Gadgetrepublic.com - News: Digital Life

I was thinking of opening this piece with a reference to our literary greats - Joyce, Wilde, Shaw, Beckett - and how I couldn't ever imagine them logging onto Twitter, or, heaven forbid, tweeting. And then I realised that, actually, I could. OK, well, maybe not Beckett, but certainly the other lot (I suspect you'd never get Wilde off the thing). Because, the fundamental point about Twitter is that it's about words and communication - rather important concepts to a writer - all in the delightfully pithy structure of 140 characters. No wonder literary mega-hitters like Margaret Atwood and Paul Coehlo are rejecting creative snobbery and joining the tweeting fold.

Here in Ireland, Irish writers are also embracing the concept, realising that the cliched image of the Luddite scribe, writing with a quill by candlestick is not going to help boost book sales or get their name out there.

Famed children's writer Eoin Colfer is part of the Twitter phenomenon, (sample Tweet: 'Soooo early. On the way to London to collect an award. Farting leprechauns=literature. I knew it.'). As is young adult writer Claire Hennessy ('Everyone can write, but much more of it than you think is discipline, practice, and a willingness to learn and improve.'). Commercial women's writers are also well represented, with authors Sheila O'Flanagan, Melissa Hill and Claire Allan all having Twitter accounts.

Why tweet?

Allan, best-selling author of Rainy Days and Tuesdays, Feels like Maybe and Jumping in Puddles, describes herself as a "tweetaholic".

"Not only is it great craic but it also provides a really nice networking tool for talking to other authors, publishers, fan and readers. It's short and sweet and easy to dip in and out of and I have found it a great marketing tool - especially at times when I've been too busy to blog properly. Today's authors need to be experts in self marketing so in my opinion, blogging, Facebook and Twitter are vital tools."

Dublin-based writer and blogger David Maybury agrees.

"It isn't about what you had for breakfast. It is about communication with a lot of people, sharing information, ideas, articles and anything else you come across. For writers it is a gateway to people (especially anyone facing deadlines and can't leave the keyboard). For booksellers it is a goldmine - have a look at how Chapters, Eason and Ravenbooks are using it. Publishers and marketing gurus are everywhere - offering advance copies, spreading the word on new titles and building excitement about upcoming authors."

So, as we move into a world where technology is dominating our everyday lives more and more, it seems Twitter is the place to be for writers anxious to be seen and heard in an increasingly competitive environment.

But given that it's pretty addictive, can Twitter ever be a procrastination device for writers, who should be - you know - writing? Allan comes clean. "The only really stickler is when you get drawn into a great big gossip when you should be working - that can be tricky!"

Hmmm. We thought so!

By Bernice Mulligan