I know this is one of your favorite running segments here on Nothing Any Good. Sorry about the short hiatus from it! I was working on a new segment about which I am very excited.
We have officially kicked off Confessions of an Indie Author! You can view Episode 1 and Episode 2 now. You’ll enjoy them, I promise!
Now, get on with it, Dan!
Ok, ok. I’ll make it up to you with some extra tweets of the week for your reading pleasure. Without further ado, your Author Tweets of the Week.
Let’s kick it off with a Twitter poll I ran a couple weeks ago.
You find twitter does what to your #amwriting?#writerslife #amreading
— Dan Buri (@DanBuri777) March 8, 2017
That breakdown seems about right to me. Honestly, I bet you down to a man (or a woman) these percentages probably reflect our own individual time spent on Twitter as writers. Two-fifths of the time we’re distracted. Two-fifths of the time we’re getting a healthy break. One-fifth of the time we’re actually inspired.
That sounds about right, not just as a poll of the #amwriting population, but as an individual breakdown.
https://twitter.com/bapudliner/status/839462563561746433
Thanks for sharing this quote, @bapudliner! Great quote. If you have a story that burns inside you, tell it! Write that story, friends.
Well said! There’s only one you, friends. Be you and follow your own path. Don’t follow the masses!
I do not know A.J. Rynell and I am impressed with her dedication to the craft of writing. However, I don’t get our infatuation with word count. It needs to stop. My intent is not to call out Ms. Rynell, but to call all of us out. Every writer at some point has googled: “How many words should a novel be,” or some variation of that. We’ve all done it. Be honest.
What a silly thing to focus on. There are short books that are excellent. There are long books that are excellent. There are far too many perfectly-lengthed books that are f-ing terrible.
Let’s stop this friends. Word count is a detriment to our craft.
"Stories never really end…" True for #writers as well as #readers! #writerslife pic.twitter.com/HVpqpxhR14
— Quadro Collective (@quadrocollectiv) March 16, 2017
I love this quote. There’s something about it that resonates with me. I think many readers are frustrated with a book that doesn’t provide a full view of the back story or doesn’t fully resolve all issues. No matter how much an author tries, no matter how much the reader wants it, the story doesn’t end. It just keeps going. The sooner we realize this as writers, the better writers we will be.
This next tweet needs no additional commentary, certainly not from a white middle-aged man.
As a black woman writing a black female main character in a scifi novel, seeing my character whitewashed on the cover felt-like-erasure: pic.twitter.com/h5Nlhp8DHe
— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) March 14, 2017
Truth.
https://twitter.com/crassusmedia/status/839276270991069184
I love this. This is a concept I have explored in my writing for years. There’s a quote from one of the characters in Pieces Like Pottery: “All people have the ability to control their happiness by controlling how they think about each day and each event. Every situation turns out sour for those who are always complaining about how things turn out. We will always be affected by our own attitudes. Every response to every action affects our character.”
I wrote about this on my wife and my now-defunct blog Buris on the Couch.
I love this quote by the great Roman orator. Thank you for sharing @crassusmedia!
(As an aside, I never thought Buris on the Couch would get so much positive feedback over the years and requests to return. It’s been 6 years since we stopped it and we still hear from people saying that we should reboot it. If you haven’t, you can view all the old posts on the site. They’re still available for your reading pleasure. My wife is funnier and more intelligent than I am. If the populous gets loud enough, we may not be able to ignore you any longer.)
Now, if you’ll let me indulge the basketball junky in me.
9,223,372,036,854,775,808 possible NCAA Tournament Brackets. That's 9.2 quintillion! #goodluck
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) March 12, 2017
I love me some March Madness. I just can’t get enough.
Back to the writing…
https://twitter.com/EmmaWatson/status/839653520139776000
I enjoyed this from Emma Watson. What a great idea to celebrate women writers.
Confession: I just told one of my fellow indie authors I have no idea what I'm doing. Then we laughed.
Enjoy this refreshing video! 😀 https://t.co/08WqViZKCE
— Anaïs Chartschenko (@anaisbelieve) March 16, 2017
The honest truth, @anaisbelieve, is that none of us do. We pretend we know what we’re doing, but we don’t. That creates both the beautiful truths and the god-awful paralysis that every writer knows and experiences. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing it. Don’t let it keep you from continuing to write, though!
We can all imagine a land that provides no support for Art. But is that a place you’d want to Live? To Visit? To Play?
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 19, 2017
In a word, “No.”
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir #creativity #writerslife #goals #BeAWriter pic.twitter.com/WGmMS3YQZU
— Tony Woodall (@TonyWCMB) March 8, 2017
This quote seems fitting directly after Neil deGrasse Tyson’s question.
"Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom."#AmWriting #ASMSG
Like me on facebookhttps://t.co/1om3kYAYch pic.twitter.com/YQxJm4xpCP— Crap Merchant (@crap_merchant) March 23, 2017
I found this tweet to be awfully ironic.
My thoughts on the quote? Yes. 100 times over, Yes. In today’s loud and busy world, we miss the value of silence. The truly wise realize the power of quiet. Time is our most valuable asset, but solitude and silence come in close second for a writer.
My thoughts on the follow up to the quote? The irony is dripping. Rest in the quiet. But follow me on Facebook first!
I think a writer’s job is to provoke questions.
—Doris Lessing#amwriting #writing #writerslife#Art Murakami pic.twitter.com/EMBSXQN4gF— Novelicious (@noveliciouss) March 15, 2017
@noveliciouss has #amwriting quotes galore. You’ll find something you like if you follow.
This next one made me laugh.
"More characters!"
"More subplots!"
"Throw in a twist!"#Amwriting #writerslife #amediting pic.twitter.com/7LFr1P5Y0V— Hemed (@hemedstories) March 24, 2017
We’re coming around the home stretch, friends, and I want you to feel inspired and invigorated to write this weekend. So let’s do it!
Many people dream of writing a novel. Very few actually get round to writing it. #amwriting pic.twitter.com/QAcXHOFpsh
— Olivia McCabe (@oliviamccabe72) March 20, 2017
You are in the unique few. Either you have written a book or you are working towards that goal. Never forget that. Your feat is impressive!
I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.
SYLVIA PLATH#amwriting #writerslife pic.twitter.com/3760qNf0AW— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) March 21, 2017
I love this and then I love this again. When I was in law school, I taped every law firm rejection letter onto my desk as motivation. I have saved every magazine, publisher, and agent rejection notice I’ve received as a writer. They fuel and remind me. Embrace your rejections, friends.
The one thing that u have that nobody else has is u. Your voice, mind, story & vision.
N Gaiman#writerslife
Drepina pic.twitter.com/P8mI9OEw1D— Novelicious (@noveliciouss) March 23, 2017
Yes! Dr. Suess has a poem that I love so much that I had it engraved on a piggy bank that I gave to my godson: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
There is only one you, friends. Never forget that for a moment. In this universe that’s been around for 13 billion years, on this earth that’s been turning for 4.5 billion years, with the 107 billion people that have taken a breath in this life, there is only one you. That should make you feel simultaneously small and important.
There is no one, ever, that has been like you. Not a single one of those 107 billion people that came before you are like you. Don’t try to be like any of them. Be yourself.
Stay inspired: Write what you’re passionate about! #passion! #writerslife #writetip
— Britt Michaelian (@BrittMichaelian) March 23, 2017
Keep doing what you love. Keep on writing, friends!
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. (Oh the irony!) Have a wonderful weekend!
Find more writing and publishing tips at Nothing Any Good.
As always, thanks for the writer motivation! I had to like and retweet. 😉