Friday, April 22, 2011

What Writer's Block?: Inspiration from Kimberly Willis Holt

I know, we're not supposed to have writer's block. You're just supposed to put your butt in the chair and do it, but sometimes you can sit there all day long and stare at a blank computer screen. If you've been writing for any amount of time, there have probably been times when you just aren't feeling it.

A couple months ago at the Austin SCBWI conference I attended Kimberly Willis Holt's small group session, "Back to the Porch: Breaking Writer's Block and Returning to the Creative Life." How could Kimberly Willis Holt speak about writer's block? It seems like she always has some amazing new book coming out. But she herself lost the will to write for five months.

So it happens to the best. Here are a few tips from Kimberly about moving past the blocks and start writing again:

  • Set a timer for a certain amount of time you will sit down and write
  • Write out the problem: draw a diagram showing what would happen if you removed a scene, for example, or changed your character's age. These might not be scenes you'll use, but it'll get you back into the story. 
  • Write about anything. It can help to set the story aside you've been working on and write about something different for a little while to get into the writing habit again.
  • Webbing: draw a story map or a web about the chapter or scene you're having trouble with. This is a tip from Writing on Both Sides of the Brain that I wrote about here when I was taking forever to finish one chapter.
  • Start small. Write a list of words you like, or write some ideas on an index card. During the session we each took an index card and wrote about a place that was important to us. Then for a few minutes we brainstormed a list of words, feelings, and details that reminded us of that place. The memories you write about could work their way into a story or lead to new ideas. Kimberly pointed out, "A lot of stories are connected to the words on that card."
The turning point for Kimberly Willis Holt was when she read an interview her daughter did with a musician. Seeing the passion he had for his work inspired her to go out to her front porch where she first started writing, with a pen and paper. 

She added that sometimes you'll discover that the story you're working isn't yours to write and you'll have to let it go. Other stories are yours, and they won't get written if you don't write them yourself. But you have to write to find out.

Some other books recommended during the session were Writing Down to the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.

I know that for me, setting the computer aside and freewriting with a pen and paper help me come up with new ideas or figure out a scene when I feel stuck. Other people can't think that way, and have to be in front of the computer screen.

Let us know what's worked for you--how do you get past the blocky times?

Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Sweet Deal On the Write Hope Auction For Japan

Just a quick post to point everyone to the Write Hope blog for a way to help out Japan and get a critique from the entire Will Write For Cake bunch!

A group of writers for children and young adults has set up the Write Hope auction to benefit Japanese relief efforts through the organization Save the Children. You can bid on the donated items like signed books, critiques, marketing consultations, and more, including a critique from the members of Will Write For Cake. We'll critique a full picture book manuscript or the first twenty pages of your midgrade or YA manuscript. And we have authors published at all those levels-- PB, MG, and YA, and in both fiction and nonfiction.

I know from experience that this group gives fantastic critiques, so you'll get great feedback! The auction offers lots of great items, so if bidding on a critique isn't for you right now, scroll through the listings to find something more to your liking, or click on their "Donate" tab in the sidebar for another way to give.

Thanks, and good luck with the bidding!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Hey, How'd That Happen?: Mapping Out Your Setting

At the end of January I received the edit notes for my midgrade novel, CHAINED, so I've been working on those a lot lately, after giving them a couple weeks to sit on my desk so we could get used to one another. One thing the editor asked me to do was make a rough map of the setting. She's having trouble picturing where things are in the story, so that's something I need to make more clear as I revise.

Most of the story takes place on the old circus grounds where the main character, Hastin, works as an elephant keeper. I used the Draw program in OpenOffice to make a diagram of the property and came up with this:


I sent the diagram to the editor, but I've also kept a hard copy next to me while I revise, and it's really helped me firm up the setting. Whatever a character is doing, I check to make sure his actions make sense. Would he really be able to see what he's describing, or would the trees be in the way? Is he close enough to overhear that conversation he's eavesdropping on? What's a water bucket doing by the arena?

Just last night I was working on a scene where Hastin is bathing the elephant, Nandita, in the spring and decides to escape with her. The two of them take off and run away to the forest where Nandita used to live, and from there Hastin plans to return home. Then I looked at the diagram and said, "Hey, you two-- how did you get past the fence?"

