I have another fantastic tip from author Yolanda Ridge. Her two middle grade novels include Trouble in the Trees and its sequel Road Block. You can read her first tip, #136, here, and find her at her website here. Enjoy!
If you spend a lot of time surfing the net (and let's face it - we all do), Pinterest is a great way to organize all the writing ideas you come across by accident or on purpose. With the "pin it" button (which you can download after signing up for your free account) it takes only a second to capture an image and post it on a board of your own creation. I think of these boards as virtual file folders. For my work in progress, I have a board for each of my main characters. On each board, I've pinned pictures of that character's favourite foods, outfits, things they like to do, places they dream of going, careers, hobbies, etc. Each picture has a link back to the original web page and a place to write notes. You could have a general board labelled "writing inspiration", a board for each book, a board just for facial expressions... there's no limit! Each board can be private or public, so if you don't mind sharing your ideas and inspirations you might actually get some extra publicity out of it. Just be sure to pin a picture of your published book cover from your favourite online supplier so followers can easily buy the book!
~Yolanda Ridge
I love the idea of Pinterest, but it's important to understand their terms of use. Do some google searches on the topic before you start pinning things you find on the web to make sure you understand what you're taking responsibility for by pinning the photos to your board.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great tip - but yes, please always check copyright of images used! Take care
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Thanks for the tip. I still feel a bit nervous about it with the copyright issues.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to start using pinterest, but if I do, this would be a great place to start. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteThis really is a great idea. I have been using it as well for my ideas. I love it. I too am curious about the copyright thing. But some photographers have an icon that allows you to pin their work and they get automatic credit for their pictures when you look on them on pinterest and it links back to their websites. So maybe it will end up being a great promotion tool for photographers.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Natalie. I love Pinterest, but I'm not sure about re-pinning images. I don't want to infringe on anyone's copyright. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love Pinterest, but the copyright stuff does make me nervous!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I never thought of using Pinterest like that. Great idea! Though I'm not on it and I'm fighting vehemently against joining because I have no time. :(
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! I have not been using Pinterest in that way- but I always love to hear new ideas. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete~Jess
Great tip. I haven't succumbed to Pinrest because it just sounded like fun, but no substance. This idea might draw me in.
ReplyDeleteI was so dubious about Pinterest for a long time, but I've found it to be quite useful in gathering inspirational quotes, images, and ideas.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip - thanks for posting :)
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I haven't been on pinterest yet, as I am heavy in editing and revisions right now.
ReplyDeleteAfter what happen to Roni Loren, I'm nervous do something like that. I only post my photographs and covers of books on pinterest.
ReplyDeleteI use Scrivener for photos to do with my stories since only I need to see them.
Yes, you do have to be careful with Pinterest in terms copyright (and time wasting.) Thanks to all of you who mentioned it. There are lots of things that are safe to post, but I like Stina's idea of using Scrivener if you're unsure about it.
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