I'm experimenting with quick pieces of fiction in my Twitter account. I am basically just combining pictures with text in order to explore Twitter as a narrative medium. I thought about calling my creations science *piction* (Picture + Fiction) but regretted it as soon as I thought it. Here's my first attempt.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is my first science-piction story. It hurts my brain to say piction, but there you have it. Enjoy!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sciencefiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flashfiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scifi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scifi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/memefiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#memefiction</a> <a href="https://t.co/dKeHRN7uoO">pic.twitter.com/dKeHRN7uoO</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1536499753026039809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So as you can see, I'm not taking it too seriously. They're just quick snapshots of whatever is on my mind at the moment:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Did I hear somebody say science piction? No? Well, here&#39;s another installment for your thrilling pleasure<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scifi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scifi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flashfiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://t.co/4OEsRNTw2q">pic.twitter.com/4OEsRNTw2q</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1537140214820270081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I liked this one because of the idea that different panel colors can stand for different speakers. In another story, I tried to blend the color of the dialogue panel with the colors in the image.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They came from different paths and arrived at different times, unaware that only the ghosts of their presence touched hands. <a href="https://t.co/mgApJ7sCnr">pic.twitter.com/mgApJ7sCnr</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1537582999910293504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Blue and green just fit nice together. The lyrics are from a Spanish song by Julio Iglesias in which he laments having arrived late to his meeting in life with a girl. The interesting bit about this one is that the actual narrative prose lives outside of the picture in the Twitter text box, so the image and the tweet must always be together until deleted from the Internet.

In the following illustration, I balanced the panel colors to fit different speakers and the overall color composition. I enjoy the pastel look of it. Reminds me of a Hallmark card for some reason.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First they&#39;ll come for our silicon, and then...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sciencefiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/microfiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scifi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scifi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/robots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#robots</a> <a href="https://t.co/jbvsftljOv">pic.twitter.com/jbvsftljOv</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1537888205533433860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One of the tricky parts is to find sufficient space to add the words without cutting off too many details. I agonized over the following illustration because the word 'afternoon' kept cutting off the top of the mountain. I edited over and over until I had just the right number of words.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There was no alert. Just a thundering crack, a moan like the universe itself was screaming.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scifi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scifi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flashfiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/futurism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#futurism</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquakes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#earthquakes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cascadia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cascadia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pacificnorthwest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pacificnorthwest</a> <a href="https://t.co/rKfHtuxIq3">pic.twitter.com/rKfHtuxIq3</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1538189394376421377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm having a lot of fun with these narrative snippets because they are quick and easy to make. They're also useful to improve my technical skills and design abilities. Who knows maybe someday I will be known as a world famous science Piction author. if nothing else, my endeavor will be just another failed attempt at making a ridiculous concept go viral. Oh well, YOLO!
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This piece practically wrote itself. Easy prediction to make.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sciencefiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/flashfiction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/story?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#story</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/robots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#robots</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sexdolls?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sexdolls</a> <a href="https://t.co/shKLNo01Oq">pic.twitter.com/shKLNo01Oq</a></p>&mdash; litguru (@litguru23) <a href="https://twitter.com/litguru23/status/1540466466994020352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>