Twitter Fiction Festival? To some of you, this may seem like a contradiction in terms. How is it possible to tell a story in 140 characters? Yes, that's CHARACTERS not words.... Seems like a tall order, doesn't it?
Many writers I've spoken to wonder about the value of Twitter. I'm not going to go into all the ins and outs or hows and whys here - Nicola Morgan has already covered all the bases
in her excellent TweetRight guide - but I had a Twitter experience recently which encapsulates why I think this is a good place for authors to hang out.
It all started with a tweet at the beginning of October. Just one. It ended last week with me filling a slot on Radio 4's
World at One and global coverage of my part in the festival in newspapers from
The Guardian to the
LA Times. So, how did it happen?
That one tweet alerted me that the newly-created Twitter Fiction Festival were looking for entries.
"I'll have a go," I thought. After all, what had I got to lose? So I sent off my little pitch - 100 Greek myths in 100 tweets - and promptly forgot about it until I got an email saying that the Twitter people were interested in hearing more. At that point I had to think somewhat more carefully. I wrote a longer pitch, panicking slightly now that I seemed to be in the running. Then, on 19th November, I heard that I had been picked from thousands of entries worldwide to be part of the official Twitter Fiction Festival showcase.
What did that mean exactly? Well, first and foremost it meant I had to deliver the writing part! I'd decided to present those 100 myths as tabloid headlines - the nature of the Greek gods with their adulterous/incestuous natures and propensity for shenanigans are a Sun headline writer's dream - so I put my head down and started condensing the essence of the stories into 140 characters. It was an intellectual challenge to tackle this totally new way of writing. I wanted to present the ancient myths I've studied and written about for years in a totally fresh and original way, which would reach out to a new audience - and from some of the very nice coverage in blogs and reviews since, I hope I've succeeded. I also had fun doing it.
Secondly, it meant that the behemoth which is Twitter was giving me a huge global platform to stand on, and actively promoting me, as an author, along with my 28 fellow twitfic writers. The power of that as a publicity tool cannot be underestimated, and I've been fascinated to see how many publishing industry 'movers and shakers' are now following and chatting to me on Twitter as a direct result.
"But what about book sales?" I hear you mutter. I did look on Amazon over the weekend, and there was a big spike in my rankings (top 5000) for
Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths - the book I based the tweet idea on - which has now tailed off. It's possible that's people buying for Christmas, but I don't think it was coincidental.
So, what have I got out of it? Quite simply, free worldwide coverage I could never have got otherwise in a million years. Whether that has any continuing knock-on effect on book sales remains to be seen, but many thousands more people have read my writing than before and I'm continuing to add hundreds of new followers who are interested in books to my Twitter account, so from that point of view it was a success. And all from me noticing and engaging with one random bookish tweet link. That, lovely readers, is why it's worth authors being on Twitter.
You can read all of Lucy's #twitterfiction festival myths (plus brief explanations) HERE
* Hi Lucy, and welcome to tall tales and short stories. Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?
The first and most important thing about me is that I am a total book addict. I read everything and anything from kidlit to esoteric works on shamanism plus all the genres in between. I’m pretty sure that’s what led me into being first an editor at Heinemann and Orchard Books and then, later on (and much more satisfyingly), a writer of children’s books. Books are my life and my passion, and I can’t imagine being without them (I have over 10,000 piled in and around all the rooms in my house!). I can’t imagine not writing them, either, and get very cross and grumpy if my Muse is thwarted by mundane things like hoovering or bill paying.
Secondly, I am a manic mythologist. I’ve loved myths ever since I can remember—I was introduced to them at a very early age by my grandmother, and have been a student of them ever since. Myths in some form or other appear in almost all my books.
Other than that, I am married, with two amazingly lovely teenage children, and spend most of my days writing, blogging, tweeting and avoiding housework in a tiny office overlooking green fields with sheep in them.
Since I am this mad mythology-obsessed maven kind of person, I thought I’d try and do a kind of ‘useful guide’ for those of you who might be interested in this area of fiction, but weren’t quite sure how or where to begin. So, first I’ll ask the obvious question!
