diff --git a/params.go b/params.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f11a29d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/params.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package gophercloud
+
+// MaybeString takes a string that might be a zero-value, and either returns a
+// pointer to its address or a nil value (i.e. empty pointer). This is useful
+// for converting zero values in options structs when the end-user hasn't
+// defined values. Those zero values need to be nil in order for the JSON
+// serialization to ignore them.
+func MaybeString(original string) *string {
+	if original != "" {
+		return &original
+	}
+	return nil
+}