T is for Trimmings
You know when you're editing a novel or short story and you have to take out that paragraph that you just love but it doesn't fit? You know when you have a brilliant sentence go through your head and you jot it down in your notebook (that you always have with you at all times forever, right?) but you're just not sure how you're ever going to use it?
What do we do with these beautiful trimmings? They're like Christmas tree ornaments, but just because they don't fit on this particular Christmas tree doesn't mean they aren't still beautiful and worth something in and of themselves, right? So what to do?
This is one area where I believe social media can truly be a writers best friend. I talk about social media quite a bit on this blog, partially just because I find it so fascinating, but I want to acknowledge first and foremost that the writing itself is always the top priority. Social media can be fun, but it should not take time away from the actual writing.
There's sort of a way, though, to use social media as a creative writing tool. Like I said, I find social media highly entertaining and fascinating, and not just Facebook and Twitter, but YouTube and Tumblr and Pinterest and Linkedin and Instagram too. So what about this: what if we thought of social media as a form of self-publishing?
And here enter our poor, beautiful, neglected trimmings. Those poems we've scribbled, thoughts we've jotted, paragraphs we've clipped. By using social media as a publishing platform for these trimmings, we put our words out there, get more readers familiar with us, and don't even have to put in that much additional effort.
Tell a story using images on a Pinterest board, like Tiffany Beveridge did on My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. It's even being published as a book.
On Tumblr you can write out your thoughts for your children or interview people in your city or write stories about your cat.
If you're so inclined, you can even make a short video version of one of your poems and put it on YouTube. (Here's one I did:)
I've brought up something similar a few times recently, and again, I don't mean to say that this is where we should focus our time. I just know that for me personally, using social media as a creative outlet in this way has felt almost as rewarding as publishing a short story or poem, and I get more immediate feedback this way too. This is a way to make connections and build a following and find cool people to follow. I have my big projects, my novels, that are my central focus. But these side social media projects can still be amazing quality and amazing fun, if you find a way to fit them in that works for you. I hope to do more in the future.
What do you think? Are these side creative projects on social media worthwhile or is it all a waste of time? Have you seen examples of creative social media usage that you can share in comments? What do you think is a good way to use our 'trimmings'?
Sarah Allen
What do we do with these beautiful trimmings? They're like Christmas tree ornaments, but just because they don't fit on this particular Christmas tree doesn't mean they aren't still beautiful and worth something in and of themselves, right? So what to do?
This is one area where I believe social media can truly be a writers best friend. I talk about social media quite a bit on this blog, partially just because I find it so fascinating, but I want to acknowledge first and foremost that the writing itself is always the top priority. Social media can be fun, but it should not take time away from the actual writing.
There's sort of a way, though, to use social media as a creative writing tool. Like I said, I find social media highly entertaining and fascinating, and not just Facebook and Twitter, but YouTube and Tumblr and Pinterest and Linkedin and Instagram too. So what about this: what if we thought of social media as a form of self-publishing?
And here enter our poor, beautiful, neglected trimmings. Those poems we've scribbled, thoughts we've jotted, paragraphs we've clipped. By using social media as a publishing platform for these trimmings, we put our words out there, get more readers familiar with us, and don't even have to put in that much additional effort.
Tell a story using images on a Pinterest board, like Tiffany Beveridge did on My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. It's even being published as a book.
On Tumblr you can write out your thoughts for your children or interview people in your city or write stories about your cat.
If you're so inclined, you can even make a short video version of one of your poems and put it on YouTube. (Here's one I did:)
I've brought up something similar a few times recently, and again, I don't mean to say that this is where we should focus our time. I just know that for me personally, using social media as a creative outlet in this way has felt almost as rewarding as publishing a short story or poem, and I get more immediate feedback this way too. This is a way to make connections and build a following and find cool people to follow. I have my big projects, my novels, that are my central focus. But these side social media projects can still be amazing quality and amazing fun, if you find a way to fit them in that works for you. I hope to do more in the future.
What do you think? Are these side creative projects on social media worthwhile or is it all a waste of time? Have you seen examples of creative social media usage that you can share in comments? What do you think is a good way to use our 'trimmings'?
Sarah Allen
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