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Colors in Writing: How To Use Them in Your Novel

June 28, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

feelings, fiction, manipulation, symbolism, writing

Vision is one of our most important senses. We use our eyes to interact with much of the world around us. Unsurprisingly, colors reveal a vast universe of beauty and meaning. Why should they be absent from your fiction? Colors in writing are far more important than many authors give them credit for.

Since colors are so important in our everyday life, it’s only natural that we respond to them in fiction, too—ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς; Eos rhododactylos, rosy-fingered Dawn, says Homer.

colors in writing
Colors in writing often convey rich symbolic meanings

My personal favorite from modern English literature is a description in Pamela Zoline’s “The Heat Death of the Universe”, referring to a land that, like California(!) is “Cunt Pink and Avocado Green”.

Learning how to use colors in your writing can add significant depth to your fiction. So, let’s get started!

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How to Manipulate Readers: A Short Guide for Fiction Authors

December 3, 2018

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, creativity, literature, manipulation, meaning, reading, writing

As a fiction writer, you create worlds. You create a different reality, populating it with characters and meaning. In essence, the role of writing as art is to inspire affect – that is, an emotion, a thought, or a state of mind. And learning how to manipulate readers can be an integral part of this endeavor.

At first, the idea of an author manipulating readers might sound controversial. This is probably a result of the connotations the word “manipulation” contains. But, as with so many other things, the controversy stops once you realize what manipulating an audience really refers to in this context.

Manipulating your readers creatively has nothing to do with writing gimmicks. The former is a legitimate literary device; the latter has nothing to do with the art.

In today’s article I’ll show you:

  1. What it means to manipulate your audience.
  2. Why would you want to do that.
  3. How to manipulate readers in an efficient, respectful way.
how to manipulate readers
Writing fiction is not about a strict representation of reality, but about affect
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