For this week’s Thursday’s Children I thought I’d consider colour and how it affects and inspires my writing. Yes, I know the picture with this post is beautiful, but it’s not entirely what I meant. Or at least it’s how I’d like my writing to make you feel inside.
Because I’ve been gradually coming to the realisation that colour is very important in any book, whether it’s fiction or non fiction. We have to ensure that we bring colour into our writing, as a colourless story is not one that anyone’s going to want to read.
Sometimes injecting a little colour into your story can mean adding a beautiful description here or there. You may use some lovely adjectives. You may come up with an unusual and striking simile. Or perhaps a bold and brassy metaphor. I’ve been trying to think in this vein whilst working on my new WIP. I don’t find it easy, I have to say, trying to extend my descriptions, to make them come alive so that what I’m writing is vibrant and full of arresting images.
But it’s necessary and I feel I’m getting somewhere with it. I tend to find dialogue easier to write than description and of course, the flip side of the coin is that it is possible to overdo description. But there has to be a happy medium and I’m trying to find it. I’m keen to ensure that my writing is vividly colourful, that I draw the reader into the worlds I create, so that the reader is keen to read on and explore my fictional worlds more.
I’m sure for many of you, writing colourful and vivid passages in your stories comes naturally to you. Everyone’s different. And BTW if are one of those people who finds injecting colour into your writing easy and you have any tips, I’d love to hear from you!!! I have been inspired by other writers who have written colourful stories. I want to be more like them.
Well that’s it from me for this Thursday’s Children. I know it’s short but I hope it’s sweet. š
If you would like to take part in Thursday’s Children, simply write a post on your blog about whatever inspires your writing. Then add your name to this linky. Thanks once again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting.
Elaine Jeremiah 
Reblogged this on Jade's Jungle and commented:
A lovely post from Elaine which addresses the issue of adding colour to all of our writing and its importance, and how we may achieve it.
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Thanks so much for that Jade. I’m glad it’s helpful. š
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At some point I’m probably doing a similar post about the overall “color” of a given book, based on something one of my CPs said once about our respective books. I love color (visual artist before writer) and how it is intimately/symbolically connected to various emotions and character traits.
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That’s really interesting Rhiann. I hadn’t considered colour in novels in quite that way before. It’s always good to experiment with different styles and ways of writing I think.
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Awesome post. I love color. I have a character in my current wip, an urban fantasy, and he turns green. Each time he goes green, I have fun thinking about the exact shade of green. Is it jade, or forest or army or Lima bean green? It’s so fun, but then, I’m easily amused.
http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2013/06/inspired-by-friends-new-ideas-and-good.html
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Yes colour is definitely important in stories whether it’s literal or figurative. Glad you liked my post. š
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Description and color is the easiest part of writing for me. For me it’s come from thinking about a scene’s tone and adding color which express and amplifies that. Like dark shades for somber moods.
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That’s really helpful Pat. It’s interesting that description comes easily to you. As I think I mentioned, I find writing dialogue a lot easier. I guess it just goes to show that all writers are different. š
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Reblogged this on Healing by Writing and commented:
Elaine posts an intriguing piece on the importance and use of color in our writing. Worth reading.
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Thank you so much! It’s lovely to have such a wonderful response to my blogging efforts. š
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I love this: injecting color into a story via beautiful descriptions and such. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, so I’ll take your advice. I think it’s important to go that extra mile. That’s why I love Catherynne Valente’s books (THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING; THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND AND LED THE REVELS THERE), but the descriptions are beautiful and whimsical.
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I love books where the author has created their own world and when you read them you feel like you’re stepping into them. The sort of books you can completely immerse yourself in – that’s the type of book I aspire to write.
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Color is super important to me. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always associated a color with people as soon as I meet them. Unsurprisingly my best friends are usually shades of red and purple, my favorite colors. It’s a childhood quirk that I think actually does infuse my writing because my characters always have a “personality” color in my mind and that is often expressed through how they dress themselves, eye color, decorate their homes etc. Thanks for joining!
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That’s lovely – it is really quirky but great. It’s so good to have different aspects of ourselves influencing our writing. š
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I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there Elaine – finding that balance between description and dialogue is key to a well told story. Colourful and believable worlds are, after all, what we want to create.
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Exactly and I struggle to achieve that balance. I think I’m gradually getting there though. I hope I’m gradually improving as a writer. A lot of it is about practice.
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I think it helps a lot to read across genres and look for patterns that appeal to you. š
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Good advice. I try to do that – I have quite an eclectic taste in books. Happy Friday. š
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Colour can add so much vividness to descriptions ā in fact, omitting it is like writing in black and white š That said, I find it difficult to inject it with the same variety and voice as dialogue. It can be easy to just go “black”, “silver”, or “golden”, without trying for a shade with a bit more zing.
Thanks for sharing!
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I’m trying hard to get used to practicing what I’m preaching here and use colourful language to spice up my descriptive passages. It’s not easy but I’m getting there. š And you’re right, it is good to be specific with description and tell the reader exactly what shade of blue, for example, you’re describing.
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Never thought about how color affects a scene or the creative process. Good one. I enjoyed the premise. Also thank you for being so generous as to include other bloggers on your site. Good job!
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Thanks Robynn. I’m glad I got you thinking a bit about how we can put colour in our writing. Have a good weekend. š
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