Last year we ran a post introducing the idea of Twitter as a conduit for fiction when we wrote about Twittories, a series of crowdsourced stories comprised of 140 Twitter messages from up to 140 different people.
Now it seems that some individual authors are exploring using Twitter as an alternative to the traditional novel. Professional author and freelance writer Nikki Katz has launched her own story called MyLifeIn140 – the tale of a “sixteen-year-old fictional character who learns that she can change her world around her, all by editing photos in her Yearbook room.”
The story takes the form of frequently updated tweets, which relate the main character’s thoughts and the events around her. Because the story only started a few days ago most of the tweets are related to character development and could have come from any angsty teenager, but the seeds of a story have been planted.
To be honest, there’s no way I’d ever want to follow MyLifeIn140 for any length of time, especially with tweets like:
“Doing the layout of the page with Caleb’s pic. Swoon. He looks hot! White shirt sets off his tan and his green eyes pop. And that hair…”.
But I’m not the target audience. I could see MyLifeIn140 and similar stories taking off at high schools, with the same kind of virality seen by the fictional LonelyGirl15 video series that managed to amass a huge following and spawned several spinoffs. And periodically updated text stories have been very popular abroad, where a significant number of best selling books were written from mobile phones.
That said, Twitter may wind up being too restrictive to tell an engrossing story – it’s far easier to identify and feel for characters when you can see them expressing their thoughts. And the barrier to entry to starting a new Twitter story is very low, which could well lead to a flood of knockoffs that may lead people to write off the format entirely.
I agree with you, I don’t want to follow someone I know to be fictional–and with such stereotypical tweets as what you captured in your screen shot!
Just my additional 2cents…
Interesting notion though….
Miranda says it best . . . “fictional”. Before long, Ford will have an account setup as one of their newest hybrid vehicles updating about its gas mileage and MP3 capability. i.e. – “Got 38mpg this afternoon on I-45. My iPod seamlessly connecting to my stereo made the trip that much more enjoyable!”
Can’t we keep the tween market out of Twitter? At least one adult thing the MTV crowd won’t touch?
Did an interview with a Twitter fiction author here: http://www.alte...om/blog/?p=2055
Smallplaces, written by former ABC news reporter Nick Belardes.
I agree with not wanting to follow MyLifeIn140, but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t ever want to follow someone writing fiction through Twitter.
If an author picked the right plot, and appealed to the right audience, it would be an unstoppable hit.
really? What kind of plot would you like to see or more importantly follow?
I can’t believe it, Its exactly I shared my idea on Linkedin Tweeple Group and Now I am seeing this on TC… I am not saying that someone hacked my idea but i do believe that my was thinking to start a Novel on Twitter..a Twittnol
Hey! I had that same idea! You stole it from me!
Or maybe there is just the reality that it’s not a terribly novel idea.
TBO, that’s just gay… I wish many people would block this girl/man/creature or whatever it is.
@Livecrunch
When taken into a context such as an MMORPG or even just a traditional RPG, it could be interesting — such as the goings on in Gotham City featuring tweets from Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, the Joker, et al. This might be a good approach for established fictional characters, but I am not seeing the long-term on fictional tweets for new characters or relatively unknown authors.
My twitter novel “Small Places” caters to the corporate twitter audience. It’s like Office Space for twittering folks. I find it great fun knowing journalists, CEOs or marketing people might get an irreverent storyline while they’re in the middle of a meeting. You know people check their phones during those times. I’ve gotten messages from people who do.
And while I’ve scored several interviews and such, the question is always, how can I monetize such an idea?
I’ve worked up proposals. Now just to see where it can go. That’s part of the fun.
Not sure I would follow the lonelygirl kind of Hanna Montana crowd twitter book… sounds fun for teens though…
Hey, that’s actually pretty neat. Respect.
Interesting! I started this sort of thing a few months ago (May 21 2008). I thought about experimenting with my sentence structure and skill in story telling using Twitter. Of course, it is difficult and have not kept it up, but here is the fictional story in twitter. The trick is to read the tweets from oldest entry to latest. Since I have very little tweets it is easy to follow along.
I wasn’t necessarily looking for followers, just practicing my english ( my second language).
Be well…
here is the link of my Idea Thread on Linked In Tweeple Group: http://www.link...back=.anh_80437
Hey wait! That’s a terrible idea!
Here is the link to my twitter story. Read from the oldest entry to the newest. http://twitter.com/nirzhar
Isn’t it fabulous? It is just to die for!!!
It’s all about the context of these things. Fictional stories are great if they can capture the reader and create an actual “community” not “conversation” around the tweets.
You want people to follow you because of how you direct and produce the content. Are you interesting? Are your opinions valid? Are you smart enough to back up your tweets?
Rich & Skinny Jeans is doing this great. Check out there 6 characters that tweet about their fabulous lives of being rich and skinny. The husband sleeps with the maid, the wife screws the latin poolboy and the whole story is narrated by a pitbull with a french accent. http://www.twit...m/richskinnydog
Brave New Fiction (http://bravenewfiction.com/) is doing something similar with the 140 character concept. It doesn’t have the reach of Twitter, but it is automated, so authors could conceivably write the whole story at once and just let it come out one sentence at a time.