* What use are myths and legends to a fiction writer? Why should I use them as a starting point for my stories?
Myths and legends—and fairytales and folklore too—are a fantastic resource for the writer, a huge treasure chest of goodies to spark the creative imagination. Just look at what’s out there for you to plunder!
There’s the Greeks (all those fallible and rather human gods and goddesses, as well as a whole clutch of butch heroes and scary monsters); there’s the Celts (more muscle-bound heroes, plus the original elves or fairies in their many manifestations): there’s the Norse lot (warrior gods and ice giants and brave maidens with breastplates); there’s the Eastern Europeans (witches, vampires, werewolves); there’s the Far East (here be wise and intelligent dragons); there’s the Aboriginal Australians (bunyips, songlines, animal Ancestors); there’s the Americas North and South (thunderbirds, tricksters, hidden cities of gold).
Are you excited yet? Because I am, just writing down a fraction of what’s out there for you. Go forth and raid your local library at once! Devour the m
he Vicereine picked her way down the gentle slope of the gully step by step. She stopped near where Cici had fallen and very slowly began to crouch down. Using her staff for support, she allowed her hands to slide down the smooth twisted wood bit by bit. She winced and groaned in pain several times before coming to rest on her knees. She sat hunched over for a moment as if exhausted, clutching her staff to the side of her head. Her cowl hung down, covering her face. A few locks of white hair were visible along her back and along the edge of the cowl. Cici tried again to stop crying, but her ankle was very swollen by now, and her shoe was beginning to hurt her foot.
After a few moments, Reina finally placed the staff flat on the ground next to her. Cici felt a hand under her own and turned her head. She gasped as she saw a grayish slender hand with jewel-encrusted rings on all four fingers reach down and take her by the wrist. Cici sniffled and looked up. The woman seemed to be busy concentrating on something.
“Do not pull against the tree trunk.” Reina said.
Cici sniffled again. She didn’t know what to think. She was sure the robed woman was really mean, but now she sounded different. Reina looked at Cici’s dirt-streaked and astonished face. The woman’s gold-colored eyes made Cici feel better.
“I am not your enemy,” Reina said. “Sit up.”
Cici realized she wasn’t really stuck. She was just snagged on the tree and had been pulling in the wrong direction. She stopped pushing against the ground and gradually crawled sideways far enough that she could push herself up. The moment she tried to move her foot, however, she was rewarded with a stab of pain from her ankle. Cici cried out and pulled her foot up to her hands.
“Will you help me cast a healing spell?” Reina asked. Cici looked down through the blur of tears at her right foot. Her ankle was swollen and the skin around it was darker. She sniffled and looked up at Reina, then nodded.
“Sit up slowly this time,” Reina said. “Place your foot flat against the Earth. Gently.” Cici gingerly pushed herself up with one hand as Reina reached over and retrieved the Chronicler’s Lantern lying sideways on the ground. The robed woman placed the shining gold lantern upright next to her staff. The light from the lantern illuminated the side of the gully nicely. By now Cici was sitting up and rubbing her face with her hand, only succeeding in adding another layer of dirt.
“I am called Reina. What is your name?”
“I’m Cici. How come you wear so many rings?” Cici asked quietly, pointing at Reina’s hand while still rubbing her nose. Then she sniffled again.
“Because I like to collect beautiful things,” Reina replied, impressed by Cici’s inquisitiveness. “Do you like this ring, Cecilia?” she asked. Cici nodded, eyes wide. Reina indicated a heavy gold ring on her right hand set with a nearly transparent delicately faceted blue stone and decorated with a dozen smaller white gems.
“This ring is called the Soaring Chime. It was given to me long ago by a scribe named Giho skilled in the arts of gemcutting. He lives on an island in a place called the Princesses Crowns far away in the eastern sea. There are men there who dig deep into the mountains to find raw stones such as this one. The scribe spends years cutting and shaping them into Chimes. Chime stones can make sounds with magical properties.”