Headdesk.

If Hastin were escaping on his own, I'm sure he could climb the fence, but with an elephant? Ummm, now what? Let's see:
  • People can do amazing things when they're really, really motivated. Powered by an adrenaline rush and desperation, Hastin carries the elephant over the fence. (What? It's not like she's full grown.)
  • You know, I've always wanted to write fantasy. Hello, magical fence that disappears for a chapter!
  • That fence is pretty old. How convenient it's rotted away over there by the spring.
  • Balloons. Lots and lots of helium balloons.
But after sleeping on it, I decided a fence that size would need a few gates, and I hadn't put any in the diagram. People are coming and going throughout the day, and I don't think they're all climbing over the fence. And they had to get the elephant in somehow, didn't they? They brought her in a big truck and drove right up to the arena. But if the gates are too accessible, it would be easy for Hastin and Nandita to escape any time, and the story would be over. 

So, now we have one wide gate--one of those big metal ones you might see on a farm, held closed with a chain and padlock. In a couple other places are gates for people to walk on and off the circus grounds. 



There. Now we don't have an entire cast of characters trapped forever behind a fence. For the scene I was working on, Nandita is a young elephant and can pass through one of those smaller gates (barely), but when she's older that won't be possible.

This isn't the only scene that changed--I've tweaked so many scenes as a result of having a map of the setting on the writing desk. It made everything so much clearer; if you're holding your setting only in your head, it's too easy to change it as you go along. You can have buildings that change locations from chapter to chapter, trees show up out of nowhere, fences that disappear and reappear. 

I'd have saved myself a lot of revision time (and head smacks) if I'd had the setting map from the beginning. It still would have changed along the way, but I would have changed it on the paper diagram too, so I could keep things consistent in the story. 

So if you haven't made a setting map for your story, try drawing one out and see if that helps you as your write your draft or revise.

Or a lot of you may have done this already--have you drawn out maps of your settings, and has it helped your writing? Have you used it to work out a problem that came up? Or do you cheat and just add balloons?

Friday, February 25, 2011

Early Entertainment!



















Is there anything more precious than a young child's mind? Everything is brand new! From a Jack-in-the-box to a dinosaur story, from a robin's egg to counting pennies, from a wiggly worm to falling snowflakes, the world is amazing and full of wonderful experiences.

Our writing often strives to entertain and educate, no matter what subject fills the pages. And early television for children employed this creative idea, as well. It was friendly, funny, and just plain goofy. Exactly what audiences of all ages loved. Not cartoons...but real people who demonstated various responses to all kinds of situations. Not fairy tales, but life experiences and how to react to them.

When I first taught kindergarten Sesame Street was controversial! It was too loud, too busy, full of too many characters, jumped from one scene to flashing numbers and letters. Would a child be able to keep up, make sense of it, know what was really the purpose of a particular skit?

But then the viewpoint changed. Kids loved it! The show was well written, showed children things they otherwise would not have seen, and best of all it snuck in learning! And adults found out they liked it, too! Oscar, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Big Bird and a gazillion muppet characters. Who could resist such a stellar cast?

Funny now, when you think about how fast our world and the world of kiddies today revolves with booming technology, ebooks, e picture books, and go, go, go all the time.

How well do you remember educational children's television shows that you loved? Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, Sesame Street, Ding Dong School, Kookla, Fran and Ollie, plus there were often local ones, too.

I watched Big Bill and Oomagog (a robot), and I was on The Uncle Hiram Show on the Fourth of July. I performed with another eight-year-old. We sang AND danced to I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy and You're a Grand Old Flag. We even had canes. It was way, way back, even before color TV!

Let's play TV for Tots Trivia!
1. What was the name of the postman on Mr. Rogers?
2. Who was the shop keeper who passed away on Sesame Street?
3. What was the name for the seated children on Howdy Doody?
4. Who was the most famous puppet held by Shari Lewis?
5. What was the clown's name on Howdy Doody?
6. Why did Mr. Rogers wear sweaters on his show?
7. Who wore bib overalls on Captain Kangaroo?
8. What was the name of the host on Howdy Doody?
9. What song, sang by Ernie on Sesame Street, became a hit?
10. Who was the ruler in the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood of Make-Believe?
How do you rate?
7-10 right and you love kiddy TV
3-6 right and you are probably under the age of 40
0-2 right and you are so, so much younger than I am!

