Could Instagram Make You a Better Writer?

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?

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Writing for the World to Change: Five Ways to Use Your Words to Make a Difference

One of the things I admire most about the young people I teach is their willingness to use those voices while they’re still finding their voices. We grownups are often afraid to speak our minds because we fear that we might one day change our mind or simply because we fear what others may think. But we should be much more afraid of what will happen if we stay silent.

Here are five ways you can use your words to make a difference.

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Is it anti-feminist to blog about weight loss?

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Is it anti-feminist to blog about weight loss?

I currently weigh more than I ever have in my entire life. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind the number I see when I step on the scale if I were happy with the body I see when I stand in the mirror. (Even when I looked my best and had six-pack abs, I weighed much more than anyone, including my doctors, thought I did.) But I am woefully disappointed with both.

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The #BlogLikeCrazy Playlist

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Birmingham-based writer Marie Sutton once shared at a See Jane Write workshop that she was able to complete her first book thanks to late-night writing sessions. Marie is a wife and a mom and has a demanding day job, so writing as night was her only option. Marie says she would “get in the zone” around 9 p.m. each night. She’d sit at her dining room table and write while snacking on Skittles and sipping on Red Bull. She even had a comfortable outfit she’d wear that she called her writing uniform. And she’d also listen to music — Kanye West to be exact (old-school Kanye, of course, not the new, ridiculous “Make America Great Again” Kanye).

Thinking back on Marie’s story I decided I needed some music to help me power through my month of publishing a new blog post every day. I decided I needed a #BlogLikeCrazy playlist!

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