Haven't blogged for a month. Just joined Twitter. Am I mad???

So, I have a new baby and a groaning to-do list. I'm already strapped for time to get done the things that need doing on a daily basis. Good time to sign up to Twitter, right?

Image by Michal Marcol

Crazy or not, I've done it, and you'll see a new little follow button on my sidebar. Anyone who is really good with Twitter, feel free to head over and show me the ropes, 'cos it's a whole new medium for me. And if you're not so good with Twitter, come and say hi and commiserate.

Yeah okay, the basics aren't too hard. Type stuff and press the 'Tweet' button. But I don't get this hashtag thing. Are we meant to use existing ones (apart from those currently 'trending' is there a list somewhere??) or do we just make them up? And is making up funny hashtags to end your tweet with considered a joke in itself? A satirical take on the art of indexing?

I'm sure it will all make more sense in a week or two, but at the moment I'm #lostinthewoods, #confused, and feeling like a #luddite. Sigh.

The pen thief

We've all heard about how the pen is mightier than the sword. I'm sure those words were very comforting to many a tonsured scribe in centuries gone past when faced with a huge, sweaty, chain mail wearing knight.

What I'm not so sure about is how one can ever redeem oneself if one has stolen a pen - the writer's tool of choice - from someone who makes their living from writing.