The Fart Of Fiction, No. 12

Get the fuck off Twitter and write. Patton Oswalt tweets: "Whew! Twitter account fixed. I got hacked earlier today but it’s all fixed now ***I HAVE A FAT BUTT ANB I POO OUT MY BUTT AND BUTT BUTT***" This is high art, but it's material that should belong to a random publisher. No doubt, Patton is onto some happy poetry here. But don't put all your eggs in Twitter's basket.

If you're not writing, you're querying agents and publishers and not always waiting for the next Twitter pitch to find interest in your material. It's called the Twitter Trap. The bird grabs hold of the mind and strangles the soul. Writers need a platform but make time for writing.

When writing on Twitter or off-line, don't overuse conjunctions, unless for effect. Then, watch out for other repetitious words. However, there's an art to repetition when done right.

Another mistake writers make, and this is one I've done on Twitter, is word association when it's got nothing to do with two separate ideas. While I have visited beautiful resorts in the past and The Last Resort by the Eagles does have to do with how man inevitably destroys the places he finds beautiful, it has nothing to do with the manuscript I'm working on.

No matter where you are in the world, just write; avoid a Twitter Trap.