Using Pinterest for Character Development
When I write, I see the scenes unrolling as a movie in my head, with the characters moving and talking. If I can't picture something, I can't write it, to the point where I have to lay out the rooms, where the furniture is, the color of the rugs. Never mind that only a tiny fraction of this ends up in the novel. If I can't see my characters getting up from the dining table and marching the dirty dishes into the kitchen, I can't write it.
I started using Pinterest when working on a sci fi novel. I'd finally decided on the point-of-view characters, and, in an attempt to wrap my mind around them, went in search of visuals. This was my first multi-pov novel, and I was about to start the third major rewrite. I needed to get the four characters in the romance clear enough to hear their voices, see them move, and be able to work out the revision.
I started several Pinterest boards. The first was for clothing for the one female in the four-way romance. The previous versions of the novel had paid little attention to this character, and I needed to flesh her out. I found a website and searched for the tunics and pants to clothe her. She ended up with elegant, flowing, fabrics in soft, glowing colors, and her voice came clear.
I still craved more images, so I started another board for actors I could cast to play my characters. After some searching, I settled on the actors I wanted.
I also started a board for images of the planet, many of them generated by me using GIMP, a freeware program something like photoshop.
