Monday, August 9, 2010

August Blog Chain: Color????

The AW August Blog Chain is upon us.  As usual I am participating and the theme this month is -- If you had to pick one color, and one color only, for an aspect of your writing, which one would it be and why?

Honestly, this one was tricky.  Offhand I'd no idea how to approach the subject, which is why I delayed joining the chain this time.  Because I wasn't sure about taking part?  Well, a little bit.  Mostly, though, it was a matter of strategy.  Allowed me to take a gander at how others went after the same theme.  Heh heh.

But here is my answer.  My writing is teal.

Precisely why is more of a puzzle.  I'm not completely sure.  That might indeed be a major reason for choosing this one.  Say the word "teal" and in truth all kinds of shades come to mind.  Yes, it is pretty clearly a blue-green or green-blue but like one of the primary colors it lends itself to dark versions, pale varieties, vivid teals, plain teals, etc.  It sounds like it should be the color of the sea (and to be honest--the few months I've spent in my life away from the sea left me feeling out-of-tune in some way) but isn't quite.  There are gemstones that come in teal, but no one specific such.  In my imagination teal is associated with the orient for some reason, with artwork from that area of the world.  Odd, since while I'm not ignorant of Asia it is hardly an area of study.  As such.

Mind you, teal is considered (or can be) a shade of blue and that is my name!  But methinks it is more telling that teal has enormous variety despite its relative simplicity as a color.  Like my own world view, it is baroque rather than rococo.  It can be, often is, an accent to darker colors like black.  It reminds me of the earth, of rocks and stones.  Often mottled, it has the complexity of a cloud or better yet a wall of mist against a landscape.  Yet it can just as easily be a solid band of color, something simultaneously bright yet muted.

Whether any of this actually describes or harkens to my writing is for others to say.  I can only not this what my writing seems to me.  Or what I strive to make it.


The super summery participants of the August Coloring Blog Chain are:
Aheïla: http://thewriteaholicblog.wordpress.com and direct link to her post
Ralph_Pines: http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
AuburnAssassin: http://clairegillian.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
semmie: http://semmie.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
Anarchicq: http://anarchicq.com/ and direct link to her post
CScottMorris: http://www.cscottmorrisbooks.com/ and direct link to his post
PASeasholtz: http://www.paseasholtz.com/
LadyMage: http://www.katherinegilraine.com/
orion_mk3: http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com/
DavidZahir: http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/ <<YOU ARE HERE
NEXT >> aimeelaine: http://www.aimeelaine.com/writing/blog
Alpha_Echo: http://writersramblings81.blogspot.com/
FreshHell: http://freshhell.wordpress.com/
sbclark: http://sonyaclark.blogspot.com/

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Teal's a very pleasing hue; I associate it with the color of water off particularly good beaches like Capri and Phu Quoc.

I also associate it very strongly with interstellar war, thanks to Starcraft's practice of making unique units teal :)

Anonymous said...

Teal is a lovely and versatile color. I love how it can be closer to a greenish hue, or closer to blue. Great choice!

Anonymous said...

Okay, GREAT post! Best line:

"the few months I've spent in my life away from the sea left me feeling out-of-tune in some way"

I get that. I totally get that. I live near Lake Superior, though, which is neither a "sea" nor "teal."

Also, props on the music choices. I haven't heard Annie Lennox in years. :)

Dae Dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dae Dreams said...

Very excellent color! All of its shades are gorgeous. Hmm that's a hard color to follow. :)

bettedra said...

I really liked the bit about the ocean. When I imagine teal that way-as the color of the vast underwater world- it takes on a vibrancy I had never attributed to it before. Thanks for evoking that!

Aimee Laine said...

Well ... my comment got eaten up by Blogger ... let me try again ... so ...

Teal rates right up there with my favorite color. I love the variety, the different hues that all still mean 'teal' and how many options the color give us. :)

Anonymous said...

I adore teal. It is indeed very versatile as commonly used but I tend to restrict my definition of what I considered truly "teal". To me, it's dark blue-green, leaning a little bit heavier toward blue. I know it when I see it. All others are turquoise or simply blue-green. Call me a teal purist, I guess. LOL But I get where you're coming from with your internal associations.

Rebecca Laffar-Smith said...

I think, like the complexity of the color teal, your writing is full of variants and shifting depth. Teal can be dramatic or muted and your voice has the same quiet flair. Great choice! :-)