“What’s magical properties?” Cici asked, enthralled.
“It means this stone can ring, and the sound from it can heal your ankle,” Reina replied. “Will you help me make the Soaring Chime ring?”
“Can I?” Cici asked.
“Look carefully at the stone,” Reina said, offering her hand so Cici could see. “Do you see the upper edge? Where the tiny symbol is carved into the gold?”
Cici looked carefully and saw that the edge of the setting just above the oval-shaped sky-blue stone had a tiny symbol carved into the polished gold. If Reina hadn’t mentioned it, Cici would never have noticed it.
“All you must do is tap that symbol with your finger as if you are trying to make a bell ring,” Reina said. “Then, listen for the sound.”
Cici peered at the stone and the tiny symbol, then slowly reached up with her hand and held her finger over the ring for a moment. Then she flicked her hand, tapping the edge of the ring with her finger as if testing something she had been told was very hot.
A very soft and faint glow appeared in the center of the stone and Cici began to hear the sounds of chimes and bells all around her. First one, then a second. They began to play cascades of three tones, then five. Then ten. It sounded like someone drawing a stick along a series of bells, each one larger than the one before it, making a luxurious sound like the playing of all the strings of a harp from smallest to largest.
Cici looked at her foot and was startled by the greenish swirl of energy around her ankle. She saw a pale blue glow along the outer edge of her hand where she had been cut, and a silver shower of sparkling energy around the bruise on her knee. Her ankle felt much better. The music was so beautiful that Cici didn’t want it to end. All of her wounds and bruises were healed, and the music faded peacefully along with the glow of the Soaring Chime.
“It’s magic just like my lantern! Are you a warrior like me?” Cici asked. Reina’s expression changed.
“I am all that remains,” Reina replied.
LadyStar™ Call of the Huntress is Copyright © 2007 2008 Heavy Cat Multimedia Ltd. All Rights Reserved
So...I'm going out on a limb here, waiting to here the wrath of those readers that looove this genre, but I am not typically a graphic novel fan. I didn't read comic books when I was a kid and to me, graphic novels are just thick comic books, making me shy away. This series, however, though it may not be my cup of tea, seems perfect for those readers that do enjoy graphic novels and want to learn something through the reading process.
Graphic Universe is a series put out by Lerner Publishing that includes 22 different books covering a huge span of myths and legends. At my library, myths are an extremely popular category, as are graphic novels and until this series came along, I can't say we ever had a combination of the two. From Atalanta, a Greek myth to The Hero Twins, a Mayan myth the series spans a ton of different countries and includes many of the most popular myths and legends, as well as some I had never heard of. There is the popular Jason and King Arthur and the not-so-well known Sunjata and Yu the Great.
Each book includes a glossary and word pronunciation guide, further reading and website lists, an index, and just how the author created the graphic telling of famous myths and legends. As I've said, I'm not a huge fan of graphic books, but I know these will circulate well at our library, have a high interest level in kids and teens, and are educational as well, making it quite the successful series.
Teko’s Magical Treasure of the Week!
“Looks like this week’s Magical Treasure is our brand new Ajan Warrior of the Sunrise black t-shirt.”
“Ooh, nice design. I guess this means we’re going to have a new Sunrise page in the Hall of Warriors pretty soon.”
“Yeeeee! I can’t wait. The best part is Shannon-sama donates some of what the Gift Shop makes to benefit the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls! We got lots more gifts in Shannon-sama’s shop too. See ya!”
“Hiiii everybody, it’s me Jessie! This week’s LadyStar Chapter of the Week is a real neat one. It’s from our first book, The Dreamspeaker, and it’s a chapter that’s called Swifty River. It’s about when Talitha found this real spooky forest where these little lights float around the trees and a pond. There’s this little bridge that’s real important later too. We hope you like our story! Be sure to visit us every week for a new best chapter! Ja!”
I have so many favorites, many I didn't discover until I was an adult!
Jeez, where to start?
Tell you what. I’ll begin if you guys will add your own.
