By K. A. Laity
I was fortunate enough to be among the presenters at the Great Writing Conference at Bangor University last month. I spoke about using Twitter in the classroom while outside the annex blackbirds sang and gulls shrieked, which seemed entirely appropriate.
Inside there were a number of furrowed brows but also a handful of nodding heads as I talked about the limited results of assigning 140 character stories and groped my way toward proposing assignments that might actually have something more than a novelty interest (although I did project my students' Twitter narratives behind me as I spoke).
While Twitter has proved useful for all kinds of practical purposes, the creative aspects have been underdeveloped so far. I mentioned in my talk the Twitter novel – account since abandoned – that wasn't really much good and seemed to die a lingering and apathetic death. Why? It was essential old media shoe-horned into a new form.
While a serial novel can work on-line (says the woman who's been writing a comic gothic novel for a couple of years now), it's something that works better with a blog, where you can have the narrative linked easily to an apparatus that includes previous episodes and character lists.
What works on Twitter is what we've seen work for breaking news: short bursts that accumulate but don't necessarily follow in a specific order. You can jump in at any time and there's enough repetition to keep you abreast of what's happening. When it comes to using Twitter as an artistic medium, I think it makes sense to go for the same sort of experience: in essence, performance art.
Now, I'm really not talking about Yoko's "Cut Piece" (much as I love it): in fact, the example I used with my creative writing colleagues was TwitPanto. Yes, exactly what you think: Cinderella performed in real time via Twitter. It was great! And it offers a model for what can work in creative use of Twitter:
Interactive
Not only should the project invite audience participation, but it will work best with a cast of participants weaving disparate threads together
Of specific duration
A start time and end time is essential! Tweeps can go back and follow the hashtag history afterward, but building anticipation (and an audience) require advance notice.
A loose narrative
This will allow people to drop in after it's already begun without feeling at sea. Repetition and connection, links to other participants will make the bandwagon easier to jump onto, but a narrative aim will give coherence to what could otherwise be just a messy chat.
Ephemeral
I think this was the hardest sell to my writing friends. We're used to having a tangible publication at the end of a writing experience. A performance like this however will be remembered for the experience it provides. Sure, people can go back and read the thread from the beginning, but the excitement will come from the live participation—and the anticipation of the next one.
I'm not sure that Twitter performances will become the next big thing, but it's a lot of fun to stretch those 140 characters as far as they can go.
Image via Urbanatic