Be honest…

How much time do you spend on Pinterest every day?

Don’t tell me minutes — I said be honest.

We’re talking hours here, right?

I confess to spending an obnoxious amount of time on my phone, computer, Kindle — any internet-connected device really — cruising my favorite categories and boards.

So much so, in fact, that sometimes…I feel guilty.

Pinterest is like the ultimate tool for turning a little bit of boredom into a very prolonged period of procrastination.

I waste SO much time I could spend on productive things like working on my next novel, finding new fans, or meeting some other indie authors.

You’ve felt the same way, right?

Well…

What if I said you could get in your fun time on Pinterest every day *while* also improving your current work-in-progress *and* growing your fanbase?

It can happen.

Let’s start with your writing process.

How do you brainstorm your characters?

I’m not talking about the basics (name, age, birthplace, job, etc.) — I’m talking about all the little details that turn a character sketch into a living, breathing person.

You *could* fill out a detailed character profile with a long list of likes/dislikes, goals, hopes, fears, and so on…

…OR you could create a board with pins for everything about your character on Pinterest.

Which one of those sounds like more fun?

Let me tell you a quick story.

Last month, just days before my final deadline to finish my second novel, my grandfather passed away.

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. After a week-long trip to Alabama to join my family in saying our goodbyes, I returned home and found I was completely disconnected from my work-in-progress.

My concentration was shot, my characters’ voices disappeared from my head — in short, I was lost.Continue Reading