Six tips on how Twitter helps strengthen writing skills
Beyond the fact that Twitter has become a popular source for news, using it can help improve your writing skills.
A recent article from Poynter discusses six lessons that writers can learn from participating on Twitter.
Six ways how Twitter helps train writers
-Twitter teaches succinct writing: On Twitter, there is a word count that is necessary to abide by. Actually, it’s a character count, as 140 characters is the rule for Twitter.
This 140-character limit puts restrictions on writers who tend to be wordy. Writers have to think critically about each word they use in tweets. After doing this enough, the same process would become part of a writer’s everyday work. Therefore, writers would take more care with every word they put on a page.
-Twitter develops confidence: All of your followers have direct exposure to your tweets. Chances are if they have taken the time to follow you, they have a genuine interest in the content you have to share. This direct relationship can help build a writer’s confidence as they are often communicating with audiences.
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-Twitter shows what an audience wants: Mallary Jean Tenore, the author of the Poynter article that discusses these six ways Twitter helps train writers, said “as a media reporter, I use Twitter to see what other journalists are covering, and what they’re saying about the news of the day.”
The questions asked on Twitter show what audiences want to know about.
-Twitter captures reactions: What topics are the most important to your audience? Twitter can help you realize what’s important, especially when it pertains to breaking news.
The manner in which audience members tweet can also show you their reaction to information.
-Twitter helps create a community: Twitter is a great place to learn, share and receive feedback from the writing community.
-Twitter brings personality out: Since Twitter has a conversational tone, it’s easier for writers to bring out a personality and add some humor into their tweets.
Has Twitter helped you hone your writing skills? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comment section below.
