This probably sounds like a weird question, but do you have a favorite writing color? I mean, is there a color that you use frequently in your fiction? Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Cimmerian, often used “black” in his fantasy and horror fiction. Some say he used it too often, but when you read his stories you don’t really notice the frequency of the word, you notice the mood that the word helps create. Do you have a color that you depend on in your own work? And is it the same as your favorite color in the world?
Black, with all of its synonyms, is probably my favorite color word in writing, although I think I use “dark” more often than “black” itself. I just like the sound of it a little better when it combines with other words. But in real life my favorite color is red and all it’s shades, especially the shades that darken toward maroon.
I certainly use shades of red a lot in my writing as well, partially because I write a lot of horror and adventure fiction and there’s always the color of blood to describe. Of course, words like dark and black and shadow appear in horror fiction a lot as well. In fact, I wonder if the use of color in fiction is genre dependent. Would a writer of ocean adventures use a lot of blue? Does pink actually appear in many romance novels? Is black the color for horror?
Like with many of my posts, I don’t have the answer. Just the question. What do you think?
