Tales on Tweet
Twitter is perhaps the most dynamic social media platform available on the web. The Twitterverse is daily flooded with estimates of over 340 million bite-sized messages from its users, which total to about 500 million. Most users send updates about their lives, their jobs, or the things that interest them—all within an allotted 140 characters.
However, a recent trend shows that writers, translators, poets, and authors are getting creative with their Tweets—literally. Micro poetry, flash fiction, and mini-stories often appear in the Twitterverse from the feeds of well-known writers, including Margaret Atwood (@MargaretAtwood), Sherman Alexie (@Sherman_Alexie), and Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie). One user, @TalesonTweet, is collecting such tiny creative pieces from authors around the globe in an effort to promote creativity and literature across Twitter.
Manoj Pandey is the face behind the handle, and the 27-year old began the project with the hope that users across Twitter would eventually be able to browse through hundreds of micro stories. It was his goal to collect enough 140-character stories to compile into a free e-book at the end of each year. His dreams are quickly becoming realized, as many celebrated authors on Twitter have contributed their own pieces to the project.
Dr. Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) was the first to contribute:
Others quickly followed, and the result has been an explosively popular creative writing outlet where anyone’s story can “go viral.”
In these instances, size doesn’t matter. These stories really pack an emotionally-charged punch, despite their tiny statures.
Participation in the Tales on Tweet project is simple—if you have a Twitter account, simply type up a Tweet (watch your character count) and use the tag #talesontweet. You never know—your story might be the next big hit!
Editorial note: If you enjoyed the micro stories featured in this post, look no further than WLT’s September 2012 issue, which features very short fiction from authors around the world.
