Pinterest is one of those things that most people have … but very few people use.
Sure, you dink around on it for an average of ten hours a day and now you feel like you’re attached to your account at the waist (you laughed, you cried, you smiled … you don’t take that kind of relationship lightly). But does anyone actually have a reason for being on there?
Most would say no.
As an author, I say yes.
Let’s talk about that. (Look at me, getting all Rhett&Link-ish!)
Let me start with a small but important admission: I spent too much time on Pinterest.
Well, more accurately, I either don’t spend time on Pinterest at all or I spend two hours on it. There is no in-between.
We all admit that Pinterest is an addictive waste of time. However, as an author, you should really use the wide variety of resources Pinterest places at your fingertips.
So. Are you ready to reorganize your boards in a way that will change your waste of time to your inspiration?
If so, let’s begin!
First, what kind of boards do you need?
Before you can organize the actual boards, you need to figure out how you want them organized. What boards do you need? Well, every author is different, but here are the kinds of (writing-related) boards I made.
- Work-in-Progress Boards. In these boards, you’ll contain your inspiration for your works-in-progress. For example, my board for Caught in a Spell.
- Inspirational Boards. In which you’ll store things that might inspire future stories/characters/etc. Personally, I have a board for character inspiration, a board for setting inspiration, a board for quotes, and a board for writing prompts. I may create more down the road.
- How-To Boards. You may call yourself an expert, but here’s a little secret: there’s no such thing as an expert writer! Writing is not a craft you become an ‘expert’ at. You’re always learning. Therefore, I have my All About Writing board and my Character Development board. I also have a History board and an Old-Fashioned Fashions board. You might need a ‘weapons’ board or a ‘nursing’ board depending on what you’re writing about.
- Random Boards. Even the more specifically-writing pinners have random boards! I have one for words and one for names. Then there’s this one. No one really knows what it’s for … Okay, who am I kidding? I do. But you don’t … *mysteriousness*
I also have a lot of boards that aren’t writing-related and my blogging boards (so I can pin graphics and such), so remember it doesn’t have to be all work and no play. 😉
Second, create your boards
Now that you’ve decided which boards you want to create, go ahead and get them created! Don’t worry about filling them with a bunch of amazing pictures yet. Just get your board established.
You may need to rename some of your old boards or leave them up (I suggest making them private to get them out of the way) until you’re able to reboard all your old pins.
(I just created a board for Beyond Her Calling. For the rest of this post, I’ll be showing you bits of my board-filling process.)
Third, organize the pins you already have
Decide on the function of every board and then decide what kind of pins belong in it.
Delete every pin that you don’t absolutely need. Don’t worry if your boards are a little scant. Less is almost always more anyway. You’ll eventually fill them up.
Fourth, find some new pins
Unlike some, I don’t follow people because they have amazing pins. I follow people who I know … and that’s about it. (I’ll probably remedy this someday, but for now … nope.) So I actually have to search for pins I want.
This is a difficult process which I admit I haven’t quite mastered, but here are five tips for finding the images you want.
- Don’t be too specific. You’re probably not going to find the perfect picture of your character or your character’s bedroom or your character’s dog. So don’t spend too much time searching for perfection. It’s a waste of your life.
- Really think about what you want. Don’t browse meaninglessly. Figure out what you want and find it.
- Don’t get distracted. This is basically #2 in other words, but please, please stop with the kittens already! Kittens are cute. Get over it.
- Read this post by Cait @ PaperFury. It wasn’t extremely useful for me (I’m not the kind to be too worried about aesthetics as long as I’m inspired), but it does have good tips for finding pins.
- Pinterest really wants to help. This isn’t a tip so much as a … okay, I guess it’s kind of a tip. But what I mean is …
See? Pinterest is begging to help you along. Use it!
Fifth, admire your board!
A well-made Pinterest board is a work of art. Maybe it’s not worth the time and effort to you; to me, it’s definitely useful. So sit back and admire it. But don’t spend too long admiring your boards … because as a writer, your first and foremost responsibility is to write!
Thanks for reading,
~Kellyn Roth
Do you have a Pinterest account? What do you use it for? What kind of boards do you have? Do you think you could utilize the incredible resource of Pinterest better? What do you think of my Pinterest boards and pins and such? Aren’t they amazing? 😉
Also, do you miss me? I admit I miss you! I am pretty proud of my accomplishments, though. I’m finished another draft of Ivy Introspective and am ready for beta-readers. If you’re interested, you can sign up here.
24 Responses
Hi Kellyn,
Of course we miss you! What type of question is that?
