Have you ever tried to get a bit creative with your Word document — say, by adding shapes, text boxes or little ‘posters’ to jazz up a chapter or give a story that scrapbook, noticeboard, or character-doodle vibe?
Same.
It started as a simple idea. I was working on a story where I wanted to include visual elements — little notes, pinned posters on a noticeboard, maybe even make it look like something a character had slapped together with coloured paper and push pins. I thought, “Easy — I’ll just insert some shapes and text boxes, line them up nicely, and voilà!”
Which worked... until I emailed the document.
And then? Chaos.
Somehow, those neat little boxes took on a life of their own. Posters slid across the page, text disappeared behind rogue rectangles, and the whole layout fell apart like a stack of leaflets in a gust of wind.
Apparently, Word has some... thoughts about how shapes behave when a document is opened elsewhere. Especially if it’s on a different version or device.
The good news? It’s fixable. A few quiet tweaks, a touch of creative thinking (and yes, a bit of techy help) and everything now stays beautifully put — just as it should. No drama, no drifting, no mystery layers.
So if you're ever tempted to sneak something visual into your story — do it. Just don’t be surprised if Word has a little wobble first. And rest assured, there’s a way to coax it back into place.