I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a huge rise in author tags on Twitter in the last couple of months! Nearly every day I, or a friend, get tagged in a new post for #FollowFriday or #writerlift — these are hashtags the #writercommunity has been using to connect writers as well as readers (because how many of us writers don’t like to read, too?) I have really enjoyed making friends in the writing community and and getting these invaluable connections in my network. If you wonder why writers should want to connect with other writers instead of “just readers”, that’s the answer: your fellow writers can be your most influential recommendations. They understand the craft, they possibly write the same genre, and they are usually more than willing to help another author build excitement for your book (if you’re polite and do the same for them).
Normally, Follow Friday just gives a shout-out to your writer friends who you list in your Tweet.
But that’s a bit boring, eh?
So we’ve been making it more creative. Using prompts like your favorite book, movie, or author, you type out your answer like this:
J
K
R
O
W
L
L
I
N
G
Then tag a writer buddy whose name or Twitter handle starts with each letter.
Fun, right?!
So today I wanted to give you some ideas for starting your own writer lift tags. Bear in mind that it’s up to you — you can spell out your answers and tag people as I showed above. Or you can simply give your answers then tell participants to tag some friends (typically 3 or 5) This method works well with longer answers.
Favorite book or author
Book that most inspired you to write
Favorite movie
Favorite genre
Name of your MC (main character)
Your WIP (work in progress) title
Where your WIP is set
3 things about me
Favorite seasonal thing
A recent read
First 5 authors I followed on Twitter (or any platform)
Post a gif of your favorite magical creature
Post a gif of your job, writing or otherwise
Or you can go with something more creative, like scenarios where you tag the first person to come up in your list of friends when you click on “tag”. These are fun, but take care if doing it on Twitter that they are not too long, so more people will be able to re-post.
Example:
Locked in a library!
Looking up books on escape: _______
Making a book fort: _____
In a corner reading: _____
Planned the whole thing: _____
Just wants to know what we’ll eat: _____
Pretending to be head librarian: _____
Taking selfies with statues:_____
Are there any writer tags you’ve come across recently that you really enjoyed? Share them here!
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