I have a pinterest account: hgreilly
That is half writer and half personal account. So I technically have a reason for having it 😉
Lovely post, and of course I love your Pinterest pins! I have to look at them every time I check out my feed! 😀
H.G.Reilly
I guess it was a silly question. 😉 Just kidding … I’m not that conceited!
Yep, I’m following you. *nods*
Sorry, I’ve been pinning too much lately! It’ll probably slow down now that I finally got this post out. I was kind of preparing for it. 🙂
It’s okay Kellyn, you pin as often as you like, i’m not on Pinterest as often as I used to be.
These are great tips! Just one thing: I don’t have a Pinterest account… I wish I did though. It’d totally be useful for writing and ideas. 🙂
Well, I’m not saying it’s necessary for every writer … but for me, it’s an incredible research. I have to look up fashions and architecture and stuff all the time for my novels, so it’s really nice. 🙂
It sounds necessary for me since I really need (and want) it! I’m guessing that if I ever made an account on there, I’d be on for hours…. lol 😀
I’d probably be on there for hours myself if I let myself. 🙂
I will have to implement these ideas on my pintrest board 🙂
I love this post! As you know (or do you??? I forget who I complain to XD ), I don’t have my own Pinterest account :'( but my madre lets me use hers. I haven’t made a storyboard for my novel yet because I really can’t find any pics yay, but I have made a writing tips board with all sorts of advice (not organized like yours lol), and will soon make a writing inspiration board. Wahoo.
Do you have a Pinterest account?: No. :'( But I use my mother’s.
What do you use it for?: I would love to use it for promoting my blog, but nope, not on my mom’s account. I use it for pinning stuff from my fandoms <3 and writing inspiration and tips. SO FAR.
What kind of boards do you have?: I have a Hamilton board, a Six of Crows board, a Charries board (pics of people who could be charries), and a Writing Tips board. Not much, but I've pinned like 70 things on each board already lol.
Do you think you could utilize the incredible resource of Pinterest better?: Yes and no??? I mean, of COURSE I could, but I sort of can't because I DON'T HAVE MY OWN ACCOUNT WAAAAAAH. But I definitely could try harder to make storyboards and all that.
What do you think of my Pinterest boards and pins and such? Aren’t they amazing?: THEY LOOK FANTASTICO, M'DEAR.
Also, do you miss me?: Yes, of course??? I was just thinking about you and your blog this morning. 😀 (BTW I would totally sign up to beta-read but AGH SCHOOL READING WRITING BLOGGING CAMP NANO ASDFGHJKL.)
Well, at least you’re able to use your mother’s board to a certain extent! Sounds like you’re able to do something with it, at least, which is cool. 🙂 But anyway, I hope you’re able to get your own account someday! My mom actually doesn’t consider Pinterest to be social media (just another time-waster) so I was able to get away with it … otherwise I wouldn’t have one either! 🙂
(I’m glad you didn’t sign up if you’re busy because I don’t want you to get stressed, girl! Get all that stuff done!!! 😀 )
Yeah, it’s cool! At least I can access it, right? 😉 I barely see how it’s social media, but overprotective parents… XD
(*sighs* I’m such a procrastinator…)
I never even thought of using pinterest for writing inspiration. I will have to start some new boards!
Well, here’s how I see it: it’s a bunch of pictures and links to websites and such. It’s really an amazing resource for writers! I should probably write a post about this sometime … should have done it before I wrote this post, actually! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I really like this! I don’t even have a Pinterest account! I never have actually used Pinterest but I have seen other people use Pinterest… But this was really cool! I’m considering getting my own Pinterest after this.😀. I love your ideas!
You should! I mean *coughs* if your parents are okay with it … the struggle is real … 😉 But yeah, maybe me and May are the only one whose parents think social media is the root of all evil. … Just kidding.
Thank you! I worked really hard on it … although I admit it’s a distraction.
Parents, am I right? 😂 I hope my parents will be okay with it!
Yep, definitely! My parents were okay with Pinterest because it’s not really social media, but … yeah, anything else they don’t really care for. 🙂
I love using Pinterest!
I LOVE PINTEREST BECAUSE AETHETICS AND IM A SLIGHT ADDICT BECAUSE I SPEND ALL MY TIME PINNING THINGS AND SOMETIMES IN REAL LIFE I WISH THERE WAS A PIN BUTTON SO THATS A TINY BIT DISTURBING?
NO THAT’S ACTUALLY A REALLY GOOD IDEA! *pins the magic moments* 😛
wait… me… good idea? what? XD
that sounds like a cereal slogan for some reason… lol!
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a cereal slogan! 😛