Vision Boards for Authors

Writing for the self-help and personal development genre means I have to walk the walk and talk the talk in my day to day life. Fortunately, I’m also the founder of the Motivate Me Academy so helping women to be the best they can be is in the job description.

Using the tools and techniques I’ve learned as a therapist, coach, and tutor in my writing career was an obvious move. We’ve all been told to ‘write what we know’ at one point in our writing journey. Blogging is another important task for writers’ and gives us a platform to showcase our work. I’m delighted that my personal development blog has won various awards as well as being a Top 10 UK Personal Development Blog 2018 voted by Feedspot.

Transferring our day job skills into our writing work makes sense. If you work as a police officer and write crime fiction, then you’re in the thick of the action when it comes to research. If you’re a florist and write romantic fiction, then you’re in the ideal position to tap into the small stories associated with every bouquet you design.

I’ve written about chakras, crystals, and energy healing in my young adult fantasy novels, but it’s my non-fiction books where I share my motivational methods and teachings.

However, there is one workshop I run that lends itself perfectly to writers’ of any genre. It’s a technique that can be used during your plotting stage, for building characters, or for new and aspiring authors, it can be an inspirational tool to help motivate you to sit down and write.

Vision boards are something I create for every novel I write. The courses I run tend to attract ladies who are looking for focus in their life or career, but I have started to implement vision boards into my How to Start Writing Your Book workshops as I believe they are a fabulous tool for authors.

What is a vision board?

When teaching my classes, I show my students that a vision board is a tool to attract what you want to be, do, or have in your life. For authors, it can mean the same thing. We’d all love to attract a publisher, abundant book sales, and engaging readers!

Using a board for focus and motivation.

An open and allowing theme is the perfect way to construct a board subconsciously. This means getting out of your own way and being open to what presents itself. I made a board three years ago to help me focus on my career. At the time I was struggling with an autoimmune disorder and was in a great amount of pain.

I intended to create a board full of images representing my job, the courses I hoped to run, and the books I planned to write. I cut out a stack of images, but when I lay them out on the board I realised I’d chosen dark and muted colours, and lots of pictures of people sitting down, reading, and drinking coffee. There were many quotes in the pile which included ‘slow down’ and ‘me time’ and it was only when the pictures were spread out in front of me that I realised I was being told to stop fighting my illness and take care of myself.

I ended up in the hospital not long after this and spent the next two years fighting to get my health back to normal. I couldn’t have done that without stepping back from my job and taking time to heal. My vision board had shown me the way.

The process is hugely creative which is why it appealed to me when I made my first board over ten years ago. As a visual learner, I found the entire process of finding images that resonated with me incredibly powerful.

If you wanted to create an inspiring board that motivates you to sit your bum down and write, then you’d be looking for images of ladies sat at their computer. Pictures of your favourite author who may already be a bestseller. Quotes such as ‘I can, I will’ or ‘Make your greatest dreams happen’. One small image of a girl writing in a notebook might not mean much, but team that together with a range of complementary quotes and pictures and you’ve got a powerful visual reminder of what you want to be, do or have.

Using a board for inspiration.

The boards that cover my office wall predominantly relate to my life, health, and career. However, you’ll also find a colourful vision board with pictures of actors and actresses, as well as places to visit around the UK.

These are my book boards – vision boards that I create around the fiction novel I’m working on. When I write my books, I see the words playing out like a movie in my head so casting actors and actresses to play the key roles brings my story to life and makes it much easier for me to write. I’ve worked this way for several years and love it.

At the time of writing this article, I’m staring at photographs of Jordan Smith and Lyndsy Fonseca who are the inspiration for my main characters.

A board full of google maps, pictures of castles, medieval houses, horses, and swords can act as an inspirational nudge when writing a historical fiction novel. Decorating your board with Halloween pictures might be just the thing you need to work through that horror novel.

I also do a mock-up of the front cover on Canva and add this to my board. If I can see the book cover, then it motivates me to keep writing.

What do you need to get started?

For my classes, I use a large cork board (they can be bought quite cheaply at your local supermarket), but for my book boards, I either use a noticeboard or a sheet of cardboard. More recently I’ve started adding the pictures into my novel’s notebook where I write all my research notes. This means it can travel with me if I write from a remote location.

You’ll also need scissors, glue, and an assortment of magazines. If you write historical fiction, then you might prefer to get your hands on BBC History magazine, or something similar. Crime writers might find inspiration in Real Crime or True Detective. It’s wise to look at a wide variety of magazines as you might find the perfect picture in the last place you would expect, for example, you might find your getaway car in the auto trader or your perfect heroine in a hairstyling mag.

Once you’ve collected your magazines spend an hour flicking through them and cutting out any images that represent your characters, settings, or scene plans. Don’t stick them down straight away. First of all, you need to lay them out in front of you and see how the board unfolds.

When doing this for life, health, or career, you’ll notice that some of the images have lost their shine and you discard them. That’s why it’s important not to stick the pictures down until you’re one-hundred-per-cent happy with them. When you are, then get sticking!

What’s next?

Displaying your board in a prominent place is vital if you are creating a board for inspiration. It needs to be somewhere you see it every day so that the images become part of your daily visual life. What you see becomes what you say, which becomes what you manifest.

If you’ve created a book board, then display it as close to your laptop as possible for ease of reference.

Vision boards are fun to make and powerful to use. Give it a try for your next book, or make a board to help motivate you through a tough writing phase.

I’d love to hear how you get on, or to see the boards you create so please feel free to pop over to my personal development Facebook page and share them with my followers.

Shelley Wilson is a bestselling, multi-genre author of non-fiction self-help and young adult fantasy fiction. She is the founder of the Motivate Me Academy, a single mum to three children, and a lover of castles, vampires, and pizza.

Find her on her personal development website – https://motivatemenow.co.uk

or her author blog https://www.shelleywilsonauthor.com

Her books are available via her publisher https://www.bhcpress.com/Author_SL_Wilson.html

Twitter: https://www.twitter.con/ShelleyWilson72

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips