Playing writer Snakes and Ladders with Twitter - by Lu Hersey

 Before we start, this game has nothing to do with recent controversial Twitter threads on trans rights or racism triggered by well-known writers who are neither trans nor people of colour themselves. Those will just make you angry and ranty, which isn't a good start to the day. This is about using twitter to find some writing inspiration. And yes, it's trivial - but then so is much of Twitter's content, so it shouldn't be a problem.

So let's start. You've just thrown your imaginary dice, moved four squares and landed on a ladder - which has taken you up a row to your first inspirational image.  Write a few lines about how and why this photo is interesting. Out of context, what's the story? 

(It's actually an image of UK artist Sue Austin called 'Creating the Spectacle' in an underwater performance on her specially adapted wheelchair. But your first impression of the image could lead to a totally different story)

Your next throw takes you 6 places forward and you land on another ladder. Congratulations! Zoom up to this image.

This is a bit more complex. Why are the people queuing? What are they waiting for? Pick one person in this queue and tell their story, or maybe try writing some dialogue between a group of them. 

If the picture merely set you off thinking about lunch, move 1 place forward to get off the square. If you managed to come up with something more interesting, move 6 places. (For context, this image is actually the queue for the opening of the first McDonalds in Moscow in 1990. So truth can be stranger than fiction.)

So you thought about food and only moved 1 square? You've just landed on a snake! OH NO! You're looking at what's trending on twitter. 

You spiral down this snake of useless information which leads to finding out far more than you need to know about Britney Spears and the entire #freebritney saga. Which admittedly is fascinating. But unless you're writing an article about Britney, how is this going to inspire you? It isn't. You have just fallen into a glitch in the spacetime continuum and fallen back to square 1.

You threw a 6? Good for you! You've reached your next ladder. 

This time you've landed on a gift for writers of creepy fiction. Or if you have a more rosy view of the world, a display of lovely 20th century wedding dresses. (image stolen from Helen Barrett's twitter feed)

If you were inspired to write something creepy, move 5 places forward. If rosy romance, move 3. 

Five places on, what's this? Life in the dustbowl in California? Is your new version of Grapes of Wrath already forming in your mind? Good for you. You're reaching the top of the board.

(In fact it's the first known photo of Elvis taken in 1938)

You're a rosy romancer? 3 places on and you land on this mystery from the 1940s: who was she? Did her sweetheart cut out her face to go in their locket? Were they off to war? Or perhaps this is a memento of someone's beloved mother...either way, this starter for a new romance story leads you nearly to the top to join the cynics who went for creepy nightmare.

By now you'll have got the idea. All the images in this post were stolen from today's twitter feed. Depending on what you throw next, keep a look out for snakes. Almost anything trending will be a snake so try to avoid them. Instead, keep an eye out for interesting attachments to other people's tweets (which can't include gifs, as they are very irritating and will send you straight back to START. What do you mean that's not fair? I invented the game. Deal with it.)

Happy writing. You never know, just a few lines on your chosen twitter image of the day could be the start of a bestseller. If not, think of it as a short warm up exercise. Even the dreaded snakes could increase your knowledge of Britney's conservatorship or Harry Styles' new glasses, so you can't really lose.

You're welcome....

Lu Hersey