Mood Board
Noun
def: an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept.
Mood boards are used in many different industries to deliver an idea for a project’s design. For example, interior designers use mood boards to provide their clients with the overall idea of the space, business branding companies gather color palettes, fonts, and logos to provide a cohesive brand for businesses, and the fashion industry uses mood boards to figure out the perfect color palette, texture, and overall mood for a fashion line. They do this to get the general idea and feel of a project.
Ok. So a lot of industries use mood boards. You may be asking, “Why does this matter for a writer like me?”
My answer is, INSPIRATION.
Writers should utilize mood boards to get inspiration for their current work in progress. They should use mood boards to build hype around their soon-to-release novel. Honestly, writers should use mood boards to inspire them in any way necessary – getting out of a slump, self improvement, you name it!
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Mood Boards Can Spark Inspiration
Like I said above, mood boards can spark inspiration for your current work in progress. If you’re having a hard time figuring out where your story needs to go next, step away from the project for a few minutes and make a mood board. You can find pictures, colors, and quotes that ignite that flame of inspiration and get you back to writing your novel.
Mood Boards Can Be Shared on Your Website or On Social Media
Once you’ve made your mood board, you can share it with the world. A lot of writer’s on instagram share their Mood Board to show their audience the mood of their current WIP (work in progress). If you have an author website, you can also share your mood board there, explaining what each element of the board stands for – or simply the overall feel of your novel if you don’t want to share too much before your work is published.
How to make a Mood Board:
Now that we’ve learned why a mood board is important, it’s time to figure out how to make a mood board. There are multiple apps and websites that have templates for mood boards, but today, I’m going to walk you through my process.
Canva
First, hop onto Canva and make a profile (you can sign up for a free account, try the free month trial, or simply use Canva as a guest – though if you go with the last option, your work won’t save once you exit the tab).
From there, search for “mood board.”
There will be some pro options, but there are a lot of free options available too.
Now go to “Uploads” and upload the images that you want to use.
Then insert the photos you want by dragging them over the frame you want them to fill.
Once you’re done replacing the images, download your mood board.
And there you have it! A beautiful mood board!
Where to Find Images for Mood Boards
If you’re wanting to use your mood board for personal use or posting on social media, then feel free to use Pinterest images for inspiration. If you’re wanting to submit your Mood Board somewhere where copyrighted images aren’t allowed, try sites like Pexels. There are thousands of free stock photos available for use!
In the comments below, let me know if you use mood boards when writing your novel! If you liked this post, check out “4 Ways to Get Inspiration for Your Novel.”
