Twitter, Writing and Characters

Hello my darlings. It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything for you on this blog. I wonder, did you miss me?

Today I want to write about three things. Twitter, Writing and Characters. Not sure what they have in common? Be patient and I’ll show you.

Let’s start with Twitter and Writing.

Twitter is my playground. It’s the place I go to blow off steam. The place I go to laugh with friends and be me. Yes, me. What you see on my Twitter is pretty damn close to the me in real life. I’ve got a list of Twitter people I’ve met in real life. Feel free to ask those people if they agree. They will, I’ve no doubt.

It’s been just over two years since I was introduced to Twitter and since then I’ve met and made the most amazing friends. Some of them, I am sad to say, I no longer talk with, but it always seems that there is someone new waiting just around the corner to meet and get to know. Lately, I’ve been getting to know some pretty awesome writers on Twitter. Some of them are published, some not. My friends are a mixed bag, I think, and it’s also a great place for me to play and learn in the writing community. I started writing because of the people I met on Twitter. I don’t think that would have happened otherwise. I’m grateful for that. Some of the amazing writers that have helped me along the way are: @texistential, @writermomof5 and @CrystalPosey.

I want to give a great big Thank You to these three ladies! I love you all dearly and you will always hold a special place in my heart.

There have been several more women and men since then that have helped me and encouraged me, but these three are at the top of the list. They told me I had a voice and encouraged me to keep working on it. I’ll also go as far as to mention three very specific people who I no longer speak to. If you happen to be reading this, you know who you are; all three of you were also very instrumental in encouraging me to write and helped me find my voice, so thank you.

Now, let’s talk about Characters.

I’m not talking about people, well sort of. I’m talking about characters from stories. Before I was writing, and only reading, I came across J.R. Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I was, and am, so caught up in this book series and the characters in it, it’s amazing. Anyone that has read and loves this series would agree with me. Hands down, her characters are so developed, its unreal how real they become in your head. She also has an online forum you can sign up for and she’s put the brothers up on there to interact with her fans. I’m signed up on the forum, of course, and although most people love that environment to chat in, I find it a little hard to really interact with people.

Then, along came Twitter.

First, I’ll back up just a bit. This was all before Twitter and I became friends.

See, I had read an interview with J.R. Ward where she talked about her characters, the brothers, being alive and well in her head and how they literally talk to her. I was both shocked and intrigued. I’d never talked to a writer before and I had recently become acquainted with one, so I asked her. She explained, “Yes, characters are alive in writers’ heads and at times they won’t shut up.” I found this awesome! My definition to her at the time and one I still use today is: it’s kind of like Schizophrenia with an outlet, minus all the harmful shit that goes along with that illness. Seriously, can you imagine? I couldn’t then, but I certainly can now. All these voices in your head talking, pretty much constantly, and the only way to quiet them is to write. Write every damn word they’re telling you. How exciting! I think so, anyway. If you’re a writer you would agree, I’m sure.

So, back to Twitter. The writer I mentioned introduced me to Twitter and she informed me there were some writers that had their characters on Twitter too. She had some of her own characters on there as well, which I thought was pretty cool because I had read some of her stories.

Let me clarify this for you a bit. These ‘characters’ I’m talking about are not people who have created a fan-fiction account on Twitter for a character that they love in a book, no. (Nothing against those folks, if that’s what you like to do then go for it.) These are the actual writers of these characters. When I arrived on the Twitter scene I immediately started talking to these characters. The vampires especially, because they were and still are my favorite. I talked with my friends’ characters and I started talking to some other characters I’d met. I also followed and got to know the writers for those characters. What a world I fell into. It was fun and extremely exciting.

I mentioned above that Twitter is my playground, but Twitter can also be a playground for your character too. There are lots of ways to do character development and Twitter is one of them. You can put your character up and see how they react when talking to real people or role playing with other characters. You can utilize how your character acts and reacts for your/their story. It puts the character in real situations and helps them grow. My husband has used it for two of his characters that he has stories written about. The main one right now you can follow is @knox_barrett. I have used it as well, though those characters are quietly hiding in the back of my head for now. It’s not time for their story, yet. Soon, I hope.

What I figured out, with all this character play on Twitter I was engaging in, was that I had a knack for character development. Most characters respond to me and I am not sure why that is, nor do I really care. I just know that it’s an awesome thing to help a fellow writer bring a character to life. And, besides that, it’s fun as hell!

I’ll quickly tell you about my favorite. Have you met @CrookedFang? If you haven’t, then you should. He’s written by @texistential, one of the amazing women I listed above. Let me tell you about Xan. (CrookedFang) We’ve been friends for almost two years now. Yes, friends. He’s a character in one of @texistential’s stories and he is fictional, but he’s alive and well on paper and in Carrie’s mind. He’s very strong and developed as well as a ton of fun to tweet with.

Xan was the first character that really responded to me. What I mean by that was he was a whole lot quieter before I hit the scene and started bugging him. And now, quiet and Xan don’t belong in the same sentence together. It surprised both Carrie and I how he responded to me and neither one of us really know why. I’m not sure we need to know why. I just know that he sort of…came alive as we became friends and because of that we continue our little Twitter relationship. I certainly can’t and won’t take all the credit for Xan’s blossoming, because there is of course, his brilliant writer! Without her, he wouldn’t be here, obviously. She’s been writing stories about him for over ten years, but I sure have a part in who he is now. That, my friends, is priceless! Also, it makes @CrystalPosey giggle when we play. That woman is so full of wonderful that I’d do just about anything to make her giggle!

So, I hope that what I’ve written gives you a different view into the mind of a writer and the characters that exist there. If you’re a writer, I hope I helped encourage you to bring your characters to Twitter. I’d love to interact with them.
.
Love to you all.
Wookies Girl

P.S. You can also find CrookedFang on Facebook.