My Book Mood Board

When I began writing my book, I put together a mood board to inspire me – essentially a set of visuals that captured the world of my story, my characters, and the essence of the narrative.

Vibe and mood

Playing some of the music that filled our house from my childhood – Diana Ross, Abba, Boney M, Kool & the Gang, really got me into the right mindset for writing, so I pinned some notable album covers to my board.

I found it helpful to make a list of the words that describe the tone of my story: nostalgic, longing, dark, sad, questioning, yearning for example.

In my mind’s eye, I began to see my book on screen – the disco soundtrack of the 1970s and early 1980s, and the images filmed in Sepia, evoking a past that I still yearn for.

Significant elements of the story

From my story outline, I picked out significant themes, that I wanted to keep top of mind on my writing journey – tragic hero, a quest, reversal of fortune and secrets and lies for example.

I tried to capture the setting and characters too. I found photographs my father took capturing 1970s Lagos, a time when Lagos was still covered in palm trees and greenery, before the concrete jungle swallowed up the city. This is how I remember my early childhood in Lagos. I also have pictures of the house on Oduduwa Crescent where I grew up before, it became a dilapidated shell.

I included photos of my family to capture some unique things about them ─ my father’s wide smile, his sense of style, the clothing he loved (his obsession with the brand Aquascutum) and images of him at work. I also have images that represent the relationships between my characters – between me and my father, my mother and my father and the dynamic between the family.

And always, for inspiration I added a quote from Samuel Beckett, a quote that I also have framed and hanging on my office wall, a quote that has spurred me on through many of my life’s challenges: “TRY AGAIN, FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER.”

This is just one of the many tools I used on my journey and one that helped me given my need to visualize everything.

What tools do you use to inspire your creativity?