Wait a minute, are you telling me this Cobra Commander guy is a fake????
http://twitter..../CobraCommander
This is good.
This might be the only form of writing that’s ever had uptime problems as a serious barrier to acceptance.
The stuff in everyday tweets is much more compelling than canned fake dialogue. There are people getting engaged, others suffering through loss, some horribly depressed…and then there are the animaniacal (of or related to Animaniacs…) crew that show up on Textism.com’ Favrd site where every tweet is a comedy bit.
I’d much rather read something outrageously funny then a bunch of faux teen angst tweets. But if they can make money at it or get out their own angst, then more power to them.
@jesseluna on Twitter
LOL I’d follow a superhero Twitter. Hmm might be a neat way for Comic companies or even TV shows if they kept in character . It might at the very least be interesting as long as it wasn’t too spammy. Perhaps twittering part of a sections (or in between sections) of a comic book as a month progresses that is currently onsale. For TV shows keep in character but maybe talk about something that is building in an upcoming show..perhaps a small story arc.
Imagine it would be something like this.
- – -
Batman Chased down some thugs. Same story about Club of V. Hungry. Telling Wendy’s DriveThru that I’m Batman. http://bkite.com/...
1 minute ago from BatBerry
- – -
Batman My contact mentioned “The Club of Villains” I wonder if they have a Costco like benefits? 35 minutes ago from BatBerry
- – -
Batman @Superman No haven’t seen Diana since last week. I think she mentioned some legal probs. http://preview....yurl.com/3hlyha
about 2 hours ago from BatCar
- – -
Batman Heading out to Gotham. I need to clear my head. Looking 4 Crysis patch at EA page is giving me a headache. about 2 hours ago ago from Batkeyboard
LonelyGirl15? Twitter hasn’t even yet captured the magic of “I KISS YOU!!!”
Can you express complex ideas without (grammatically, syntactically) complex sentences? Henry James didn’t seem to think so
Novels need periodic sentences, not the telegraph-speak of twitter. But a super-hero plot? That would appeal. Tweets are to novels as comics are to animation?
Just a thought
Interesting article…it seems there’s def a trend to use twitter to supplement storytelling as well, rather than being the primary story source. I’ve been following a new vlog-style series a la lonelygirl called the Hayley Project that has its main character tweeting her murder mystery investigation to her viewers. I think they’re trying to do it real-time with the videos.
I hope more vlog series start doing this…it feels far more ‘live’ and interactive than traditional blog-supported interactive storytelling.
Twitter as a conduit for dirty texting! This has porn written all over it! Monetize it!
———————–
Baby, mama’s almost home. You ready for some sugar….
6 minutes ago from the hoberry
———————-
oh yeah baby, you want some of this? Let me see what you got cookin under there…
10 minutes ago from the
—————————-
For the love of god, quit spankin it to that damn Team Cyprus video and come to bed
13 minutes ago from the bedroom
—————–
I’ve been posting my late wife’s novel on twitter for a few months now, 3800 tweets and I’m almost done.
I’ve been posting my late wife’s novel on twitter for a few months now, 3381 tweets and I’m almost done. http://www.twit....com/talkingcat
I think it’s an interesting concept. Not necessarily this audience, but let’s face it, how many of us read traditional YA novels? I’d be curious to know what the Tweens think. It seems pretty clean and at least it doesn’t use a ton of acronyms or “text” speak.
“To be honest, there’s no way I’d ever want to follow MyLifeIn140 for any length of time”
Haha, can’t stop laughing, I feel I am being looked at in the coffee shop I’m in
Twitter has become the text version of “Reality TV” online. I know so many people hooked on Twitter and “watching” people comment on the most mundane things or retort in some witty fashion. Will Twitter capture an audience for authors, dramas and other fictional mediums. I say yes. For goodness sakes, there are a bunch of people using the MadMen characters on Twitter and they have a huge following.
The idea of using Twitter for publishing in small chunks doesn’t need to be limited to fiction. For example, a lawyer could use Twitter to publish an article to his or her followers in 140-character segments over a period of a week or two. A lawyer or business person could even repurpose an article or book by publishing it over time on Twitter. Thanks for your articles on MyLifeIn140.
Bentley Tolk
Guys I am lonely too , right now, does this mean you will be my friend too ?
You are probably not going to find many cyberpunkish novels written by Internet entrepreneurs (do they have time?) let alone one that’s available via Twitter, so hear goes. Shanghai Dream – http://www.twit...m/shanghaidream
I love the fictional characters I follow on twitter. Very funny stuff.
I don’t think I would follow a twitter only story because it would be too fragmented. It’s hard to express everything you want to say in a tweet.
I do think twitter is an exceptional way to compliment other storytelling methods. In a recent LG15: The Resistance event, the characters Twittered as they went. It worked well because the live camera (stickam) lost connection halfway through. But I want to see people and know them more deeply than you can in a tweet.