Novel plotting evidence board
One pin per character, clue, and red herring. String shows who knows what — and when the reader finds out.
Best for
Mystery and thriller novelists outlining a whodunit.
Guide
How to Build a Digital Evidence Board
The corkboard, the pinned photos, the red string between them — the detective board is the clearest thinking tool ever invented, and it doesn't have to live on a wall. Here's how to rebuild it digitally for plotting novels, running TTRPG campaigns, and mapping real research.
Six digital evidence boards worth stealing
Layouts you can recreate on a blank board in a few minutes.
These are starter ideas to spark your board — PintoPin doesn't yet ship pre-built templates. After signing up you'll build your own board from a blank canvas in a few minutes.
TTRPG campaign detective board
A living crime board your players can read between sessions: NPCs, factions, rumours, and hard evidence.
Best for
Game masters running Call of Cthulhu, Blades, or noir campaigns.
Digital crime board for a true-crime series
Victims, suspects, timelines, and sources pinned together, with every claim linked back to its citation.
Best for
Podcasters and video essayists building an episode.
Clue-to-conclusion chain
Start with the crime pin and branch outwards: each string is one deduction, so plot holes are impossible to hide.
Best for
Writers stress-testing whether a mystery actually solves.
Screenwriter's case wall
Scene cards pinned in act order with evidence pins underneath, so reveals land in the right beat.
Best for
Screenwriters and showrunners breaking a season.
Research & OSINT board
People, organizations, documents, and money flows on one canvas with source links on every pin.
Best for
Researchers and journalists mapping a complex story.
From physical corkboard to digital crime board
Seven steps to a detective board you can share, search, and actually keep.
- 1
Photograph your physical corkboard first
Moving from a real board? Snap a photo of it before you take it down — you'll rebuild the same layout digitally, but this time it survives a house move.
- 2
Open a blank digital board
Create a free corkboard.social account and start a new board. You get an infinite cork canvas instead of a fixed 60×90 cm rectangle.
- 3
Pin one entity per card
Suspects, victims, locations, objects, and documents each get their own polaroid pin with a photo and a one-line summary.
- 4
Run red string between related pins
Drag from one pin to another to create a string. Use colour as a code: red for confirmed, dashed for suspected, yellow for unverified leads.
- 5
Label every connection
Add a washi-tape label on each string — 'saw them argue', 'wired $40k', 'lied about the alibi'. Labelled strings are what turn a pretty board into a usable one.
- 6
Capture sources in pin notes
Use the notes and link widgets to store quotes, timestamps, and URLs behind each pin, so your reasoning stays traceable.
- 7
Share it or keep it secret
Publish the board so readers or players can explore it themselves, or keep it private while the story is still cooking.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a digital evidence board?
- A digital evidence board is an online version of the classic corkboard-and-red-string wall: photos, documents, and clues pinned to a canvas and linked with string to show how they relate. Unlike a physical board it can be zoomed, searched, shared, and edited from anywhere.
- How do I make an evidence board online for free?
- Create a free corkboard.social account, open a blank board, add one pin per person or clue, then drag between pins to connect them with string. No design skills or paid plan required.
- What's the difference between an evidence board, a detective board, and a crime board?
- They're the same idea under different names. 'Detective board' and 'crime board' usually describe investigation scenes in fiction, while 'evidence board' is the broader term for any pinned-and-strung map of clues — including ones writers build for plotting.
- Can I use a digital crime board for plotting a novel?
- Yes — it's one of the most common uses. Pin each character and clue, then string them together to see whether your mystery actually resolves and whether every red herring pays off.
- Can my TTRPG players see the board between sessions?
- Yes. Publish the board and share the link; players can explore, zoom, and react to pins without being able to edit your notes.
- Is a digital detective board better than a physical corkboard?
- For anything you need to keep, share, or revise, yes: it never runs out of wall space, survives being knocked over, and can be shared with collaborators instantly. A physical board still wins for tactile brainstorming in one room.
Pin the first clue
Create a free corkboard.social account and start stringing your evidence together.
Get started — it's free