Not content with just writing my blog, novel and essays I’ve now decided to document my writing journey in a series of vlogs on IGTV. Read all about it in today’s blog post:
How Instagram made me a better writer
Why I love creating micro-films for Instagram TV - plus my top tips
Some months ago I wrote a blog post about why I loved creating mini-films for Instagram Stories.
This joy continued over the coming weeks and months and I've created a lot of mini-films set to music for Instagram. Each time I created one, however, I would have to chop it up into individual 15 second clips so they didn't get cut off in the Stories format.
Then Instagram TV launched last week. Or, IGTV. And I love it.
This is a post about why I love it and some of my top tips.
It's not you, Instagram, it's me.
How to make your Instagram Stories stand out
Instagram Stories is one of my favourite ways to get creative. It offers so many possibilities and, now we have the ability to save our Stories to our profile, it means putting all that hard work into them makes more sense.
Instagram Stories is a more relaxed way of communicating with an audience. But I know many creatives struggle to know what to share on there or end up sharing too much; with audiences getting bored and swiping to get to the next person.
Here I share a number of ways in which you, as well as your followers, can get more out of Instagram Stories.
Why it's important you share the light and dark within your online storytelling
Why do I think I'm failing because other people are growing online faster?
The anxiety started not long after I sent Sunday morning's instagram post live. The post was one I was particularly proud of. I liked how the words went with the picture. And I liked how I had taken something as mundane as the topic of mud and made something creative out of it.
And even though the likes came rolling in, even when I received some lovely comments about how the caption went with the picture, the anxiety continued to grow.
It was getting livelier and livelier. A pit of snakes. A troop of lively monkeys who had just drunk an energy drink.
I felt restless. Despite it being a Sunday afternoon, traditionally the time I cosied up on the settee with a film (or, in yesterday's case the England rugby match). I brought my notebooks into the lounge and started to write and create. Not out of a sense of calm but because I felt I had to do something. A sense of duty towards my work.
According to my husband I became a bit snarly (I couldn't possibly comment). And I went to bed with thoughts weighing on my mind.
Until, just as I was about to go to sleep, I had a bit of a revelation.
I know I'm not the only one who is affected by the ups and downs of Instagram. Jules has talked about how the number of likes her picture gets can affect her mood. But in this particular instance it wasn't the number of likes as such, it was comparing these likes with what other people were getting.
So my anxiety was centred around my (slow to medium) Instagram growth and what I should be doing to 'up my game' to achieve faster growth.
There are lots of lovely advice posts out there on what I could be doing. But I was struggling to adapt the advice to my own feed. (Let me stress at this point that it's not them - it's me!)
And that's when it occurred to me just as I was falling asleep. I don't have to do what other people are doing to grow their instagram (I mean, duh! of course I don't!). I have my own vision, my own goals. Why am I being distracted by other people's incredible numbers?
And why am I thinking I'm failing because other people are growing faster?
I mean - how mad is that? I'm failing because other people are getting bigger numbers? Seriously, I need to get a grip.
As I've said before - but obviously need constant reminding - I am carving my own path as an online storyteller.
The story is often what comes to me first before I create an Instagram picture.
A sentence like my post going live today (pictured below). I was stomping around my field and the words 'signs of life amongst nature's decay' came to me. So I created a post showing decay and life in that post.
I'm inspired and influenced by the seasons and how my creativity (or lack of) is going. And I like to tell that story in both the caption and the picture. So I just post what feels right for me not my feed.
I'm not saying my way is the right way or the only way. I'm just saying we're all different.
And if you're finding the online advice doesn't suit you then, even though it's a bit harder, you have to find your own way. Experiment. Push yourself. But try and remember why you're on instagram in the first place.
And don't compare yourself, however much your mind wants to, with others.
Do you ever feel like this? Does your creative online journey feel different to others?
Picture Perfect: the evolution of my Instagram Feed
If you follow me on Instagram, and if you've been following me for some time, you might have noticed a bit of a change in my feed. My photographs have become slightly darker and there is an obvious brown colour scheme running through it.
This isn't as a consequence of me trying harder. In fact, it's me trying less.
It's also as a consequence of experimenting and trying different things over the course of two years. If you'd told me a year ago I would've loved an Instagram feed of mainly brown I would have laughed in your face.
Recommended Instagram Story Makers
Right now I am obsessed with creating mini-films for Instagram Stories. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, or if you've read this post and this one, you'll already know this.
I am often found with my iPhone in my hand ready to record little moments lasting a mere few seconds in order to weave them into a story on my computer later that day.
But, I also like to watch Instagram Stories, too. One of my favurites is Fiona Annal who also has one of my favourite feeds, Fiona lives in the Orkney Islands and her stories are a rich narrative of life there, I also love Circle of Pines Stories. Laura features her trips out and where she's going and what she's reading. There's a lot of give in their stories. They're comforting and full of warmth.
How I edit my Instagram Stories
Since I changed how I create my Instagram Stories at the end of August I have had some lovely comments about them both in person, on Instagram and on Twitter.
And one question I keep getting is - how do you make them? What app do you use?
Well, very simply I use my iPhone and iMovie on my computer. I don't use iMovie on my phone or iPad because I find it far too fiddly but I'm sure it's possible. You also don't need an iPhone. You can use a normal camera or an android phone. Just make sure you shoot your video in portrait and not horizontal. (Such a weird thing to do after having it drummed in you that you must film horizontally to avoid the black bars either side of the film!)
Why I Love to Create Video Montages for Instagram Stories
In the last few weeks I've been playing around with my Instagram Stories. Instead of filming just my ducks being released in the morning in one fifteen second clip, or perhaps just my chickens, or just the dog, I'll create a montage of clips that equal fifteen seconds, overlaying the clips with music.
Instagram Stories, if you didn't know, are photos or video clips that you can add to your Instagram account. It is separate to your main feed of photographs. Like Snapchat, the Stories disappear after twenty-four hours.
How I create my Instagram photos
Instagram is my social media platform of choice. I love it for the creativity, the community and because it enables me to tell a story in a more visual way than just writing.
Have you ever wondered where Instagrammers get their inspiration from? Or, have you wondered how they get overhead shots with both their hands? This is the sort of thing I wonder about.