A tweet on writing

Today was fascinated by what I think is a cool accident as noticed one of those Twitter trending things on writing, and after a while of pondering came up with something of my own to add. Turns out it came out to exactly 140 characters too! And here's my tweet:

#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter Don't. Just write. Figure it out. Try harder. What's a block? Finish now. Be creative. Think. Cry. What's wrong?

— James Harris (@jstevh) July 28, 2015

(Yes, you can click on the hashtag in the tweet.)

And the challenge I thought was to put ten things into a single tweet! But when I was typing it up, got to the end, wondering if last would fit, and it fit, yup, perfectly!

So here are the ten things NOT to say to a writer written out:

1. Don't.
2. Just write.
3. Figure it out.
4. Try harder.
5. What's a block?
6. Finish now.
7. Be creative.
8. Think.
9. Cry.
10. What's wrong?

Sound legit? Or was I reaching too much to find things that would fit?

But here's the thing: why would anyone come up with such a trending topic, and why do most people NOT pay attention to that ten things part? And why ten things? Why not just say things?

That's how most people seemed to be tweeting it.

Wonder, how many people decided to show ten things like I did, and does it really matter or do I have too much time on my hands?

Things to ponder.


James Harris