It would be too difficult to choose only one, so I will narrow my selections (for all time favorite children's picture books) down to THREE... Wow, even choosing three is difficult... OK FOUR then... Here goes...
1-Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse-Leo Lionni
2-The Giving Tree-Shel Silverstein
3-Where the Wild Things are-Maurice Sendak
4-Old Turtle-Douglas Wood
I also loved and love Many Moons by James Thurber, & Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.
And so many others by Jane Yolen, Jack Prelutsky, Dr Seuss, & Madeleine L'Engle, I adore modern classics like Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny & Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems!
Have you ever read David Wiesner's brilliant children's book Tuesday? It is incredible! Other favorites include... Stellaluna & NO David! & The Snowy Day & Make Way for Ducklings & Blueberries for Sal & Strega Nona & Harold and the Purple Crayon & I'll Love You Forever & Mrs. Biddlebox & Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse & Angelina Ballerina & Miss Spider's Tea Party & Rainbow Fish....
& on and on...
I'm curious to know what some of your favorite picture books are... and why?
Thanks,
Todd-Michael St. Pierre
From the book "A Woolly Mammoth on Amelia Street: Read Aloud Poems4Kids" by Todd St. Pierre.
A Piece of Sky
No one can own a color; no one can own a cloud.
No one on Earth could ever, I'm glad it's not allowed!
No person owns a person, though some may think they do.
No person owns the ocean; I know this to be true !
I cannot own a sparrow, I cannot own a tree.
Even in my own backyard they don't belong to me!
No one can own the starlight; no one can own the sun.
No person owns a river, it simply can't be done!
No one can own a desert, the planets or their moons.
We’re all just One Race: Human, same words with many tunes!
No one may claim ownership to TEAR or SMILE or SIGH!
Or take away your DREAMS so...
let's share a piece of sky!
From "A Woolly Mammoth on Amelia Street: Read Aloud Poems4Kids." By Todd St. Pierre
GROUNDED!
(Try sounding like your Dad as you perform this one!)
I saw the report card you brought home from work!
Punished! You're punished! You drive me berserk!
No Internet surfing! Here's my decision...
No cell phone use and no television!
Just go to your room and don't make me shout!
Go straight to your room and do not come out!
No car for a month, so give me the key!
Stop pouting this instant! I'm counting to three!
Don't disobey me! Why must you be bad?
Why can't you just be a good little Dad?
Grounded! You're grounded! You know what you did!
Hey, how does it feel, Dad, being the kid???
---It's fun to imagine trading places!---
From "A Woolly Mammoth on Amelia Street: Read Aloud Poems4Kids"
By Todd St. Pierre.
Pulling Habits Out of Rats
I’m no genie or Houdini,
I’m The Famous Rob Kabob.
Hocus-pocus I must focus,
I must think to do my job.
First I get in this position,
While the rat sits very still.
I’m part Shrink and part Magician,
And it takes a secret skill.
People ask, "Rob what’s your job?"
But they figure I am joking,
When I tell them I help rats
To stop drinking and stop smoking.
Some rats are such nail-biters,
Still others tend to overeat.
I wave my magic wand 3 times,
And PRESTO my work is complete.
I no longer miss my old job,
Pulling RABBITS out of HATS.
I’m The Famous Rob Kabob,
I pull HABITS out of RATS!
www.AuthorsDen.com/Todd
www.JacketFlap.com/BookChild
www.MySpace.com/TMSP
www.LouisianaBoy.com
From "A Woolly Mammoth on Amelia Street: Read Aloud Poems4Kids" By Todd St. Pierre.
Click Image to Enlarge (for better reading)
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I pointed a Greek friend in the direction of these Lucy and he has asked me to tell you he thought they were hilarious.
Thanks, Cat. Snortling and laughter seems to have been a general reaction. I'm very happy about that, as I set out to entertain!
WOW - WELL DONE. I've book marked this and when I get a chance will go and read some of your tweets.
Lucy's Greek tweets are brilliant and I am in awe! Loved them.