Author R.A. Gasparac

Pinterest.  What a lovely juxtaposition of being one of the most useful tools, by being the most dangerous time trap for a writer.  I love this tool.  I am a visual person, and I need visual cues to springboard my creativity. However, if left unchecked you could spend HOURS pinning, when you SHOULD be writing.

What are we covering in this post?

• Using good photography to build your settings
• Using Pins to prompt unthought of plot bunnies
• Tips to make Pinterest sessions productive

Using Photography to Build your Setting

Photography is one of those beautiful mediums that invoke such emotion, mood, and tone that it is an indispensable tool to the novelist.  What we expand into hours with the written word, images invoke an instant reminder of what we are describing.  Here are some screenshots for the WIP I will be working this NaNoWriMo 2016.

For my Lesbian Erotic Adventure, I knew the time period I wanted, and the softness I wanted to imply.  Each of these Images are cohesive to my story, and make my brain go off on wonderful tangents ( a.k.a. Plot Bunnies).

Here I channeled the Maltese Falcon, Mildred Peirce, and Blade Runner in Photographs For the Burlesque Murder Mystery:

Here is a screenshot of my secret Pinterest board for the Adventure Novella:

As you can see, there is a mix of characters and setting visual prompts. The gorgeous movie star, her assistant, the rugged male lead, and my fangirl Main Character.  I don’t even have to point out who is who.  That makes it easier to quickly glance at your board, and fall back in love with the story you are telling.  You will also notice I have some pinned video clips in case I need to get a deeper understanding of what I am trying to convey.

Using Pins to Birth New Plot Bunnies

This is a perfect example of birthing new plot bunnies to enrich your story. Steal from real life.  I knew I had to have an underground military type of base and a graveyard for the bulk of my story.  What I didn’t expect to happen, was that while looking for strong visual cues, I found an image that summed up what I had in my head.  When I glanced below the picture, I discovered a whole hornets nest of conspiracy theories, that when twisted slightly, could fit as the motivation for this magically inclined evil sleeper government.

Making Pinterest Productive

Onto ways Pinterest can help, and some tips to keep from falling down the rabbit hole of time wasted.

How it can help:

• Helps to build inspiration and motivation when things get tough.
• Quick and dirty guides to anything you can think of ( when searched for properly).
• Further enrich your Character and setting descriptions.
• When you are ready to make a book cover, these images with be the inspiration to send to your designer for clear communication.

Tips:

• Come to the table with a plan.
• Know what you are looking for.
• When you birth plot bunnies, pin a few to get a grander scope of that plot idea, than move back to your original search.
• If a Plot Bunny is getting too big, write it down to search for later. Then get back to your original search.
• Don’t settle. If you aren’t finding the setting or character you have in your minds eye, KEEP LOOKING FOR IT. You WILL find it.
• If you need to, set a timer, and agree to a stopping point.
• Utilize the suggested terms at the top of the search to find exactly what you are looking for.

Do you have any other tips or tricks that I haven’t listed? Put it in the comments below! 🙂

If you would like to pick up a copy of my quick to read ebook on how I won NaNoWriMo 2014, you can get it HERE.

Did you miss a previous post in this series? Be sure to Check out my posts on Worldbuilding, and Plotting!