Want to write but stuck for ideas?
Use Twitter. Seriously.
If you use a program like TweetDeck (nayy) you can easily track trends like #writingprompts or #writingtips or #amwriting. Inkygirl calls them “slow chats” which is a nice term as, if you have TweetDeck (or TweetGrid or TweetChat or HootSuite) compiling all of these hashtagged tweets, you’ll wind up being part of a long, crawling conversation.
You can also check out Inkygirl’s awesome writer’s guide to Twitter and her explanation of how #FollowFriday and #WriterWednesday have been abused by interlopers.
And in case you thought it was all just useless 140 character blurbs, take a look at the greatness that Jane Friedman’s compiled (this one from Sept 2010).
So, the upshot is, if you’re stuck for ideas, turn the Twitter feed on and read the occasional tweet. If you get stuck, ask the Twittersphere. I recently answered an #amwriting Tweet from a writer in Africa who wanted to know what Americans called their mothers. So ask. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how readily people are there to help you. Just one of the ways the Internet can bring us all closer together.
Awwwww! Group hug!