The Where’s and How’s of Moodboarding
Moodboards: the writer’s favorite form of procrastination, right beside twitter-scrolling. While we joke about it, creating moodboards for projects can be an integral part of the drafting and even revision processes. They bring the words on the page to life through colors and textures, real-life tangible objects and images of landscapes that feel like they were pulled straight from the page.
Creating a moodboard can look different depending on where you are in your process, mostly in the level of organization and detail. It also depends on how you work as a writer, whether planner, pantster, or some other in-between (hi middlers, I see you). Your boards can be numerous, some focusing on scene-specific moments, while devoting others to world and character building. They can be as annotated as you want, or as ambiguous. Anything that helps you immerse yourself in the story as if you’re building it block by block around you.
When there are so many options for creating moodboards, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Luckily, I’ve noted a few paths for you, kind traveler. Let’s explore a few!
Getting Crafty
Everyone’s at their screens so much that putting something together with your own hands can be a welcome break. For some, creating a physical moodboard is an even more immersive experience, as you literally piece the story together with whatever materials you have. Like a fashion designer’s concept board, writer’s can puzzle together images, fabrics, scribbled words, and various other objects. Anything that, when looked at piece-by-piece and then together as a whole, feels like it captures a story, a character, or a scene well enough that it draws inspiration.
Collaging on a poster board is one of the more versatile options for creating a physical moodboard. Take those old magazines you told yourself you would read but never did (I’m looking at you, 12-month Vogue subscription), download quality images from sites like Unsplash or Pinterest, or print photos you’ve taken. For textures, add fabrics and different types of papers—what colors feel most tied to the project you’re working on? How can you communicate the vibe through a smooth silk or jagged-cut sandpaper? Just as you handle metaphors in your writing, have fun with them in the physical art form too! If you can’t justify a craft-shop haul, go on a treasure hunt through your home and see what bits you can scavenge. Don’t have a poster-board? Find a clear wall and go to town. Just use non-permanent tape…
Inspo-Dumping: Now Online!
If you’re writing on a laptop or other tech device, it’s nice to have moodboards accessible in an on-screen format. Whether that be online or using an offline program, there are plenty of options.
Pinterest: the god site of all creative brainstorms. It’s no secret that it’s one of the best hubs for inspiration—artists and others use it professionally to build their ideas from the ground up and turn them into something real. An initial “pin”-dumping is an essential start, getting the inspiration flowing. Once you’ve culled a slew of images, you can organize them into separate boards, assigning some pins to world-building, others to character design and research. For those who value further organization in their moodboards, Pinterest has a notes section included, where you can keep track of written details or any scraps of sentences. If you have Pinterest and want to try something with a similar idea but different style, look into Milanote. It’s free and offers other (perhaps more) organization tools than many other moodboarding sites.
Say you want to create moodboards to share your project online. Sure, you can hit people with the master Pinterest board link, but perhaps something more accessible to the gentle scroller is in order. While the Adobe creative universe is out there and a great option for building compact collages, it’s also non-essential considering all the free alternatives. Canva is a great option, with its vast array of templates and free images, and easy-to-learn design functions. There’s a premium version available, but the free version works perfectly to build a beautiful, sharable moodboard. For more portable moodboarding, the Template app offers similar services, with more made-for-mobile design options.
Images that Move (You)
It’s easy to get caught in a never-ending scroll on social media, swiping blindly for minutes to hours on end. But using social media as an inspiration tool can be a fantastic way to brainstorm. Instagram and Tik Tok both have options to save posts to specific “boards” or folders, allowing you to gather, not just pictures and links, but immediate-play songs and videos. As someone who’s inspired by moving images, whether video edits, or short clips or gifs from films, this venue of moodboarding is a favorite of mine. Whenever I’m stumped writing a scene or coming back to my project after a break, scrolling through videos that remind me of the world I’ve written, how my characters move and react to one another in that space, is so valuable. So, next time you’re scrolling, take a trip through your “For You” and “Discover” pages. Who knows, it might make you love social media again!
Creating a moodboard can be such a personal experience, as you build visually what, until that point has just been words and ideas. It doesn’t have to be stunning gallery art, or the most perfectly arranged masterpiece you’ve ever seen. It’s whatever you want to make of it. And, over anything, it should excite you to create all the more.
