tutorial

__Tutorial - Learn How To Write Twiction __
Ernest Hemingway once said that his best story was written in just six words:

//"For sale: baby shoes, never worn." //

We can see what he is trying to say – it gives the reader countless questions to ponder and imagine the answers to in their minds! 'Micro-fiction' develops precision, efficiency and allows us to consider the effect of each aspect of our writing with careful consideration.

See below for our **Twiction Format Basics Guide:**

__**TWIDS: **__

First and foremost are your characters' TWIDs (Twitter IDs or usernames). This can help you to tell the reader something about their character.

For example, the character of the arrogant doctor with a god-complex and main character in Frankenstein, Victor, could be: @NotoriousDOC as this gives us an insight into his character - it's clever, shows us how self-important he is and how he doesn't care if he becomes famous for the wrong reasons, seeing himself as the 'bad boy' of Science! Try to pick something that shows us your character's personality (and this can be done for supporting characters too!) but dont forget it has to start with the @ symbol!

__**TWEETING: **__

As a starting point then, lets focus on the basic formats of 'tweeting'. Let's look at the different ways we can use Twitter techniques in our narrative and some examples from Twitterature:

1) __**Tweet**__ - this is the bread and butter of Twiction: tweets give us an insight into a characters thoughts, actions, mood, situation; where they are, what they have been doing, who they are with and what they think about ALL it! N.B Tweets are usually in the **first person and are announcements/comments from the main character's viewpoint/perspective** (me, I) but you can use a variety of techniques to show these emotions (making comments about people or aiming your tweets directly at another character). Think of it as your character's VOICE! You could even use song lyrics or film quotes as some people do - this will give your reader a further impression of the characterm (provided they get thereferences, if they don't they can always Google it, right?!)

You are limited to 140 characters including spaces so don't be afraid to use abbreviations, emoticons and CAPITAL LETTERS to get your character's thoughts across (see Twossary below!)

From //Hamlet// (he tweets) //Why is Claudius telling me what to do again? YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD! In fact you killed my real dad.// :(

This gives us an insight into the relationship between Hamlet and his step-father. The use of capitals shows us his frustration and anger while the emoticon ends the tweet and reinforces the final sentence to show us Hamlet's sadness over the murder of his real father.

2) **Direct Message** (conveyed by putting a D before the username) - this can give us insight into the relationship between different characters and is more private than 'mentioning' them. You could even have a story where two characters send each other direct messages from time to time. This might be particularly appropriate in a romance. (see below)

From //Romeo and Juliet// (Romeo sends Juliet a message to symbolise the balcony scene)

D JulieBaby: //What do you mean 'where am I?' I'm right under the balcony!//

A direct message makes connections between characters and enables your reader to see how those characters think and feel about each other which can add an extra layer to your story. Remember, direct messages are private and would not be seen by anyone other than the people they are sent and received by. Remember this as just sending a direct message indicates something about the relationship between one character and another!

3) **Mention** - your characters can mention other people in their tweets and this can enable the reader to see more about the relationship between them.

From //Macbeth (//Macbeth, whose TWID is Big MAC, mentions Lady Macbeth in a tweet//)//

<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">@LadyMac//: THERE'S NOTHING ON YOUR HANDS! YOU'VE WASHED THEM 100 TIMES ALREADY!//

By mentioning Lady Macbeth in his message, it would show all the people who are following BigMAC his thoughts about this and her (his anger, paranoia and worry all come across by using capital letters and the exclamation mark!). In that respect, it is less private than the direct message and is designed to show the reader (and other characters their thoughts!) This is the key difference between a mention and direct message. Mentions can be full of admiration but also can be used in a snidey way to show others what your character thinks about someone too.

<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">4) **Hashtags** - on Twitter, using the 'hash' key marks a post as being in a certain group or relating to a certain theme. Posts that share the same hashtag can be listed and viewed together. This can be quite useful for allowing us to see how a character feels about something that has happened, embellishing their thoughts on a particular situation by linking them to an abstract concept (#winning, for example) or showing a sense of belonging to something (#Team Edward) etc. When used effectively at the end of tweets, the hashtag can be a tool for showing something extra about your character.


 * 5) Time and Date -** You can use the time/date function to show the reader things about your character. What times are their tweets? What might that say about the state of mind? How long between tweets? What have they been doing in this time?


 * 6) Following** -On Twitter, people 'follow' each other (this is a way of staying in touch with people!) This can show your character's hobbies/interests/favourite people - whether fictional or real! It's up to you


 * 7) Name/Location/Bio** - tell your reader a bit more about your character. Where they are in the world, their real name (which will be different from the TWID) and something short about them written from their perspective - what would that character say about themselves?

__**PLAN, WRITE, SUBMIT...AND EVEN GET YOUR TWICTION ON TWITTER!**__

 * PLAN YOUR TWICTION USING OUR TEMPLATE PLAN** - this will help you to organise your story.


 * WRITE YOUR TWICTION OUT USING OUR TEMPLATE -** don't forget to go from the bottom to the top - your character's last tweet should be at the top of the page!

**YOU SHOULD SUBMIT YOUR COMPLETED TEMPLATES BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO FURTHER AND GET YOUR TWICTION ONTO TWITTER** - use this 10 step guide to get your Twiction onto Twitter (via computer or SmartPhone)

__**<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">Final TIPS: **__


 * <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">Be **precise** as you only have a limited space - this means thinking carefully about punctuation, capital letters, abbreviations and emoticons (getting the thoughts and emotions across in less than 140 characters to have the effect you want to have on the reader - remember you are in control of what the reader thinks!)
 * <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">**Plan** your story out before writing your tweets - think about your characters and what they are like; think about what you want to happen to them! Think about what happens **BETWEEN** your tweets. Remember, the final tweet doesn't have to be the 'end' - that could come in the middle of your story!
 * <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">**Use questions from time to time** in your tweets - it helps to involve the reader in your character's predicament - almost inviting the reader to 'comment' in their heads!
 * <span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS",cursive;">**Make your last tweet ring like a bell** - it doesn't have to be the 'ending' - that could come in the middle or even 'in between' tweets - but your last tweet should leave the reader to a place where they can continue to wonder about the ideas in the story.

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