ANSWERS
1. Mr. McFeely
2. Mr. Hooper
3. The Peanut Gallery
4. Lamb Chop
5. Clarabelle
6. His mother knitted every single one.
7. Mr. Greenjeans
8. Buffalo Bob
9. Rubber Ducky
10. King Friday
Stand by and stay tuned!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Do You Mother Goose?

My latest picture book creation imitates a Mother Goose nursery rhyme. It was a challenge to say the least. In fact, I wrote the first half of the book six months ago, and then finished the second half two weeks ago. My brain had to recover from the first half!

When I mentioned the original rhyme to my husband, he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. The conversation when something like this...

Doris: You never heard of that nursery rhyme?
Hubby: No

Doris: Do you know Little Jack Horner?
Hubby: Huh?

Doris: Have you heard of Little Miss Muffet?
Hubby: Who?

Doris: What about Old Mother Hubbard?
Hubby: Are you kidding?

Doris: Did you read nursery rhymes?
Hubby: No

Doris: Did your mother ever read to you?
Hubby: Never

My hubby is Mother Goose illiterate! That pretty well wrapped our conversation.

But my own childhood was full of nursery rhymes and fairy tales. My mother also sang...silly jingles, lullabies, fav songs, Christmas carols and Christmas favorites, and anything else she felt like performing. She even recited The Song of Hiawatha!

By the shore of Gitchee Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.

I even have my own family nursery rhyme! When I got married my name became Doris Lewis Fisher. Oddly, my grandmother had a cousin named Louis Fisher. My mother used to recite this jingle he said. I finally wrote it down and have it memorized.

There once was a fisher named Fisher,
Who fished on the edge of a fissure.
A fish with a grin pulled the gentleman in,
Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

I love saying that nutty rhyme on occasion. Wordplay is just so much doggone fun.

And now it's time for not-so-easy, Mother Goose trivia! Good luck goosies and ganders!

1. Who went to bed with one shoe off and one shoe on?
2. When did the Queen of hearts make tarts?
3. Who sang for his supper?
4. Who found Lucy Locket's pocket?
5. Hark, hark, why do the dogs bark?
6. Who lived in a pumpkin shell?
7. Who came to town in a yellow petticoat and a green gown?
8. How does Mistress Mary's garden grow?
9. Who went to Glouster in a shower of rain?

Mother Goose Rankings!

7-9 correct and you are a Mother Goose gosling!
4-6 correct and you are a birdbrain!
0-3 correct and your goose is cooked!

Answers
1. My son John
2. On a summer's day
3. Little Tommy Tucker
4. Kitty Fisher
5. The beggars are coming to town!
6. Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
7. Daffy-Down-Dilly
8. With silver bells and cockleshells and pretty maids all in a row
9. Dr. Foster

Watch this blog for more Literature Trivia coming soon!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Eleven -- it's one more than Ten

I've fretted over this post now for a few weeks. But the pesky thing keeps insisting I write it.

In no way do I want to discourage anyone who truly loves to write and wants to be published. On the contrary, my hope is that this post encourages those of you who get up every day, drink the requisite amount of caffeine and pound away relentlessly at a keyboard. Some of you have been doing this for years -- and still can't seem to break through.

I know how you feel (I've been there!) -- you're on the edge, feeling sick of it all -- revision, submission and most especially, the wicked "R" word that we all HATE with a passion.

I've seen so many writers, after many fervent attempts to get published, simply QUIT. The message of this blog today is -- DON'T.

WHY? Because sometimes the first story doesn't sell, or the fifth or the tenth.

Just ask Beth Revis.

If you haven't heard of her yet, you will soon. She's on the NY Times best seller list for children's chapter books for her debut novel ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. The book, which was only released on January 11th, is a bona fide triumph for Revis.

Now you really want to hurl your computer across the room. You're so tired of hearing about these overnight successes. A debut author on the best seller list? You've been at this for a long time -- when will it be your turn??

Whoa. Don't do anything drastic yet. Not until you hear Beth's story. In a recent interview over at the Apocalypsies blog, her answer to this question blew me away:

Q: This is your first published novel, but have you written other manuscripts?

