UPDATE: Many of these boards have now been split to include sub-categories.

I have mentioned Pinterest before, but I thought I might explain a little bit more about my boards, how I used them, and why I find Pinterest oh-so-helpful as an author.

I have four main boards for inspiration, motivation, guidance, and plotting, all rolled into different categories.

More Than Words is my source for articles, worksheets, and references. All of my Neil Gaiman quotes also get pinned here. I don’t use this resource as much as I should, but it is a wonderful treasure chest of information. I always get new ideas and feel motivated towards better story telling after diving into something pinned on this board. It is also very helpful when I am working out the details of a plot or character, because the articles hear give me so many good ideas and points to consider. I haven’t read all of them, but they are always good ways to procrastinate on writing and feel motivated once I finish reading.

Characters Are People Too is my character building and inspiration board. Here, I pin anything that I think would make an interesting character, whether it’s a piece of artwork or an actor’s face. I find this really helpful when developing characters, especially since – as I have previous mentioned – I often use more than one image or face to represent the character in m mind. This also gives me a good database when I have already built a character and I just have no idea what they look like, but usually it helps if your characters aren’t just floating invisible personalities.

This board also works as a story idea giver. Although I am straining to stay in my world of Eviryia currently, when I begin brainstorming for The Book Book, These images are sure to give me some great ideas for characters that I want to bring to life.

Somewhere Else is very similar to my character board, although for locations. This board is ideal for world building, and even now I find it helpful as I expand upon the world of Eviryia. I’m sure it will make my head explode with inspiration when the Quest to Write The Book Book begins.

I’ll Write That is my final board, and the most ambiguous of the four. This is the board where I pin things that inspire story, plain and simple. Sometimes, it’s a scene from a movie that I love and want to pull ideas from, a picture that I think tells a bigger story, or a story or idea I would love to make my own. Like Nathan Hale, who is completely and undoubtedly my historical crush. What. A. Hero. And apparently, extremely attractive. (But, of course!)

I have other boards for individual stories, where I can compile the pictures for character and world building, historical references, etc. I will often transfer these items over to Scrivener once I actually dive into that story and that world.

Do you use Pinterest for writing? Let me know how it helps your process!