Pinterest for Writers

Ever done a book collage? It’s a fascinating undertaking. You search through old magazines, catalogs, calendars, etc., ripping out any images that catch your fancy. This is done without conscious direction or intention, though you may think in a general way about your work in progress. When you have a couple of dozen images, you use a glue stick to attach them to poster board in a pleasing arrangement. By some strange subconscious process, you wind up with images that allow you to tap into scenes and themes in your story that you didn’t know were there. Post this where you can see it as you write, and it becomes an idea starter for your book.

The trick to the exercise, of course, is having the right kind of illustrations on hand. In the past, this was not always possible. The problem can now be solved with Pinterest.

Pinterest is a social media site that builds community between people by using selected images as shorthand to indicate similar interests and personalities. The site has thousands upon thousands of images to choose from—beautiful or intriguing, funny or daring, classic or funky—with more being added every minute. Once you are a member, you choose the “bulletin boards,” or topics that say something to you, which will appear on your page. You then browse the site to select images for your boards. The result is an amazingly accurate depiction of what makes you tick.

But the really great thing is that every person can establish personal boards. To assemble a story collage, you create a board and label it with your book title or a heading such as "Work in Progress",  then “pin” images to it that attract you or remind you of the story you have in mind. To find them, you can search by setting (England, New Orleans, etc.), time period (Victorian, Regency) and so on. A few minutes work and Voila! You have a virtual story collage for constant inspiration.

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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