Have you ever gotten super distracted by Pinterest when you were supposed to be writing?
*raises hand*
Pinterest – and any social media, for that matter – can be extremely distracting when you’re trying to write a story. It’s so easy to just switch to it instead if we’re struggling even just slightly with trying to get the words down.
But what if I told you that – outside of your writing time – Pinterest is actually a pretty great thing for writers to have?
If you’re like me at all, you probably have quite a few boards on Pinterest that are more for your personal use than anything. Those relatable writing memes (which I share in my emails! Sign up to my email list here 😉) and inspirational quotes are pretty nice to have around, amiright?
But when it comes to a writer using this particular platform, there’s a little more usefulness within it than there first appears to be on the surface.
The Benefits of An Inspiration Board
*jumps up and down in chair* Okay, so this post has basically been years in the making. Back when I started blogging, it was one of my early ideas for a post. However, I never actually got around to fully fleshing out the post and actually sharing it with the world.
Until now.
Buckle up: I’ve been mentally working on this post for 3 years by now. It’s gonna be great. :3
1. Inspiration
First and foremost, the reason I go on for a long time to writer friends about how they need to get Pinterest is because it’s full of inspiration for your books.
You know when you hear music that reminds you of your book? (a little like we talked about in my post on nailing the mood your scene) Much like music, pictures can also remind you of your book.
If you head on to my own Pinterest (which you can check out here *hint hint wink wink*) then you’ll find inspiration boards for two of my books: The Storm Inside and The Triad of Caosdif. The boards are vastly different, but each pin on these boards is curated to the book because the pin reminds me of the story in some way.
Looking at a board tailored to your book where every single pin reminds you of your book can be very inspiring. We all have our days where it’s difficult to feel inspired for our book, so a Pinterest board can really come in handy when that happens.
2. Developing Ideas
When you aren’t sure entirely where a new idea for your book is going to go, it’s pretty helpful to go and look at pins that remind you of the scene. Seeing them kind of adds to this mental catalogue you have in your mind for that scene, helping you to slowly flesh it out more and more over time, simply by exposing yourself to it. (That’s not scientific or anything; it’s just what I’ve personally noticed. 😛 )
3. The Back Burner
Most writers have more than one idea at once. However, we can only really focus on one story idea at any one time. The rest of our ideas get shoved onto the back burner.
But when you use Pinterest, they don’t just get shoved away until you’re done with the idea you’re currently working on. That back burner is on low heat, sure, but it’s still cooking. You can look for pins that remind you of your idea, or whenever you happen upon any, you can save them to your board for it! This allows you to continue developing your ideas, thus always making progress, without having to put all your time and energy into it.
When you come to write the story in the future, you’ll have entire board ready to inspire you. During the whole time you’ve been waiting to write it, you’ll have slowly been able to gather more inspiration, and this slow process allows you to not forget ideas you had. (unlike if you never thought about them at all) Sometimes, you come up with completely new ideas for the story by accident, thanks to having the board and having continued letting you idea cook.
Pinterest can, undoubtedly, waste your time if you’re not careful. But, when used right, it can help further develop your story and inspire you.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
When You’re at A Crossroads in Your Writing
How to Deal with Plot Bunnies – The RIGHT Way
If you want more awesome writing tips, make sure to subscribe! You’ll get a free 7-day course on how to defeat writer’s block butt, emails with exclusive insider info, and the monthly password to my Resources page! 😃 Can’t wait to see you on the inside!
Do you like Pinterest? 😉
Do you often have random plot bunnies running wild in your head?
What do you like to do to develop your story ideas?
-Julia
Photo by Greg Rakozyon Unsplash
I don’t use Pinterest for my fiction writing but I love saving infographics and memes for blog post inspiration and content.
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For sure! I definitely enjoy looking there for lots of fun memes (maybe too much? 😅) and lots of posts with tips for writing! 😃
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Lol. There can never be too many memes. 😜
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😆 True! It’s hilarious how on-point they are sometimes.
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Right?! I seriously give major props to the meme creators out there. Some of them are just brilliant. 😊
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Yes! I seem to really love random comics I manage to find as well?? 😅 Sometimes, you stumble upon the randomest – and best – things on there 😆
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I’ve found a couple comics on there too! But it was a long time ago. My feed is mostly inspirational sayings and advice or wedding stuff.
What comics have you found?
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I definitely love inspirational quotes. I turned a couple of my favourite quotes I’ve found over time into desktop backgrounds for my computer. It helps to see them there whenever I change screens. 😊
There’s one I have on a public board on evil authors and happy endings (putting it into flames instead of a book while readers get excited at the prospect 😆) and one I think that’s hiding on a secret board on authors and making up fantasy languages (aka smashing out random letters on the keyboard – something I totally used to do for fantasy world names 🤣)
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That’s not a bad idea! I usually write out the quotes I really like on a post-it note and stick to the wall by my desk. 😊
Lol. That sounds really interesting and right up my alley! 😂 I might have to go snoop later. Is that a thing? I’ve never heard of that language making tactic before. Lol. That’s too funny! 😂
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I’m constantly moving my computer around, but I also went and wrote down a bajillion and one different quotes at the top of every page in my planner for this school year when I got it this summer. 😆 I like the idea of post-it notes, though 😃
Go for it! 😃 I don’t have too many pins released right now on it, since I’m going through all the pins I have; I realized that there were some pin descriptions that I hadn’t edited and I didn’t really want appearing under my name, and some that had broken links or led to weird places. However, I’m slowly re-releasing them, after finding out whether or not they’re fine or not 😉 I know that Tolkien completely made up his own language for his books, but I don’t think I’d be able to do that 😅 Dedication, man. In one of my first ‘serious’ stories that I wrote, I think I included other languages – but they are real ones, and I just used Google Translate. I learned later on that Google Translate isn’t the most reliable source for translations, though, and regretted it 🤣
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That’s definitely a good way to keep motivated! Do it when you’ve got a more dedicated space. It seriously helps so much! 😊
Isn’t that so annoying? Like work when I want you to work. XD I did that for my blog earlier this year and it was a massive pain that I’m still working on.
I swear Tolkien wasn’t human at times. I still can’t believe he went as far as creating his own language. It’s definitely dedication on his end. 👏
Haha. I had a friend who found that out the hard way in university. It’s better to find someone who knows the language for sure. 😊
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I find pinterest SO helpful during the inspiration process, particularly when I’m having trouble nailing the vibe of a story. It also helps with character creation! There are a ton of photos of people on there, and finding a photo of a person really helps me get a general vibe.
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I agree 100%! If there’s one thing I’ll ever do for all the random story ideas floating around in my head, it’s save a bunch of stuff on Pinterest for them. 😆 The story I’m currently working on has a lot of autumn aesthetics – something I wouldn’t have known if that hadn’t come up as suggested ideas for my board! *tip of the hat to Pinterest for that*
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Great to know! I’m off to check out Pinterest now 🙂
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Awesome! I’d love a link so I could see your awesome boards, if you feel like sharing. 😉
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