A: Have I written other manuscripts? *snerk* A giant wave of laughter ripped across the blogosphere. I wrote for ten years--and I wrote ten novels--before I found a novel that was worth publication.

Whaaat? ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was her ELEVENTH completed manuscript? TEN novels under her belt before this one?

I don't know about you, but I find that utterly inspiring. That is what's called perseverance. That's following your passion, no matter what the odds, no matter how many rejections stack up in front of you. Don't you agree?

So if today was the day you were planning on throwing in the towel on your stalled out writing career, maybe you'll think twice. If you have been submitting a manuscript that isn't getting any bites, maybe Beth's story will inspire you to start something new, something fresh. To go one higher.

Start the next story.

I'm guessing Beth Revis is glad that she did.

So tell us, what's inspiring you to stay in the game, no matter what?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Twitter Tutorial: The Long Version

Monday night I did a Twitter presentation at the Houston SCBWI meeting, as the chapter's official Twitter Goddess. Twitter is easy to use once you get started, but there was a lot of information to try to present to a group in a short time, so I wanted to post a long version of the notes online. I decided to do that in a blog post so anyone who needs help getting started on Twitter or needs a refresher can see the notes. We'll start out with the basic stuff and work our way up to more coolness, so start wherever you need to. At the end of the post are links to a few awesome Twitter articles that others have written.

If you don’t have an account yet, go to twitter.com and click the yellow “Sign Up” button. Fill out the form on the next page. You can choose whatever user name you want as long as it isn’t too long (over 20 characters) and isn’t taken, but it’s best to choose something close to your real name (or the name you use as a writer), so people will recognize you. Sure, I could use my stripper name @BubblesSunnyleather, but since most people I interact with are book people, I want to use my writer name.

It’s okay to use an underscore mark, like JimBob_Writer, but don’t use any other special characters or spaces. Twitter will walk you through a set up for selecting some followers and writing you bio. Fill in a short bio and upload a small picture. Having a bio and a picture lets people know you’re a real person they might like to follow. To edit your profile later, click your user name at the top of the page, then “Settings,” then “Profile.”

Once you have your account, you can start tweeting by typing something (up to 140 characters) in the box at the top of the page, then click “Tweet” to send it. This will show up on your followers’ pages, and anyone who visits your profile will be able to see your tweets. This is kind of like a status update on Facebook--let your followers know what you’re doing, mention a book you just read, ask a question, etc.


Retweets (RTs)
Retweeting is a way to copy what someone else said while still giving credit for it. If you see a tweet that’s funny or interesting, you may want to retweet it for your followers or for anyone who didn’t see it before. Suppose my imaginary friend @HoustonAuthor tweeted this:

Just got a 6-figure book deal! And Disney bought the movie rights! Yay!

So I want to share the good news with my followers who may not know @HoustonAuthor yet, or with those who missed it when this was tweeted hours ago. I could do this automatically by clicking the “Retweet” button just below the tweet:


That will copy the exact tweet from @HoustonAuthor, but with the RT symbol and my user name:  by LynneKelly to let my followers know this is something I've retweeted.

Or I might want to add something to it. In that case, I'll copy and paste the tweet by hand, then type my own message and an “RT” before @HoustonAuthor’s name. Then my tweet would look like this:


So now I’ve added my congratulations, and my followers know that everything after the RT refers to what @HoustonAuthor said. Also, they’ll be able to click on @HoustonAuthor’s name to see her Twitter feed if they’d like to.

@Replies
An @reply is a way of saying something to a specific person, although it isn’t private. People who follow both you and the person you’re talking to will see it, as will anyone who visits your page. You can @reply someone by:
- typing @ in front of their user name
- clicking "reply" on one of their tweets
- selecting "Mention" from the tool icon in their profile


Example: @MyPretendDog You’re not sleeping on the bed, are you?

Because @ is the first character there, only people who follow both me and @mypretenddog will see that on their home pages. If I start with any other character, all my followers can see it:

.@MyPretendDog is the best dog ever.
or

I sure hope @MyPretendDog isn’t chewing on the couch.

Any of my followers can see that, because I didn’t start with the @. And @MyPretendDog will notice it when she checks her replies.

So don't do something like this:

@MyPretendDog is awesome and you should all follow her!

