How To Write Instapoetry | 3 Tips For Recognising A Good Instapoem

Trying to figure out which poem you should share on instagram can often time be daunting. Instapoetry, like all creative endeavours, is unpredictable BUT there are some things to consider. _______________________ JOIN MY NEWSLETTER AND GET A FREE 'BECOME A WORKING POET GUIDE': https://www.adamgary.co.uk/become-a-poet-download _______________________ MY OTHER VIDEOS: POETRY FOR BEGINNERS: https://youtu.be/IZ-MiCbXHCg POETRY EXERCISES: https://youtu.be/GMY4CCYNVHw POETRY ASMR: https://youtu.be/OBJKQ2c7iAc DOS AND DONTS OF INSTAPOETRY: https://youtu.be/HKxjp5Y2-lo _______________________ MY SIGNED BOOKS https://www.adamgary.co.uk/shop _______________________ BECOME MY PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/join/adamgary? _______________________ MERCH https://teespring.com/stores/adamgary _______________________ For now Instagram continues to be the best, and most popular platform for indie poets to share their work, and in turn gain exposure. Unfortunately, it continues to be a game of mazes too, and I know that it remains a mystery to many. How do I know? Because my videos are the most watched on my channel and I am beginning to receive a fair amount of inboxes on instagram asking questions… many wondering how to recognise a poem worth sharing that will be enjoyed by the many! So let me tell you what I know. 1 Are you vibing with the piece? Having written your poem, and now reading it back, does it excite you? Do you have butterflies in your stomach, or at the very least are you thinking, this would go down well on instagram? For the first part of this statement, looking at the whether the piece excites you or not… if you are proud and moved by the piece, and think that it really captures the mood you were going for… chances are you have! If you’re not entirely vibing with the piece, but your gut instinct says it is probably the sort of poem that would go down well on instagram, your gut instinct is usually always right! We can be our worst critics a lot of the time, so even if YOU don’t think it’s captivating, but could be the sort of poem people enjoy then share it! Many a time I have shared a piece that I thought wasn’t that great and it’s gone on to be one of my most like pieces. How do you know what poems do well on instagram? REAAAAD. Search a popular poetry # and scroll through all the popular posts enough that it becomes second nature recognising a “pop poem” 2 Pick a universal theme, and write in the first person. Of course it goes without saying that a poem with a strong universal theme will always do well. I’ve also got a theory that pop poems may well benefit from a) writing in the first person, but also b) instead of using her, she, him, he… exclude specific sexes and write they. Appeal to the masses. I keep forgetting to implement this but I imagine it’d work. 3 How long does it take to read? Time is everything in all mediums. Film, Fiction, and of course poetry. In page poetry, you probably have about a stanza for a reader to figure out if you poem is worth reading. Spoken Verse or Slam poetry, probably about the same. Film you have about 10 - 20 minutes maybe. Fiction a page if not a chapter depending on the reader. Instapoetry you have all of 2 to 3 seconds. Exactly. Which is why there’s the craze of popular instapoets just writing basic everyday sentences. If you’ve built up a following, of course that extends you capture time, but I recommend keeping your poems as short as possible, especially if you’re just starting out. There’s always exceptions but this is just a general rule of thumb. I’m now keeping all my longer pieces for publication, as I begin to venture down a new road with my poetry… but I’ll probably continue writing “Instapoetry” and save it exclusively for the gram. Instapoetry is a funny thing. There really is much to criticise about it, and the longer I spend time sifting through, and the more broadly I read traditionally now, the more I find myself scrolling past poems on my feed. Yet, it is still “pop poetry” and the best way to reach an audience. And as much as I begin to read over some of my work, wanting to gauge my eyes out, the more it makes sense to me that if you can’t beat them, join them. I realise I’m full of contradictions in my instapoetry videos, and no doubt it’ll come full circle and I’ll be defending instapoetry again some time. One day the Shakespeare of the instapoetry world will come along and blow everyone away, because they have found a way to write short and accessible poetry, whilst always painting beautiful imagery that move us profoundly. And that could be you! I really hope this video helped. Every time I do a video on instapoetry, I’m convinced it is my last but I continue to get asked questions on Instagram and then find myself thinking “that’d make a good video” _______________________ #instapoetry #poetrytips #poetry _______________________ CREDITS: "Subscribe Button" by MrNumber112 https://youtu.be/Fps5vWgKdl0