June 6, 2017
Adding Color
I discovered I was color-blind before first
grade. I remember where I was. We lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mom was a stay-at-home mother while we lived
there and did many fun things to entertain us.
One morning, I was coloring in a coloring
book. Mom asked, “Mark, why are you
coloring the grass brown?” I don’t
remember what I answered, but the crayon looked right to me. Once I learned to read I was able to keep the
colors straight, except when they had crazy names. I have always had problems differentiating
between browns and greens, and blues and purples. I don’t see red the way the rest of the world
does. I remember someone commenting on a
bush covered with red roses. From a
distance, I didn’t see the red.
Getting the colors just right in life has affected my novels. To me it is important that they have color. And not just color, but I want all the senses represented. To me it is important that all the senses are represented in my writing. I can tell you I consciously look at ways to tell you the colors I imagine, the sounds, the smells, and the tastes.
While editing Onesimus, my latest novel, I
developed a template to check if I was helping you, the reader, experience all
the senses in this book, and to see all the colors. After I finished the novel, I printed out my
template. I have a few select people reading my novel for specific things. Virginia for grammar and word choice. My dad for getting the gospel message across accurately. My mom for the emotions it evokes. So after they are finished, and I make the necessary changes, I will take my template, read each
chapter over again, looking to see if I had adequately colorized my novel. Could you see what I was seeing? Smell what I smelled? Tasted the food? Or heard the birds the way I
did? If you so, then I have succeeded.
No comments:
Post a Comment