Vision Boarding your Book

I've met many people at different stages of writing endeavours. They could be writing a book, or a collection of poetry; they could have a regular weekly column that they need subject matter for, or like a friend of mine,  writing on topics that interest her for no one other than herself. Whatever we write about or whatever the reason we write, we all need ideas. So when I'm sitting in front of my laptop with my mind a fresh, clean slate, where does the inspiration come from?

I go through phases of carrying around a small notebook to make notes of interesting things when I see them. But its such a performance for me to rummage around in my handbag (the size of  a wheelie bin), to find the notebook and pen. Without glasses I can't see to write  so I generally have to find them, put them on, and all the while balance the wheelie bin on one shoulder, adopting a Kwasimodo pose. Not practical! I had this romantic notion of myself seated at a side-walk cafe (in summer of course, on a sunny day...in London? I hear you ask!), but it rarely works out like that, I found. Usually I'm hurrying somewhere amongst a thousand strong throng of people, and stopping to retrieve said notebook is tantamount to stopping dead in your tracks during the running of the bulls in Pamplona! Unwise at the very least....

Then I found Pinterest, and whilst I didn't cotton on to this at the very beginning, the thought started to take form in my head. What if I created a board where I could dump all the images that fascinated me, or sparked something within for my writing in one place? A picture is worth a thousand words.... so they say. When I was in the middle of a scene in my book and I needed inspiration, I could just tap into my Pinterest board and get the ideas flowing again. So that's what I've started to do. I've set up a board and I've called it 'What If'.
When I'm sitting anywhere pinning stuff, if something jumps out as 'could be part of my book' or 'resonates with the theme or genre that I'm working on', it gets pinned to my What If board.

I do this whilst the idea of the book is seeding itself in my head; I do it when I'm writing the outline, and whilst I'm putting the meat on the bones, thereafter. I use it at any and all stages, and regularly add images to my board.
At first I don't know where all the bits fit in, I just know that they are part of the story.
It helps me to see my story in vibrant colour, and to immerse myself in it completely.

Try it; what have you got to lose.....

Gabi

'Pin' yourself out there.

Self-branding is a buzz word today, but what does it really mean? Without taking it to the level of global celebrities, let's get simple about it. 


The people who know you - friends, family, colleagues, community members, whatever - know things about you on various levels. Those you've known forever, know you better than those you've known for five minutes. You may keep your private life separate from your work life so your colleagues will have a different view of you to possibly your close friends. 

Every day in every part of our lives we are self-branding ... and we've been doing it all our lives. Our target audience has just been contained, that's all. 
Today, the internet and social media enables us to achieve a much greater reach.  


I've read articles that advise establishing a niche and focussing purely on that - tailoring posts, interactions, comments, discussions, etc. around a specific topic and no other. It gives people a clear understanding of what you associate yourself with and so they follow you because of the content you put out. Other points of view include letting your audience see a bit more depth to the real person behind the niche marketer. This holds for brands as well. Customers want to connect more with the humanity of the brand - its human face - if you like.  


I've recently started out on my self-branding journey. I've just released my début novel and started my blog a couple of months ago. 
My activity has focussed on posts about my book and my experiences in self-publishing because this is what I've spent my time doing. There are so many facets to a writer and an individual, and you may not want to limit yourself. I know, I don't want to. 


Social media is evolving and so is self-branding. On Facebook, you can now 'like' stuff, on Google +, you can '+1' something, on Twitter you can retweet. These options tell your audience more about you and where you stand: more about the person and the personality behind the brand/niche/blog; more all-roundedness; more humanity.

Enter Pinterest. 


Its the picture (of you) that paints a thousand words. 


You can 'get' so much more about the person/brand/group by looking at their Pinterest boards, than you can by reading most blogs. 
It gives each of us (individual and brand) the opportunity to show, not tell the world about ourselves. 




And that's something any writer understands (or should).