Colouring In! #BeatTheBlock

[image error] So I found this image, but don't ask me where; I was browsing through the internet when I should have been doing edits. In my not so free time, I like to read about writing tips, tricks etc. sort of the same thing I offer on my blog. I like to keep my mind fresh (although I'm 18, I can get pretty bogged down).



This wheel got me thinking about colours. I have a blue notepad with words in, sometimes I look for words to improve my vocabulary, and other times these are words that I've come across and they've either sounded really cool or had a neat meaning.



I digress, colours are much more than those things you were given in blocks at school. Colours are symbolic and cultural and this wheel is showing how they accord to different emotions. Although, I don't really understand (a little confidence booster there ;) ). What I'm going to take from it, is a show, don't tell exercise. As colours are more than just visuals, they can activate all our senses; green is generally a calming colour, while red gets your riled up and excitable.



Don't forget that colours sometimes go by other names, black can be called obsidian or jet because of the rocks which are black (bringing other words in place of colours can add a layer to your writing). Another example of colour names is when you're in a DIY shop and they have the paint charts with names beneath them, these names are often the names of foods etc. brown becomes chocolate or coffee or cappuccino.



And just like real life, you can use these words in fiction to inspire the senses and create something specific. You can use plants, foods; anything, and using these kind of words often shows the personality of the narrator, making them more realistic and three-dimensional. Be thoughtful in the words you choose because you're inside the characters mind, they won't be so conscious, but you have to, to keep them in check.



I've fallen for cliches and so has every other writer, and something as universal as colours will also fall privy to being cliche ridden. You say "black", I say "death". You say "white", I say "pure". Hopefully this little exercise will give you some originality to your writing, as well as something to do if you're coming down with the block



EXERCISE:



STEP ONE: Pick one emotion: Happiness, Hope, Fear, Anger, Sadness, Love, Nostalgia, Dislike, Hatred, Boredom, or if you have another then use that.



STEP TWO: Choose a setting, inside or outside? Who's there? Is it a room? What's the weather? Build a small scene and then incorporate one emotion.



STEP THREE: After you have all that set out, choose some colour to SHOW how they are feeling, don't just say they were RED with ANGER because that's telling. How about using (I know I've used this before) her eyes were glowing coals. That's probably the most basic use to show red, but you go on with this, or perhaps use different viewpoints and different emotions.



Happy Writing & Happy Reading!



~Joseph Eastwood