I remember posting a graphic on Instagram once that simply said, “Stop scrolling. Start writing.”
As with every admonishment I post on my blog or on social media, it was meant more for myself than my IG followers. So often, I open Instagram, telling myself I’m just going to scroll for five minutes and then get captivated by compelling captions and interesting images or get lost in a loop of IG stories and find myself still in the app 30 minutes later!
But what if we went to Instagram not just as an escape, but also for inspiration? What if we started using images, quotes, captions, and even videos as writing prompts?
Lately, I’ve been saving and taking screenshots of anything on Instagram that moves my muse. I’ve also been using Instagram to discover new blogs to read, blogs that inevitably inspire my own writing.
Funny enough, I decided to start doing this because of an image I saw outside of Instagram. Back in August, a former student of mine, who is now a close friend, sent me this:
She didn’t have to explain why she sent it.
As a daughter with a difficult name and as a teacher who teaches her students to love their own difficult names, the photograph, taken somewhere in Brooklyn, caused prose to just pour onto the page. And this photograph inspired my latest column for B-Metro magazine. You can read it here.
In the comments tell me what Instagram accounts you follow for inspiration.
And be sure to follow me on Instagram @seejavaciawrite.