Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hey, whatever works for ya!

Ok, so the idea of having your characters on twitter and talking to each other sounds...well..nuts, but if it WORKS, why the hell not!

I mean, I'm the one with a stuffed boa, a plush pink octopus, a (new) fanged asp and godhelpus a yellow ducky in my office AND who posts pictures of same on blog, so really, who am I to waggle a finger saying "nuts" to anyone!


In fact the pink octopus has an opinion about this whole thing:


27 comments:

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

A lot of my readers have asked me to let Trevor Twitter. It's a scary thought, but if the readers want it...

That Writer Chic... said...

Well I sure can't say anything either. I have a a pet sock monkey for pete's sake !

Jo said...

I was sure the octopus was going to be holding up a middle tentacle!

Anna Letha said...

Though I don't use twitter for my characters, I do use LiveJournal to post journal entries for my characters in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. I was already writing fanfiction for them, so I took the next step and created journal entries for them. You'd be amazed how much you can understand your character by doing this.

Unfortunately I've yet to find a way to make this work for characters I'm using in novels because the novels are a snapshot of one point in time for my characters. Where as my MMORPG characters are forever moving forward and changing.

Steena Holmes said...

It's certainly an unique way of getting to know ones characters, that's for sure.

A bit odd, but the more I think about it, the more I like it - I find myself having conversations with the characters I have the hardest time writing about, so why not conversations on Twitter instead of saying it out loud and having my family look at me weird :)

KLo said...

It's no stranger than setting up an AIM conversation between characters as an exercise in dialogue (don't ask how I know this works. Please don't : ))

dianecurran said...

It's only a problem when your characters start Twitter-arguing with the author.

My characters twitter while I edit their story. They also complain when I don't edit.

But I can't work out why secondary character @kirstymcinnes is much more popular then my main character @chloewatkins on Twitter. It might be her cheekiness and the fact that she ran a competition to get to 100 followers.

BTW, have you checked out @mister_darcy on Twitter yet?

Julie said...

Is it any wonder we readers all pine for you to be our agent? You are delightful. And I believe that the Pink Octopus deserves his day... get the fellow on twitter already. Otherwise, your pink-octopus-related neglect will be the biggest AgentFail ever. :)

Liana Brooks said...

*snickers*

Were-octopussies could be arranged. Possibly cyborg were-octopussies. But only if She of the Stiletto Heel feels that biopunk isn't banned under the No Science Fiction laws.

Ricky Bush said...

That's it, that's it! Thanks for the idea, Janet. No, not the Twitter dither, I haven't the time right now. I need a pink octopus help me type my manuscript--yah!!! Anyway--

Gwen said...

I can't imagine having Twitters for my characters. They never shut up anyway. I was watching a slammin' anime called Fullmetal Alchemist (which is about the quest of two brothers) and all I could think of was the sibling relationship between two characters (who have not been born yet in my books) and the dialogue they will have in various situations! Why would I Twitter them when they so incessantly talk to me already? O.o

Also, the octopus is so cute it burns. @_@

Whirlochre said...

You have the cutest octopus, lycanthrope or no.

Julie Weathers said...

Oh, I think the last thing Twitter needs is a womanizing pirate, senile wizard, sociopath and the girl caught in the middle.

Can't wait to see the octopus and assistant on there, though.

Julie Weathers said...

Lawsy, I couldn't resist. ugh, I am so weak.

behlerblog said...

My secretary, the unreliable beagle, heartily approves.

Mystery Robin said...

LOL! Bring on the wereoctopi! That's perfect. :)

emeraldcite said...

In honor of your coolness, I have made a tshirt.

(Please, don't buy this shirt, it was just for fun.)

I think I set it up so it can only be accessed through this link.

Just a little fun with the pics on your site. Keep up all the great advice and snarky comments!

emeraldcite said...

I think the link in my last comment was incorrect.

Here is the correct link. just a bit of fun!

sorry about the confusion :)
the joys of technology!

A.L. Davroe said...

Haha. You should keep an eye on that pink octopus, Janet. It's the silent ones with hand-drawn signs that you have to watch out for. Especially when they are pushing their weres.

Anita said...

My fav photo you've posted is the one with office footwear...very cool...made me feel like I was getting an inside look at FinePrint life.

Can shoes Twitter?

Kimber An said...

Sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to engage readers. I don't have time for Twitter, but more power to the rest of yas!

BubbleVicious said...

Is it a bad thing that I don't remember some of my characters' Tweets?

Sun Up said...

I seriously had a nightmare about that octopus.

Deb Vlock said...

The pink octopus has a certain sad doggie look about her. My daughter saw her and screamed, "I want one!"

Sabrina said...

Look at those big, sad eyes. How can you say no to that octopus?

(I can't tell if it's the angle of the photo, or the octopus itself, but it's begging you with its eyes.)

Jinx said...

LOL That conversation was so much fun, but I have entirely too many characters from several books to get them all going at once.

However, I did have a Monday Night Brawl event between two of my characters. Nuts? Probably, but it was a blast.

Yes, I'm a freak, but I'm okay with that. =)

Miss Mabel said...

The Pink Octopus needs her own blog. I love her.