Wednesday, July 8, 2009

What am I doing right now?

Frankly, I'm not sure too many people are interested at any given moment, so I haven't really gotten into Twitter. But the aspect that appeals to me is the 140-character limit for a "tweet."

Virtually all of the writing I've done for nearly 40 years has required me to be succinct. For example, I found it challenging when I had to -- say -- write a one-column headline for a story about the leaders of two organizations who signed an agreement: Heads Ink Pact

The more I've specialized in writing for the ear, the more I've had to develop my ability to be succinct. So it intrigues me to imagine what a tweet would have been like …

… at creation

Just woke up. Look at that: sky, sea, land! Are my ribs sore! And am I hungry! Hey, babe, don’t I know you? How about that, a talking snake!

… when Columbus discovered America

Boats just ran aground. Thought we hit the West Indies, only no spices. And this is no island! But I’m bringing back some smokes, duty free!

… during World War II

I hear bombs falling. I see buildings on fire. But there are the Londoners, putting out the fires, stacking up the bricks, defeating Hitler.

6 comments:

The Bald Eagle said...

For a guy who likes birds and birdwatching so much, I thought you'd have more appreciation for tweeting! Nice, creative post.

John Ettorre said...

Nice.

Bridget O'Malley said...

It would be even more interesting if you had to tweet in haiku.

Mike Q said...

So much to say now
So easy to reach the world
But who will listen?

Donna said...

Hee, hee. I saw you over at John's place today and appreciated your rather common sense view on all the monasticism that was going down over there.

A well-educated guy with a sense of humor (and a speechwriter to boot). Good to know you.

Mike Q said...

Well, some might dispute the "educated" part. But I'm glad you appreciated it. Thanks for commenting, Donna.