'Cause who's going to see that? People already following you and @MyPretendDog, because I started with the @. Put some other character in front of the @, or put the @username later in the sentence.

I could do this too as a way of passing along @HoustonAuthor’s good news. Instead of RTing her book deal tweet, I could write:

Congratulations to @HoustonAuthor on her awesome new book deal!

Interacting with other people is the best part of Twitter, so you want to know if people are talking to you or about you so you can reply back. You don’t want to ignore people, do you?
 At the top of the page is this bar:


By clicking on the “@Mentions” tab, you’ll see the tweets of people who mentioned you. When @MyPretendDog checks her replies, she’ll see the tweets that include her user name, like this one:

LynneKelly 
I sure hope @MyPretendDog isn’t chewing on the couch.

Then @MyPretendDog will probably want to answer me back:


Even if I’m not on Twitter at the moment to see it on my main page, I’ll see it whenever I check my replies. But remember, it’s not private--anyone following both of us can see that conversation. Suppose I had a cat who followed @MyPretendDog and me. @ThePretendCat noticed our conversation, and tweeted this:

@LynneKelly Hey, @MyPretendDog is sleeping on your bed. Shall I bite her for you?

Both @MyPretendDog and I will see that on our pages and under our Mentions tab, since both our user names are there.

Check your retweets now and then too--if people RT you automatically by just clicking the “Retweet” button under your tweet, you may not see that in your replies. It’s good to thank people who’ve shared one of your tweets, and checking your RTs will show you who’s done that. Click the “Retweets” tab, then “Your tweets, retweeted.


That will bring up a list of your tweets that someone else RTed. Click on the arrow on the right side of the tweet to see who RTed that. Then you can click on each of their names and send them a message if you want. @HoustonAuthor may write something like:

Thanks for the RTs about the book deal! @LynneKelly @Mydog @OtherHoustonAuthor

But what if you want to say something to a person but don’t want the whole world to see it? That’s when you use the direct message, or DM.
Again, there’s more than one way to do this. You can type by hand:


But it’s easier to click the “Message” tab on a follower’s profile:


Once you're on your Messages page, click “New Message.” Type who you want to send a DM to, then type your message in the window.

On your Twitter page you’ll see the tweets of people you’re following. Now you know how to tweet, RT, and reply, but if you’re not following anyone your page will be blank. So how do you get followers, and who do you follow? 
If you know someone’s user name, you can go to their profile by adding it to the Twitter address in the address bar, like this: www.twitter.com/scbwihouston.

From there you can click the green “Follow” button. Now you’re following SCBWI Houston! [Or if you belong to another SCBWI chapter, you should be able to find them on Twitter also. Type the chapter name in the search window if you don't know their user name, or look at the SCBWIHouston "Following" list-- all the chapters should be there, and you can click "Follow" from there.]

For suggestions, click the “Who to Follow” tab at the top of the page. Twitter will suggest people you might like to follow, based on who you’ve followed so far. There will also be a “Who to Follow” section on the side of your page that Twitter will update with suggestions. You can also search for someone by typing a name in the search box at the top of the page.

Another good way to find people is by checking out others’ “Following” and “Followers” lists. Find out who they like to follow and who’s following them. Once you follow someone, they may decide to follow you back. You'll do the same for your new followers--check your list now and then and see if you'd like to follow back the people who are following you. If you're not interested in following them back, you don't have to do anything, but if they're so creepy you don't even want them following you, hit "Block."


For an easy way to find editors and agents to follow, go to my profile at http://twitter.com/lynnekelly then click "Lists," and select the Editors-Agents list. You'll see the recent tweets from the people on that list, but on the right side of the page, click "View all following" to see everyone I've added to it. (A lot of other writers or publishing people you will have similar lists.) Then check who those people are following--you'll find more people you want to follow.

It's not okay to pitch your novel or query an agent or editor via Twitter, but following them is a great way to find out what's going on in the publishing industry and with their own work; they might tweet "Finally getting to my January queries" or "I wish someone would send me a good mermaid erotica manuscript," for example. And if an agent tweets, "If I get one more manuscript about woodland creatures or wizards I'm going to throw my computer out the window," then you know to send your novel about a squirrel who goes to wizard school to someone else. Of course they also tweet about things that aren't work-related, like what's going on with their kids or pets or where they like to shop. They start to seem like real people, almost.

