Because everyone needs something to balance out all the cat memes and obscure Instagram ads for sunblock, we’ve compiled a list of authors on Instagram to bring an extra dose of #writinglife to your feed.

Jenn Marie Thorne

You may know Jenn for her lovable contemporary tales The Wrong Side of Right and The Inside of Out. But where is Jenn running around when she’s not busy writing our next contemporary fix?

We’ll tell you where she is. She’s in a different genre. She’s in a freaking fairytale land.

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I found a new dog walk path and I think it might be magic. More as this story develops… #ramblers #cotswolds #england

A post shared by Jenn Marie Thorne (@jennmariethorne) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:18am PDT

Sigh. We can all be insanely jealous of Jenn’s excursions to fairytale castles and magical landscapes together.

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It’s a misty castle kind of a day. #snowdonia #wales

A post shared by Jenn Marie Thorne (@jennmariethorne) on Aug 27, 2018 at 9:20am PDT

brb moving to Wales.

Nina LaCour

Any aspiring writers out there?

Yup, we thought so!

If you’ve fallen in love with Sabaa Tahir’s story-writing shenanigans on Insta and need more, then Nina, author of We Are Okay, Hold Still, and a bunch of other books that will make you weep, has got you covered. Sometimes she has tips for you aspiring authors out there, sometimes she’s got insight on the not-so-easy part of writing and methods to work your way through those tough writer roadblocks. You got this!

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For years I told myself that I despised setting. That I was no good at it. When I sat down to write, I was drawn to dialogue. The spoken words came easily. Description didn’t. . . . But then, with each novel, the reviews I received drew more and more attention to my settings, to the point that I had to ask myself, “Is this thing I’ve been telling myself—that I’m no good at setting, that I hate writing it—actually true?” And the answer was so strikingly the opposite. I didn’t hate it at all. My novels *relied* on my settings. In fact, often it was the setting that brought energy and tension and beauty to the story. . . . The theater and the treehouse and the strip malls. The curving roads and towns and cities up the West Coast. Los Angeles with its apartments and mansions and beaches and vibrant neighborhoods. And San Francisco’s Ocean Beach in contrast to an empty, silent dormitory in the snow. . . . Often the stories we tell ourselves about our own work, our capabilities and limitations, don’t reflect the truth. It’s good to keep questioning. . . . What questions can you ask yourself today about your work? What is holding you back? Maybe it’s time to look at it in a different way. What you discover might surprise you.

A post shared by Nina LaCour (@nina_lacour) on Aug 30, 2018 at 9:31am PDT

(But also, seriously, #aestheticgoals)

Natalie C Parker

After reading Seafire, you might be just as surprised as we were to learn Natalie indeed does not live on a ship. But if her adorable friendship with Adib Khorram hasn’t won you over yet, this picture of Natalie next to a llama wearing a top hat probably will.

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Made a friend tonight. His name is Echo.

A post shared by Natalie C. Parker (@ncparker) on Sep 1, 2018 at 8:45pm PDT

Astrid Sholte

Hey, you know those insanely gorgeous Four Dead Queens character cards we’ve been obsessed with lately?

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Collect these exclusive Four Dead Queens character cards and sampler at the Penguin Teen Booth at #NYCC! . . . . #fourdeadqueens #bookstagram #authorsofinstagram #yafantasy #yabooks #nycc

A post shared by Astrid Scholte (@astridscholte) on Oct 4, 2018 at 1:19pm PDT

She painted those.

She painted those.

So if you’re psyched for Four Dead Queens coming in February, you’ll probs want to follow Astrid for sneak peek paintings of never-before-seen characters from the book!

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To celebrate the title reveal of @marieluthewriter’s Warcross sequel, I painted the colorful Emika. I ❤️’d Warcross and I’m so excited to see what happens next in Wildcard! Wildcard is out September this year. #artistsoninstagram #fanart #oilpainting #yabooks #bookstagram #booknerd #bookillustration

A post shared by Astrid Scholte (@astridscholte) on Apr 9, 2018 at 4:58am PDT

(Also can we please talk about this Emika painting she did because AASDFHJAKSHFJK.)

Danielle Vega

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Deadlines.

A post shared by Danielle Rollins (@vegarollins) on Sep 17, 2018 at 6:03am PDT

After Merciless and Survive the Night, you might have expected Danielle’s feed to be at least mildly horrifying. As it turns out, she’s got some mad #writinglife vibes and #readeraesthetic happening instead. (Oh, and did we mention she’s got the inside scoop on upcoming YA horror? Can it be October again yet??)

Renée Ahdeih

 *prays Renée will release some sneak peeks of The Beautiful because October 2019 is too far away and we want more vampires NOW*

BUT we’ll keep ourselves busy with a re-read of Flame in the Mist until then. And in the meantime, definitely remember to follow Renée for her killer beauty tips and bookish makeup. Like, seriously, have you seen this Sky in the Deep-inspired look? YAAS QUEEN.

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I thought this 💄 was more black than brown in the tube, but I am IN LOVE with it, which is how I felt ab @adrienneyoungbooks’ #skyinthedeep ❤️ . Sign up for my newsletter to get makeup deets! . . #makeup #mua #makeupartist #makeupaddict #makeover #booklook #bookstagram #ya #yalit #ireadya #bookaddict #ireadeverywhere #fiction #whattoread #bookworld #booknerd #authorsofinstagram #reneeahdieh #writersofinstagram #thewrathandthedawn #flameinthemist #writersofinstagram

A post shared by Renee Ahdieh (@reneeahdieh) on Apr 3, 2018 at 9:38am PDT

David Yoon

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A post shared by David Yoon (@davidoftheyoon) on Jan 28, 2019 at 5:33pm PST

Because you guys do not, we repeat, DO NOT want to miss anything Frankly in Love-related. The absolute most lovable, adorable, crying-able (is that a word??) contemporary YA novel is coming this September and David Yoon has got all the inside deets on it.

More of a Twitter user? Make sure you’re following these authors.