Can you be a social media mavin and write the book you really want to? It's an old question by now, and I'm sure plenty of you are yawning or rolling your eyes. But that might be a mistake. Tweeting and FBing and even blogging are certainly very different media efforts than novel writing. Do you have to have a split personality to do both, and split your creative time between them? Or do you try to do both at once?
If you find you are drawn more to flash fiction and/or journalistic analyses than taking hours to flesh out scenes with tension, metaphor, powerful description, action, dialogue etc., perhaps that novel will have to wait.
Voices are once again weighing in to make sure we all understand that nobody can write a polished novel (or a great song or poem or any such thing) in a first draft or an online splurge. Check out this article from Forbes, and be sure to read the John Mayer section.
What do you think?
Thank you for this. I have been doing both... but it's very hard. The problem for me is the great friends I've met via social media. Yes... friends. And then the kids who have reached out. I can't abandon them in their time of need. I need more time in my life. Then work. Then family. Nobody really knows how hard it is to craft a great book while living 4 lives. I want to read your article, but will you remind me next week when I have a window to read?
ReplyDeleteI really believe you are my subconscious when you write.
Hah, I know what you mean, Karlene, although I only have two lives. :-) Yes, it's so true, you meet people online, get involved in reciprocal relationships where you help each other and become important to each other, and there's no way you want to let go to make more time for other things. Yes, I will remind you!
DeleteSocial media is so addictive. You can spend so much time there, eventually there'll be no book or story to tweet, fb or blog about.
ReplyDeleteLoved your post about metaphors below also! Thanks.
Isn't that the truth, Denise! Back to writing the book, now. :)
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