A reader was confused.

After reading a persuasive blog post about the value of Pinterest, he inquired of the writer, “Is it possible for authors to use Pinterest to get attention to their writing.

I only have one word for this reader and anyone else wondering.

Absolutely!

Pinterest has great value for writers and anyone looking to grow their readership due to the vast amount of people using Pinterest.

More than 60% of all consumers get information visually, by looking at pictures. Pinterest is comprised of these graphics, or pins, displayed on virtual bulletin boards.

The answer for writers looking to use Pinterest to grow their audiences is simple—use Pinterest bulletin boards to get interest in snippets of your writing.

How to Use Pinterest Boards to Create Interest in Your Writing

The diagram below shows a basic plot structure. If you make a Pinterest board for each element of your plot, you will create and maintain interest in your story.

Exposition

The exposition of the story establishes the setting—the time and place of your action—and establishes the characters.

1. Make an account at Pinterest.com.
2. You will have an opportunity to identify yourself as a writer and to give the link to your website.
3. Click the + sign to create a Pinterest board.
4. Name the board. Use hashtags, so when Pinterest users look for graphics, they can find your board.
5. Describe the board as the time your story is set in. Past? Present? Future? Be specific—the Stone Age? The Space Age? The Age of Exploration? You get the idea. Use hashtags in front of key words, so people looking for the images you place on the board can find your pins.
6. Find pins to add to the board.

• Go to the search bar and type in the time period in which your story is set.
• When you find graphics that represent your plot’s time-period, click “pin it”. Hovering over the graphic will bring this up.
• Look for an icon of a pencil. Clicking it will bring up an editing function. You want to edit the description of the pin.
• Use hashtags in front of relevant key words.
• You will be asked which board you want to pin the graphic to. Click “Time Period” or whatever you named your board.
• Continue to do this until your “Time Period” board has at least six pins.

7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for your “Place” board.

In the Pinterest search bar, search the place your story is set. You can be as broad or specific as you want. However, the broader the place you identify your setting as on your Pinterest board, the easier it will be to find at least six graphics to pin.

Note when tagging your “place” pins:

“Travel” is one of the nine most common Pinterest hashtags there is. Since your board is about a place, and people travel to places, this is a relevant, and extremely popular, hashtag. Use it when tagging your “place” pins. (Do people travel to places during the action of your story? Remember to tag those pins “travel”.)

8. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for your “characters” board.

Is one of your main characters a housewife? Show pictures of housewives. Sue Coletta is a crime writer. If one of her main characters is a homicidal killer, she could pin graphics of killers, for example.

“Kids” and “pets” are also extremely popular trending hashtags. If these are important characters in your plot, be sure to use these hashtags to identify your pins.

Rising action

Rising action occurs when the conflicts begin. Two opposing forces comprise a conflict. Someone struggling internally or against nature still has a conflict.

For example, is someone in your story ill? Pin graphics of sick people. The graphics of problems you pin should represent main problems in your plot, or the people you are trying to win over to your site could feel misled.

Follow steps 3 through 6 under Exposition above and create your “Rising Action” board.

Problem Complication is the next part of a plot. These are events that complicate the problems in your rising action.

For example, if the prosecutor in a story needs to win a case or his career is over (problem), but the defense attorney is his secret crush and winning the case means his chances of winning his love are diminished, the main character’s problem has just been complicated.

The Rising Action board would showcase graphics of trial lawyers while the Problem Complication board would show pins of romance or broken hearts.

The climax is the part of the plot where the readers’ interest piques. The most intense scene of the story is described in the climax.

You walk a fine line here. You want to how just enough to stimulate interest in your literature but not enough that potential readers will start screaming “Spoiler alert!”

For example, will the defendant confess in the climax? (Spoiler alert). However, you could show a courthouse, the location of the climax. A juror’s box and a witness stand wouldn’t reveal the end to your story or book.

The Falling Action shows what happens after the climax. The action falls since the intensity has dropped.

Does the prosecuting attorney get promoted for a great effort and wins the girl? Again, choose your pins carefully to avoid spoiler alerts.

The Resolution explains how your story ends. Are they now friends or is there a lingering grudge? Do the characters go home together or separately? Showing a house will not reveal who is in the house, so you won’t be spoiling your ending.

In conclusion, there is a massive amount of people using Pinterest. The number of pinners continues to grow.

You can pique their interest in your writing by following these tips. The more boards you have, the more pins you will have. The more pins you have will generate that much more interest in your literature.

There are more tips for how to use social media to generate interest in your literature over at my site, MostlyBlogging.com, so please call over and check out my other suggestions for engaging readers, improving content, and increasing traffic as well (and I’d love it if you subscribed to the blog).

Janice Wald