Scripting News - Latest Comments in How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Merchant Blogger — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:06:04 -0000

I figure that writing less forces you to try and mean more. I can see how habitually using shortened "whatever speak" could lead to a poor or apparently lazy standard of writing in general use.

If you are quite self-analytical then I think you probably realise what you're doing. If you're running a website, then writing shorter copy has to be a good thing - it also means you can make the font size bigger, which I personally think is great. I wrote a bit more about this on my blog after being inspired by this tiny post. :)

In fact there are more words in my comment than there are in the original post (that includes the date and the title). I guess I need to turn down the verbosity setting or practice twittering more!

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Sol Young — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:18:08 -0000

I've been investigating the exact opposite. My hypothesis is Twitter makes our writing much worse. The logic is that Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, etc, all move us to conversational styles. Instead of taking the time to write and think superbly, we're all dropping to the lowest common denominator that is basic communication.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Les Orchard — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:30:51 -0000

Right on. I find myself editing my tweets obsessively to tighten up and often hit the 140 limit exactly. I also miss Ficlets for this same reason - they had a 1024 character limit on stories, so it was a good exercise to try to tell a complete story (or at least a complete segment) in one post. Creative constraints are great to have around

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Barce — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:27:11 -0000

Twitter makes you laconic.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Guy Parkinson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:42:14 -0000

@Dave and @Richard Carter: yes, important to make the distinction between good writer and good writing. Being able to write concisely makes one a better writer; concise writing isn't necessarily better than more extravagant writing (let's not tar it with the lame epithet 'flowery'). I know people who prefer Hemingway over Dickens, but I would question their judgement if they thought he was a better writer because he used fewer words.

@Michael Becker, of course if Hamlet had been written in 100 words (or less) it probably wouldn't have had lasting appeal...

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Michael Becker — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:45:37 -0000

Combine that with a dose of journalism training and suddenly you're writing Hamlet in 100 words (or less).

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Tom Brandt — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:34:51 -0000

Back in the olden days there was a thing called a Telex. It was basically a telegraph message that went directly to the recipient. Companies published booklets of abbreviation for use in Telexes; not unlike the unofficial abbreviations in today's text messages. Each character cost money, so economy of words was important. Is Twitter the new Telex?

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

jeber — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:16:33 -0000

Reading and writing poetry helps as well.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Speed — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:14:48 -0000

"Will, Duck!"

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Richard Carter — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:01:33 -0000

I wasn't trying to catch you, Dave; I was just disagreeing.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Andrew — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:57:39 -0000

twttr mks u a mch wrse wrtr whn u hve to wrt like this to fit in 140 chrs.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Speed — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:43:58 -0000

How tight can we make the above Dave's post?

"Twitter forces crisp, direct, easy to read copy. Dan Santow at Edelman PR has a list of single words that replace a phrase. Twitter prevents flowery prose.

Thanks Steve."

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

dave — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:04:13 -0000

That's pretty good, but...

It sounds like the robot in Lost In Space.

Danger Will Robinson.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Richard Carter — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:03:52 -0000

No way, Dave. Twitter might force you to write concisely, but that's only one aspect of good writing. If Tweeting is good writing, then so is my shopping list.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Charlotte-Anne Lucas — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 11:44:11 -0000

Well put, Dave :)
When I taught journalism at UNLV, I made students use Twitter to practice writing concise news leads; it was grand fun!
Twitter (and texting) also enforces/explains the active voice ...

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

dave — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 11:10:12 -0000

Thank you but you haven't caught me Richard because I never said, or implied
nor do I believe that Twitter is the *only* way to become a better writer, I
just think it can make you a better writer. And that's what my piece says.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Vasudev Ram — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:48:54 -0000

I agree :-) Had just noticed this myself; also, it's a fun and creative exercise to do that compression. Also, nice example with the strikeout.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Boiarski — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:38:03 -0000

Dave, This is tres smart. I find it a great test of brains. Try to get the thought across with the least words.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

anon — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:52:42 -0000

You should change your Twitter background image. King Kong is always obscured so it carries no meaning.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

raines — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:49:23 -0000

Print journalism in space-constrained media and headline writing promotes a similar awareness: how do I get the essential message across in the least space? The trick is to not go too far in shorthand abbreviations and symbols, as some confused TwitterBuds and FaceBook Friendlies like to remind me.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

Scabr — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:48:40 -0000

Minimalist Twitter-style post.:)

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

skribe — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:47:19 -0000

Twitter is a great tool to teach screenwriting techniques, where you want short, snappy sentences and paragraphs providing maximum information. Prose, on the other hand, can appear cold and bare if you use that technique. For me screenwriting is like writing haikus and prose a Shakespearean sonnet.

Just some thoughts on a late, steamy night.

Cheers,

skribe

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

etorsten — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:43:11 -0000

You´re right, you only have 140 characters and you have to concentrate and focus in twitter.

Re: How Twitter makes you a better writer (Scripting News)

dave — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:58:10 -0000

Thanks for the advice, but I like it just the way it is.