour a day's exercise besides walking - have to watch the light fitting when serving at tennis. The SatNav is OK.  The iPad has been more problematic; I always expect to plug-in-and-go. However, my MacBook system was one step below the minimum needed to synch, so I bought and installed Snow Leopard (once I'd located elusive passwords). Then better, but couldn't sort e-mails on the iPad. This is now resolved after lots of trial and error. Got so mad with it, John had to take cover.

Minnie (cat) is now almost 18. Scared us once again with a health issue but a trip to the vet's resulted in successful treatment. Min is now back to her cheerful, bright-eyed self. Our vet is called Mr Montgomery, and we call his work Montgomery Magic - he's brought her ladyship back from the brink a couple of times now.

We have been eating out, but not going down that path for this post!  Happy New Year, everyone, and thanks for reading this.  Thought for the day: What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Ouch!

A new year's resolution harshly suggests itself.  After I told someone I'd mentioned their business in my blog, they said they didn't read blogs as they weren't interested in the minutiae of other people's lives, and certainly wouldn't write one.  Then I realised that this is all my blog has been.  Things will have to be different.

The other 'ouch' was a slip backwards on black ice on our slopy pavement.  Minimal damage thankfully, just a bruise which is long gone now.  Our road is steep; there is a grit bin, but one charmer nicked some of the grit to spread over his own drive, even though there was never enough for us each to grit our 'road space'.

More cheerfully, since Catherine Miller persuaded many of us Writing Buddies to have a go at Twitter, I have taken to it, upgraded to new Twitter, and won a book, a tin of posh Derwent sketching pencils (feeds my passion for stationery), and now a 'book bundle' from Orion books.  In the past, when slogan comps were plentiful, I won masses of stuff from sweets to holidays, a full set of white goods, and £5k worth of energy saving for the house including cavity wall insulation.  Those comps are now rare, sadly, but Twitter is fun and full of draws for prizes.

Talking of the Buddies, it's been an amazing year in terms of what people have achieved.  And with the rate at which we are still scribbling, 2011 promises to be great, too.  I write best when I have a scheduled time slot, and when I have already decided in some detail what will be written.  Usually there are only one or two slots per week, but they are generally productive.

I am still looking for a suitable source of critique for my children's novel, the first draft of which is done. I've entered writing competitions, and have written a Christmas poem to read for the family that evening. Also still pitching for a stocking filler book for next Christmas.

In 2011 I shall be writing, taking vitamin/mineral pills during winter months, smartening up my appearance, chucking out masses of tee shirts and sorting out my 2 expensive new pairs of varifocal specs which aren't right.

So if you're reading this after Christmas, I hope it was good for you.  Let's hope for a really happy, healthy and successful 2011, and be sure that, if you make resolutions, they are easy and fun to keep.  Very best wishes.