The explosion of Twitter in recent years has lead to a number of writers experimenting with the format to produce varying kinds of fiction, which range from full novels to snippets of stories. One interesting incarnation that was persisted is Twitter Fiction.
This post sets out to examine Twitter Fiction, looks at where it can be found and read, and even offers advice for writers looking to experiment.
What Is Twitter Fiction?
Twitter is a communication method limited to exchanges of just 140 characters in length. Therefore, Twitter Fiction is complete stories told in just 140 characters. For the sake of this article I have not classed stories that are told in a series of 140 character chunks as Twitter Fiction (these are Twitter Novels).
Where To Read Twitter Fiction
There are a number of writers using twitter to publish Twitter Fiction, but below is a list of sources I suggest you use to begin your journey into Twitter Fiction. They all have websites that list examples of Twitter Fiction and Twitter streams that publish the Twitter Fiction live.
Thaumatrope
This site and twitter feed describes itself as:
Thaumatrope is a twitter fiction magazine for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror fiction under 140 characters—edited by @nelilly.
This is a moderated site/feed with a number of contributes. However, @nelilly acts as editor ensuring the quality remains high. I suggest the best place to start is by taking a look at the site, which contains a stream of their latest tweets. If you like what you see you can follow then on Twitter at @thaumatrope.
Nanoism
Nanoism is a slick website/feed dedicated to Twitter Fiction. They describe themselves as:
Nanoism is an online publication for twitter-fiction: stories of up to 140 characters. Shorter then traditional flash fiction, it’s both a challenge to write and quick as a blink to read. Call it nanofiction, microfiction, twiction, twisters, or tweetfic—it doesn’t matter: It’s the perfect art form for the bleeding edge of the internet revolution.
They post three times a week and you can follow either on Twitter or at their site. Nanoism is ran by Ben White.
6 Word Stories
6 Word Stories takes the Twitter Fiction concept one step further and limits the writer to just six words! The idea was inspired by Ernst Hemingway’s response to
colleagues who bet him that he couldn’t write a complete story in just six words.
In responce Hemingway wrote:
For sale: baby shoes, never used.
The site uses multiply writers and anyone can submit a story. You can follow them at their site or via Twitter.
Very Short Story
Very Short Story is a site/feed run by @sean_hill. He creates Twitter Fiction tweets, which are then sent live on Twittter, whilst also being collected on the website. I found a lot of good feedback for this site/feed and it comes recommended for anyone trying to ‘get in to’ Twitter Fiction.
Very Short Stories also created a hash tag called #vss (very short story), which helps promote and distribute Twitter Fiction.
Twitter Fiction Hash Tags
For those unfamiliar with hash tags I suggest you have a quick read of this blog post about hash tags for writers.
Twitter Fiction lends itself perfectly to hash tags and below are a collection of some of the most popular hast tags:
Tips For Reading And Writing Twitter Fiction
In preparation for this post I engaged in a brief Twitter conversation with Twitter Fiction enthusiastic and writer @Namenick (you can check out his site Password Incorrect here). Below is some of the advice he gave. You can read the full conversation here.
Question: Why Twitter Fiction?
The power of Twitter fiction – you need several tweets to talk about a great 140-character story.
Twitter fiction is a phenomenon. It show that literature can make its way into a digital world.
The more you say the better. A novel told in 140-chars in a way to make you feel the same as after reading 300 pages.
There was a time I thought the literature is on a withdrawal. Twitter fiction proves it is advancing.
Question: What advice would you give writers looking to write Twitter Fiction?
Be a narrator. Tweeple need to feel they read literature. Tell a story.
Don’t talk in 1st person, talk in 3rd person. “What they were doing?” – it’s what fiction is about, right?
What I LOVE about tf is that writers are instantly improving. There’s no faster way to learn what works best.
NameNick also provided a couple of feeds he suggests those new to the genre follow @arjunbasu and @Suitov.
Give It A Go…
If this article has inspired you to have a go a Twitter Fiction then please post your stories into the comments and tweet them out on twitter using the hashtag #twitfic.
