The one thing I have a hard time doing when I write stories is keeping a clear image of what the aesthetic is like, whether that be the whole tone of the story or the aesthetic of the characters. About a year ago, I read on an Instagram post on how just to do that, and it involves mood boards.
What Is The Vibe You’re Going For?
You don’t necessarily need a plot yet to figure out the vibe. The book that I’m writing right now has a dark academia vibe to it. In short, darker school vibes. Think Harry Potter or Dead Poets Society or Frankenstein.
Once you’ve figured out what you’re going for, which could be dark academia, coming-of-age, love story, or fantasy, research a little bit. Is there a color scheme that you want to stick to? What’s the time period? Where is it taking place?
Once you got the little basic details of the vibe you’re going for, you can move on to putting it together.
Where To Begin A Mood Board?
You can make this as simple or as complex has you want. Pixlr is basically the free version of Photoshop. Have a solid color as the first layer, and you can paste new images as layers and move them where you want, creating something that looks similar to this.
My personal favorite is using Pinterest. Here is my personal example of what I am talking about. You can search up different things you can see within your story’s setting, and once your Pinterest board figures out what kind of aesthetic you’re going for, it gives you suggestions for what you’re looking for. It’s perfect for on-the-go mood boards in case you get a random idea at the least convenient time.
You can also use We Heart It which is similar to Pinterest, but it focuses more on pictures.
Whatever you do to help you set up the tone for your story, happy writing!