Considering the sheer size of some of the tomes Stephen King has written over the years, one might assume a social media platform limited to only 280 characters (originally 140) wouldn't hold much allure—but they'd be wrong (DEAD wrong in Stephen King's case—HA!).
But joking aside, a quick perusal of King's tweets (especially the political jabs and tongue lashings) reveals he's not only the "Master of Horror" but also a master of brevity and succinctness.
And though King himself has at times been dismissive of the popular microblogging platform—last month at the 2018 PEN Literary Awards he referred to it as "the intellectual dead zone known as Twitter where clear thinking and kindness is too often replaced by schoolyard taunts. And not to mention, bad spelling and bad grammar,"—he now seems to have embraced it.
Recently, in one deft tweet, King summed up Twitter itself and why he likes it:
I like Twitter. It's like gossiping over the world's longest backyard fence.— Stephen King (@Stephen King) 1529894527.0
Twitterers were quick to elaborate on King's idea:
@StephenKing @kerrymcnasty https://t.co/D2XoY30Dwl— Mueller, She Wrote Podcast (@Mueller, She Wrote Podcast) 1529894639.0
@StephenKing Except half of the people are scarier than Pennywise!!!— Greg C. (@Greg C.) 1529894841.0
@StephenKing With lots of cool pictures. https://t.co/c9uCMi3lIU— MandarIN C😎gnit0 💞🦄🌊🌊❄ (@MandarIN C😎gnit0 💞🦄🌊🌊❄) 1529894764.0
@StephenKing With people you'd likely never meet in real life!— Karen Humphrey (@Karen Humphrey) 1529894560.0
@scatteredmom @JDGumby Thank you.— Stephen King (@Stephen King) 1529944031.0
Some commenters added their own metaphorical interpretation of Twitter:
@StephenKing @RandilynIsIn The world's water cooler if you will?— 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗𝚎-der (@𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗𝚎-der) 1529896489.0
@StephenKing I’ve always equated it more to a digital restroom wall.— Harrison Smith (@Harrison Smith) 1529902433.0
@StephenKing Tin can telephone.— Jayne0803 (@Jayne0803) 1529896128.0
@StephenKing Years ago when I first got an account it was described as the world’s largest cocktail 🍸 party, and th… https://t.co/EhSfFhUXEu— Classic Movies (@Classic Movies) 1529895863.0
And there were also a few willing to pucker up to kiss the King ring:
@Sharron75413287 @inezsneks @StephenKing @scatteredmom @JDGumby I've read everyone of his book 2x each while dangling from a trapeze wire— Chuck (@Chuck) 1529954427.0
@StephenKing You’re the coolest neighbor ever✌🏼 And I love your library of books you share with us all, too 😉 📚— Janer Dee🦄 (@Janer Dee🦄) 1529896019.0
These commenters didn't hesitate to put King's notion into practice:
@StephenKing Heard anything good? I hear Dana and Toby are making out on weekends but they're not telling anyone be… https://t.co/OSX8zcRrcC— jon rosenberg🤓✒ (@jon rosenberg🤓✒) 1529894588.0
@StephenKing Can I borrow a cup of sugar...Oh and did you hear the GOP think WE don't have any manners...can you be… https://t.co/TbUK1hTHEI— Alison Greene (@Alison Greene) 1529898751.0
@StephenKing Have you heard what Delores has been up to? Shocking. Simply shocking.— Douglas Thew (@Douglas Thew) 1529895814.0
But mostly people just appreciated King's take on it:
@StephenKing That is far and away the most charming description of Twitter I’ve ever heard.— Rita Shuker (@Rita Shuker) 1529894801.0
@StephenKing That's actually, the funniest, and coolest description of this platform I've seen to date. Thanks for the chuckle.— Joseph Starke (@Joseph Starke) 1529895505.0
@StephenKing I have to agree with you. Twitter is pretty cool. I'm in California. You're in Maine (I'm guessing). B… https://t.co/uJVDcr0kre— Laurence Paul (@Laurence Paul) 1529895641.0
@StephenKing Nailed it.— meganbleebla 🌴 (@meganbleebla 🌴) 1529895015.0