I’m currently reading R.A. Nelson’s DAYS OF LITTLE TEXAS, and came across this line:
The next morning the sun comes up like three-day old orange juice.
And I thought, wow.
Later, I was hooping while listening to Regina Spektor, and heard this:
Blue lips, blue veins
Blue, the color of our planet
From far, far away
So then I started thinking about colors
and how they can create such powerful imagery.
I grabbed a book off my nightstand, Laraine Herring’s WRITING BEGINS WITH THE BREATH,
and found this:
The yellow, diamond-shaped sign with the words "SNOW ZONE" on it was covered with snow,
revealing only "S W NE" to drivers.
From my bookshelf I opened T.C. Boyle’s THE TORTILLA CURTAIN to this:
His hair was red, for one thing — not the pale wispy carrot-top Delaney had inherited from his Scots-Irish mother, but the deep shifting auburn you saw on the flanks of horses in an uncertain light.
And Carson McCullers’s THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER:
Besides his workbench and chair there was a heavy safe in the corner, a lavatory with a greenish mirror, and shelves full of boxes and worn-out clocks.
Can’t you just picture all that?
Wishing each of you a glorious weekend filled with COLOR and life!
Tracy Abell 
Color allows us such rich metaphors, doesn’t it? I love the examples you gave.
So much to think about when we’re writing…it’s at once inspiring and (yes, I’ll admit it) intimidating.
Are you writing today? If so, I’ll be joining you.
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I was a little intimidated, too. But I like this post because it reminds me of the vast potential for descriptive language in my own writing.
I will be writing, yes. As soon as I clear the deck. Hope you’re already in the flow…
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I’m writing too, and color is just what I need for this gray day. Thanks for the reminder. Happy weekend to you too!
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Sorry about the gray, Lorraine. That’s what we had yesterday but today it’s sunshine bouncing off the snow. Maybe you’ll get some tomorrow.
I’m supposed to be writing but am having a hard time getting started today. Okay, I’m off…
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Cool!
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Color is very cool, and I feel bad for those who can’t see it and revel in its amazing-ness.
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