S. M. Worth: October 2012

Pinterest is a place where users can “pin” images, video or other interesting content to digital boards. Pinterest can give your writing some well needed visual reinforcement. Try some of the following:

Create a Pinterest board for your main characters. How do you picture them when you write?
Boards for settings. I love having visuals to build from.
A board for inspiration. Your favorite quotes, sayings, photos of authors or favorite books.

Some ideas from Becca J. Campbell:

Boards based on your stories. Tosca Lee, author of Demon: A Memoir and Forbidden (among others) uses Pinterest to collect references for her books. It’s a brilliant idea. This would make a great way to keep all the visual story research together—maps, landscapes, buildings, places, people, you name it.
A character board (or boards). I’ve talked before about how surfing for images of people sometimes helps me flesh out my characters. Pinning them is a much easier way to save and access them.
An idea board. Like my Surreal Stories board, this could be a place where you capture images that make you want to write. It might be a poignant photo of an abused woman/child or a faerie dancing on the palm of someone’s hand. It’ll be different for every writer, but it can be whatever sparks your interest.
A setting board. I’m writing a story for JuNoWriMo that takes place in Lake Tahoe. I’ve been there before, but looking up scenic pictures is a great way to refresh my memory before I jump into the novel June 1st. If your story is set in a specific place, you might want to look up local establishments—schools, hospitals, restaurants, parks, etc. that might be featured in your novel.
A cover design board. I haven’t started one yet, but I’ve got a folder on my computer oozing with cool cover art—why not put it up on a board? I love collecting other book covers as a jumping off point for my own—or just to glean whatever artistic vibes I can from them.

And some more from Jason Boog at GalleyCat:

1. Post your favorite books on your personal Pinterest page. You can add nice images of all the books you love in your life. Be sure to follow the site’s rule: “Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.”
2. Find other writers on Pinterest and follow their example. Novelist Shiloh Walker has a great Pinterest page, complete with sections for Characters & Clothing, Research & Scenes, and various themes from her books.
3. On your page, create separate “boards” (collections of visual links) about your influences. Just like a high school locker, this is a vivid way to show your readers what inspires you. The site offered this handy tip: “If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry.”