What? Abandoning the social networks? Me? For those of you who know me--yes, I hear your scepticism. For those of you who don't--trust me, for me to talk about abandoning Twitter and Facebook is like a chocoholic abandoning all cocoa products. So why would I do it?
Well, in the Twitter world, there is a thing known as
#goingdark. This signals that one will not be around for a while--and usually, if a writer uses it, it means that they are going into self-imposed purdah to work on a project, to edit, to think. In short, to do what writers do best--create.
This, of course, is what I'm talking about--not so much abandoning the networks, as being absent from them for a while (come on, did you
really think I would jump ship?). I had a good reason for being absent for a whole month* recently--a YA novel to finish. When I'm in that race to The End, I need a head uncluttered with any distractions. My brain somehow shifts to some strange space off to the left of my eyebrow, and I walk through the world in a daze, entranced by my characters--wanting to talk only to them. It's an intense sort of conversation, and while I love chatting to my Twitter and Facebook friends (some of whom are Real World friends, and some who I know only in the Virtual World), this stage of writing, for me, is a particularly private time, and so I shut myself away with my characters and go dark for as long as it takes.
Now that I've 'finished' and am at the rewriting and fiddling stage of my novel, I'm dipping a toe in the social networking waters again. Have people missed me? Doubtful. Have I missed much? If it's important enough, someone will tell me. One thing I'm glad I didn't miss this week is the publication of
Nicola Morgan's wonderful, witty and eminently useful and sensible guide to using Twitter. It's called
Tweet Right and if any of you were thinking of venturing into that particular corner of the social networking playground, I'd strongly advise reading it before doing so. Now that I AM back, I've signed up to be one of Nicola's Twitter Angels. So if any of you want to come and see what it's all about, I'll be happy to help and advise. You can find me at
@lucycoats. Unless I've gone dark again. In which case, you won't.
* a whole month is a LONG time for one who Tweets and Facebooks much more than she probably should each day.
Lucy's latest series Greek Beasts and Heroes is out now from Orion Children's Books
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