The Story Behind the Story

If you’ve visited this blog before you may have read one of my most popular posts True Friendships on Twitter? Over the months since Aug, when I wrote it, there have been several comments that, indeed, true friendships are possible and many, many tweets stating the same thing. These folks had found new and true friends on Twitter.

Recently, I revisited this post, read the comments and was happily digesting how wonderful it was that so many people felt this way when a bolt of lightning hit me. Okay, it wasn't exactly lightning, but it may as well have been.

I realized that people had true affection for each other in this medium – Twitter – and would come to each other’s aid if given a chance. As clearly as if someone was speaking inside my head (and you regular readers already know that Red does that often) I heard this - “the great Twitter adventure.” Hand to God, it’s the truth.

Within minutes a plot began to form and I thought I was on my way to a short story, but that quickly grew and grew until I realized I had a novella on my hands. For about three weeks, I was stuck for an ending, then one day I took myself out to lunch at my favorite place, which has incubated more than one idea in the past. As I was eating my beef stroganoff, I was again hit by lightning (apparently I can’t find another phrase for epiphany – oh, wait…). Anyway, I had an ending.

That was last Wednesday, the idea began to gel and harden until I knew I could write the whole thing over the 3-day New Year's holiday weekend. I set that as my goal. I was determined to complete the story and I did it!

But here’s the really cool part of this whole thing. As I wrote about four tweeps who rescue their fellow tweep, I began to realize that this was the beginning of a series about the Fearless Five, who could now have all kinds of adventures together.

So, this weekend I will publish “The Great Twitter Adventure – How 5 Tweeps Saved the World.” As one of my readers said, “It’s a rollicking good time.” As I wrote I kept thinking about the tongue-in-cheek quality of the film Romancing the Stone and how a reclusive writer steps outside herself to save her sister. That’s what these five do, too. They are just ordinary people who make an extra-ordinary connection via Twitter and it leads them into the adventure of their lives.

It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?