Mood Board for Writing Characters

The Dire Circle - "The circle is dire, much like the outcomes of these stories. In this black zodiac themed anthology, you may come to dislike other people...maybe even yourself." 

When I pitched an idea for "The Dire Circle" during 2021, I wasn't sure that it would even get picked. But, once it did and I was given a Black Zodiac to then develop my short story, I decided to do what I do for costuming a character - I made a mood board for my main character. 

My Black Zodiac was the Serpent and my short story for the anthology is Twisted Tales, Dripping in Honey.

My story centered around a very femme fatale main character with lots of buried secrets. I looked to old Hollywood glamour, dark reds, demon eyes, and other glints of seductress mixed with sweetness to create Melia.

For me, coming up with a name was very difficult. After creating what should would look like, having an idea of her voice, her outfits, her drive, everything about her, I still needed the perfectly crafted name. I looked further into Greek Mythology, looking at more lesser know names. After a while I came with the conclusion, something similar to honey. Her name is derived from the Greek mythology. It comes from a group of Nymphs who were named Meliai, which suggests both "ash-tree" and "honey." The name suits the character that I had crafted, and with that I finished my story.

Here is more on my mood board for Melia. I made small mood boards to cover inspiration for her look, her drive, and other aspects of her, then I put them all together to get the entire picture. 

Once I was done with my story I disassembled the giant mood board. I actually have some of the smaller boards (the pink "More than Cosmetic" piece and the book & lips piece) handing on my personal inspiration board in my office. I've set aside the other larger pieces and some indiviual cut outs for future use if needed. I love making physical mood boards. I do a lot of digital ones for costume design, but when writing I much prefer using my hands and working out how each individual image is going to connect to another.

My mood boards for this character are made from scrapbook paper, a lot of magazine clippings, printed off Pinterest board finds, and printed off landscape/scenery images.