One of my favorite things about starting a new WIP is researching on Pinterest. Here I find pictures of my characters and setting, as well as complete any various “light” pre-research. Back in the day, I would spend hours pouring over magazines trying to find the perfect look for the characters in my head. Currently, I have a file cabinet full of characters sitting in my garage – taking up space (I have a hard time throwing things away).
Pinterest is my new filing cabinet, per say, for characters (and settings and costuming and etcetera etcetera etcetera).
I love Pinterest because I can create a “pin board” or scrapbook for each book or character. The world wide web is my “magazine”. I’ve downloaded the “pin it” button so I can pull pins from virtually anywhere and create visual boards I can access anywhere, at anytime. Gone are the days of me lugging around a large notebook filled with photos and research – ok most likely not, but still the option is there.
Have you jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon? You might just develop a new obsession hobby (beware, hours of your life may disappear – don’t say I didn’t warn you). But, more importantly Pinterest is one more way to create a new level of excitement in your readers. Invite them to follow along and “see” your work in progress. Host a contest and allow fans and readers to “choose” what a particular character looks like or decide a setting for your WIP. You may also gain new readers and fans because of the extreme viral-ness of Pinterest. Since your pins will be public, anyone will be able to view your pin boards – easy (and free) marketing!
So go dive into the endless pool of possibilities that is Pinterest. I’ll meet you there.
You can find me on Pinterest here. And be sure to check out some of my favorite authors who get it right on Pinterest: Sara Ella, Kiera Cass
Leave a Reply