Jul 20 2008
Writing Tip of the Day: Color is the Weakest Form of Visualization
Beginning authors usually try to visualize objects by describing their color. Their characters have brown eyes and black hair and inhabit a world of green bushes and brown tables and grey clouds. Or, if they have a thesaurus on hand, maybe the grass will be emerald and the sky will be azure.
Color hardly ever suggests anything interesting about the character or object. For example, let’s say that my villain’s eyes are blue instead of green or brown. Who cares? Do blue eyes suggest anything about the character or advance the plot? If not, then the the detail is irrelevant and should be removed. Most color usage is irrelevant.
A far better way to visualize your characters is by describing forms and shapes. Build associations and emotional connections for us. For example, my villain has sickle-shaped earrings and an icicle of a nose. With those two sinister details, I have portrayed what kind of character she is. Why waste time with the color of her earrings, eyes, hair or dress? What do those say about her?
To help you portray your characters more effectively, I have a brief questionnaire for you.
- Name one or two traits you want your character’s appearance to demonstrate. (Some popular examples: inviting, scary, friendly, dangerous, conservative, tasteful, uptight, superficial, whimsical, morose, upbeat, tough).
- How might a person’s body reflect that trait? For example, a tough person might have callused hands and leathery skin from years of sun-damage.
- What are some shape associations you could draw to illustrate the trait? For example, if you want to show that someone is comically jolly and pleasant, you might describe their nose as the shape of a candy-cane.
- How might a person’s choice of attire reflect the trait?
- How might the person’s posture or stature reflect the trait?
- What about his gait?
- What about his hygiene?
- Hairstyle? Accessories?
I don’t know if I agree on the whole color being irrelevant thing. What if you want the reader to “see” the room with you? Maybe it’s important, then, for the person to be sitting in a red leather chair as opposed to a brown one. Maybe red reflects on the character’s… character, and the author would like the reader to subconsciously think “red” when the character is in scene.
Just saying.
Looooove the list of questions, though. I’ll be sure to use them in my own writing.
I’m with katie on this. Sometimes color can be more important. If you’ve got your character in front of a building owned by the richest man in the world, tall and pointy does NOT cover it. On the other hand when their screaming for their life I don’t think that they will be worrying about the color of the chaser’s outfit. People read books to escape but you even said that details are important. Now if your character is blind or something likewise you can worry about it then.
Thought I’d put that in.
I think that the subject matter here are characters rather than objects, although I would guess that it applies to objects as well. That said, I would largely disagree with the disagreement.
For example, what am I supposed to learn knowing that the chair is red? Are we saying the character is ostentatious (it’s an ungainly-colored red); iconoclastic (the only red chair in the room)? blood-thirsty (it’s the color of blood)? It’s not to say you can’t tie a color with one of these ideas, but color — in itself — is insufficient. You can also describe any of those characteristics without the use of color.
Likewise, with the building… If tall and pointy does not cover it, does “grey” cover it? I would agree that “shape” may be the second weakest after color, but that doesn’t mean it’s your second choice. How about it’s condition — is it austere, with sharp, unrelenting angles? Garishly ornate, with statues of cherubs flanking Corinthian pillars that were made of mass-produced marble and reek of new money?
Just thought I would contribute.
I think that hair and eye colors have their place, as long as they’re just mentioned in passing or add to the story (they can). Like a character might notice another’s hair color or a facial feature and use that to recognize them later. Or two young women trying to hide in a dark alley, and one gets kidnapped because her bright blonde hair gave her away.
In an article I wrote recently, I mentioned that eye color or hair color could be used to create an impression of a character that helps develop the plot and/or characterization.