On Writing Tight & Social Media

I’ve heard it more times than I can count. “Write tight.”

I never could figure out exactly how to do that. It’s one thing to say “write tight,” but quite another to do it.

I would write it however it took to get it done. Then I would go back and revise and cut until it was tight. Then I discovered Twitter and Plurk. These are social media platforms that limit you to 140 characters, not words, characters, including spaces and punctuation, per post.

Since then, I have discovered an impact on my writing. I no longer have to revise to cut words. I have to revise to add them.

I joined both of those sites at the urging of friends. I have found them to be useful tools for both networking and building friendships. If someone had told me at the time that it would have such an impact on my writing, I’m not sure I would have beleived them.

For what it’s worth, though, I see Twitter and Plurk as having two separate functions. To me, Twitter is more for networking and building professional contacts. It’s possible to build friendships there, but it’s not as interactive as Plurk, which, in my opinion, is more of a fun site meant for contacting friends and developing new friendships. I have encountered several people on both sites. They both have their advantages.

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By the way, if you want to find me on Twitter or Plurk, here I am:

Twitter: jennipps and creativetips
Plurk: jennipps

Filed under: not writing, writing , friendships, Jen Nipps, jennipps, networking, Plurk, social media, Twitter