Colors of Autumn/Writing Colors by S. L. Carlson

I am S. L. Carlson, a proud and grateful BWL Publishing Inc. author. My books can be viewed and purchased by visiting https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l

 

(Autumn in Wisconsin)

I read a recent meme online: “A friend asked me how I was preparing for the fall, and it took me a while to I realized she meant autumn, not the fall of civilization.” This especially cracked me up because I once wrote a dystopia novel, and could easily see from where that thinking had come.

Because of my busy past couple months, I am grateful that this year fall (autumn colors) have come later so I could enjoy them. Some chalk the delay up to climate change. The change in foliage color certainly does have to do with climate and the coming cold. I don’t really care when it arrives, I look forward to hiking and dancing each fall among the crispy colors.

Colors are very much a part of writing description. It helps the reader see what and where we write.

For War Unicorn: The Ring, I’d paid a NY editor to look over the novel before subbing it to BWL. I vividly remember her comment that by the end of the book our hero had no physical description. Yes, it came through that he was an innocent, strong-but-bumbling, country boy, but he had no eye nor hair color. I defended that, thinking that with no description, anyone could relate to him. Wrong. Readers need colors, even if it’s not their own.

And depending on the culture and time, would depend on what a color is. Red River, in the afore-mentioned book, came as a result of blood flowing down the river after a battle. It was named such considering the peasants who lived in the area, and a way to remember their history. There are many other more sophisticated words for red, e.g., cherry, vermillion, crimson, wine, cerise, to name a few. For outdoorsy, tree-loving me, sugar-maple red (especially on a sunny day) is quite spectacular.

If you can’t ramble into the fall woods, and are in need of more descriptive reds, check out paint colors in a store which explodes with the naming of reds, or whites, or greens, or yellows, etc. Post the color swab near your computer to help you visualize the color you are writing about. Also, when you, the author, make up the name of a place (or river), keep in mind the people and culture who would name it.

What colors have you, an author, described? What colors do you, the reader, remember from books, leaving a vivid memory?

S. L. Carlson Blog & Website: https://authorslcarlson.wordpress.com

BWL Inc. Publisher Author Page: https://www.bookswelove.net/carlson-s-l