Look for businesses you like and follow them, too--they may tweet about specials or coupons, and a lot of companies are using Twitter as one more way to provide customer service. Check out the feeds of Overstock.com or Zappo's, for example. Notice how often they're responding to customers. They're watching for people who mention them, offering help to those who complain and saying thanks to those who compliment them.

You don’t have to use lists, but they’re a good way to organize your followers, especially if you’re following a lot of people. When you’re on someone’s page, click on the little arrow button to add them to a list you’ve made:


That way, you can quickly check the tweets only of the people on a certain list, like "My favorite funny people,” "Authors I like," "Friends from prison," or whatever you want to make a list for. Click on a list to weed out everybody else on the page.

Hashtags
By typing a hashtag (#) in front of a word or phrase, people can click on that word or phrase to follow a conversation about that topic, or see what others are saying about it. Good examples are the Tuesday evening #kidlitchat and Wednesday evening #YAlitchat. People interested in children’s and young adult literature discuss that night’s topic by adding #kidlitchat or #YAlitchat to their tweets. When you click on a hashtag like #kidlitchat, a page comes up showing all the tweets with that hashtag, whether you’re following the participants or not. Even if you can’t participate in real-time, you can bring it up later to read the conversation. Either click on the hashtag in someone’s tweet or type it in the search box at the top of the page.

A popular hashtag on Fridays is #FF, for "Follow Friday," used for suggesting other users to follow. Check out the follow recommendations from people you like following, and you may find some new ones to add to your follow list. (@DiandraMae explained at the meeting that while an @ is kind of like the "To:" in an email, a hashtag is like a subject. You don't have to use a hashtag, but it's a way to follow a subject.)

Under "trending topics" on the right side of your home page, Twitter lists the popular topics people are talking about, and those are often hashtag phrases.

A Bit About Marketing
There were some questions about using Twitter to market yourself, but really, the best way to market yourself is to NOT actively market yourself, if that makes sense. Or at least not to look like you are. It's not interesting to follow people who tweet about their own book (or themselves in general) over and over, but users who have a lot of followers are those who interact with others and are funny, helpful, supportive, entertaining, or otherwise interesting. For users who tweet about all kinds of stuff and interact with their followers, I celebrate with them when they tweet, "Hey, I just got a book deal!" because I feel like I already know them. And I'll probably look for that book when it comes out. I'll give a couple popular authors on Twitter as examples (please share your favorites in the comments--there are so many great authors on Twitter.

Look how many followers Maureen Johnson has. She didn't get many by talking about her books. Notice how many of her tweets show her interacting with those followers. (When she has a phrase in quotes with someone's user name, that's her way of RTing a question or comment to her, then she'll type her answer after that.) Whenever she does mention a new release or other good news about her books, it doesn't bother anyone because that's not what her twitter feed is about. It's about her being herself and having fun talking to people about whatever's going on with her (or her weird neighbors). I'm not saying you have to tweet as much as she does--she's obviously a vampire who needs no sleep, or she has a well-trained army of monkeys to do her work for her. Tweet as little or as much as you're comfortable with, but remember to be yourself and get to know people.

Libba Bray is another great example of a funny/interesting/nice/wacky person to follow. You'll notice she too has a good balance of tweets, retweets, and replies in her feed. (She'd probably say that she's not well-balanced otherwise.)

Follow Cynthia Leitich Smith because she knows everyone and everything. Great links to author/agent/editor interviews and articles about the publishing industry, and she's super-supportive of other authors.

The Writer's Digest article listed below goes more in depth into social networking and book sales.

You can do everything on Twitter straight from the web page, but there are applications you can download to make it easier to organize and follow. Tweetdeck, for example (downloaded from tweetdeck.com) organizes your lists, replies, and hashtags you’re following into columns, automatically shortens web page addresses, and makes it easy to add pictures to your tweets.


See these excellent articles for more information:

Nathan Bransford's post about how to use Twitter
Twitter Tips For Writers
Mom, This Is How Twitter Works (Not Just For Moms!)
Don't Tweet That: How Not To Be A Twitter Dork (includes easy fixes)

Still have questions? Send me an @reply on Twitter. Like this: