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Getting Inspiration from TV Shows

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 1, 2024

Let’s Look at Getting Inspiration from TV shows

TV shows can be a great source of inspiration. And they can go beyond TV Tropes and even into something (almost, let’s not kid ourselves, folks) profound. So, what do I mean?

TV Shows

Let’s set the news aside. For the most part, we see three kinds of television programs:

  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Nonfiction

And then they subdivide, e. g. comedy divides into sketch shows like Saturday Night Live, or sitcoms like Will and Grace, or most cartoons. And drama divides into genres such as police procedurals, westerns, etc. Furthermore, reality television is really drama, by the way.

And finally nonfiction comprises the news and documentaries. But it’s also educational programming for children. While a few potential outliers (such as music videos), or hybrid programs with both drama and comedy (e. g. Desperate Housewives) exist, most shows hit one of the big three categories.

Inspiration

Because everyone gets inspiration differently, consider how fan fiction grabs you. Very often, you watch a program but feel it’s incomplete. Or you might want a different ending or to gender swap the characters. By doing this with all television, and not just your own personal fandom, you can garner a ton of inspiration.

Naturally, you need to stay out of copyright infringement territory. However, there’s no copyright on basic ideas, just on their execution. Consider all the fish out of water comedies. Or think of the many episodes with people caught in a freezer. They exist because those situations work. And all the writers do is add a different spin on it all.

Authentic Experiences

In addition, consider the characters and their portrayers. Why is a character of African descent? Is it because they are having authentic experiences, or is it an attempt at diversity, or is it tokenism?

When Jewish characters (for example) are on the screen, does the audience get more than an occasion reference to Chanukah? Or do they just get a surname, or a trope? Or worse, do they get thinly-veiled anti-Semitic caricatures?

Are LGBTQ characters more than their sexuality, or are they stereotyped, or is it no big deal? Or are they killed off quickly, once they’re no longer useful to the plot, the show runners, or the network? And look at the smart characters, the dumb ones, and the evil ones. Do characters have any sort of depth at all?

And who’s writing these experiences? Are members of marginalized communities represented in the writers’ room?

Takeaways

You can get great inspiration from television viewing. Look at shows with a critical eye and consider how you’d improve or change them. Mash them up and make these ideas your own.

TV shows can inspire writing. But steer clear of fan fiction if you want to sell your work, and keep in mind that the structure and tropes of television differ from those for the written word.

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Getting Inspiration from Visual Artists

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on October 29, 2024

Getting Inspiration from Visual Artists

Visual artists and the visual arts can be a source of intense inspiration. Because their struggles can be a lot like a writer’s.

Consider how a piece of art makes any of us feel. Does it inspire? Or are you puzzled? Can it move you emotionally? And what’s happening around the fringes? Because sometimes the details and the background are of more interest than the main subject. You know, just like in books sometimes.

Hence let’s take a look at some well-known inspiring pieces.

The Mysterious Lady

Of course Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world.

Furthermore, the mystery of the piece continues to this day, as it has for a few hundred years. So, what, exactly, does her smile mean? After all, it’s a small smile. And so the model intrigues us, even now.

The Weird Landscape

Here’s another one.Visual Artists Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory is another very well-known piece although you might not have known its name.

Because the painting is so strange, it can offer any number of interpretations. How important is time? Is the setting a desert?

And what about the odd white lump in the center? Could that maybe be a creature wearing a clock as a saddle? Maybe it means we are all driven by time and memory. Hence we are all under its yoke.

So think about the paintings (and sculptures, too!) which you know. And consider what you see in them, for they may help, particularly with writer’s block.

More Art and Artists

Consider more art and visual artists. Van Gogh can be dreamy but also kind of scary. And the fact that it’s well-known that he was insane adds a bit of spice to things.

Marcel Duchamp, on the other hand (just Google him!) has a rather different visual style, to say the least. Well, that’s one way of putting it.

And go back even further, all the way, as far as art even goes.

What if you could get in the head of the person who painted the walls of their cave, or the sculptor of the Venus of Willendorf? Are the paintings meant to guarantee a good hunt? Or are they just decorative? Is the Venus an object of reverence? Or a sex object? Or is it something else entirely. Hell, maybe it’s just a doll.

Making any of these decisions can easily inform a story about those people, about that painter (several painters, most likely) and that sculptor. Writing their stories is a bit like writing the story of humanity itself.

A Practical Idea

So did you know that Pinterest has secret pin boards? It’s true. And what that means is, you can always create a secret board for only you to see. Or you can share it with a select audience, such as beta readers or even fans, if you like.

And all you need to do is, go to your profile and scroll all the way down. You’ll find it on the left (“Create Secret Board“). And that’s all you need to. So fill it with art which has meaning for you.

Visual Artists: Some Takeaways

Visual artists and art can inspire. And the internet means you don’t even have to visit a museum, although you might want to, anyway. Because they can be kind of fun. And you should get out of the house more often, anyway.

Or at least I know I should.

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Getting Inspiration From Names

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on October 24, 2024

Are you getting some inspiration from your characters’ names?

Sometimes a character won’t “speak” to us until we give them the right name.

Names Are Our Identity

While names have meanings, you can even get inspiration simply from how they sound. What’s Gertrude like? How about Lakeisha? Or maybe Stefan or Juan?

Popularity

The popularity of what people call their children changes over time. This can depend upon movie stars, politicians, or even religious figures. When I was born in 1962, my first name, Janet, was already past its peak. However, it was popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Why?

Because in 1937, Janet Gaynor starred in A Star is Born. However, Janet Leigh did not star in Psycho until 1960. And Janet Jackson doesn’t seem to be having too much of an effect on baby naming. For a lot of little girls who would have had the name Janet in the past, now often have the name Jennifer or Jessica.

Ethnicity

Another factor? Ethnicity. Maria easily made the crossover to non-Spanish and non-Italian families, but not Juan and Vito. How many non-Russians have the name Boris (the British politician Boris Johnson notwithstanding)? And do you know any non-Irish women named Siobhan? So when you create your characters, see if you can match ethnicity.

Of course there are Jewish kids named Sean and British people named Dominic. So this isn’t a hard and fast rule or anything.

For my own work, Ceilidh O’Malley in The Real Hub of the Universe has the most ethnic name of all of my main characters. But Noah Braverman and Mei-Lin Quan from Mettle are up there, too, as is Mercedes Pérez in Time Addicts.

Tradition

For westerners, traditional names generally come from both the Old and New Testament, or from the saints. Hence you see Margaret and Mary, but also James and David. Other related names can be similar or with alternate spellings or derivatives. Marynel and Maryellen of course derive from Mary, and Stefan is just the German version of Stephen (or Steven).

In my own work, the most traditional names mainly come from The Real Hub of the Universe. But this is because that trilogy takes place in the 1870s and 1880s.

Inventions

People also, sometimes, invent new names. Actress Alyssa Milano’s daughter is named Elizabella. So of course the name comes from clipping the Beth part off Elizabeth and instead inserting the similar name, Bella. While it might or might not catch on more widely, it’s a fairly harmless alteration. Plus it allows for a number of shortenings.

Because all of the characters in Untrustworthy are aliens, I had to come up with names. Hence I came up with Tathrelle, Ixalla, Adger, and Velexio.

Takeaways For Names

Name your characters whatever you wish, but do keep them consistent within your universe. And while there’s technically nothing wrong with having two similarly-named characters, if they spend too much time together and are otherwise too similar, that can lead to some issues. Hence you might occasionally want to change Tim and Tom to Tim and Dan.

And keep in mind, names can come into and go out of fashion. These days, very old-fashioned names are often popular again. Hence, your futuristic science fiction novel might have people named Hiram, Dorcas, or Ethel.

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Getting Inspiration From Sexism

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on October 22, 2024

Yes, You Can Still Get Inspiration from Instances of Sexism

Sexism remains an unpleasant reality in our world.

Since sexism is still with us today, you might see it, or even experience it yourself. However, even an unpleasant experience can inspire fiction writing. Because sometimes, you just want to write a villain. And maybe your villain can eventually see the light and change, too.

Sexism At Work

In the United States, there are rather specific laws governing and prohibiting gender discrimination. However, that was not always the case. If you write historical fiction, things can differ considerably. Consider what gender discrimination means. It means judging a person’s characteristics or abilities based upon sex and often traditional gender roles.

Hence judges might see women as better parents in custody battles. Or men might get blue collar jobs more often due to perceived differences in physical strength. And this can happen even when physical strength does not factor into job performance.

Sometimes women lose out on promotions due to imagined differences in toughness. And men can find they are overly scrutinized in professions where they may be in the minority. These can be nursing or teaching or the like.

In Social Situations

Some instances of sexism have mild or semi-benevolent origins in what is gallantry behavior. Holding the door for someone is a nice thing to do. However, when a person only holds the door for women, that is move which treats the sexes differently.

Even a positive difference is a difference, particularly when it can be a vestige of not just gallantry. It can also be a vestige of behaving as if women are incapable of taking care of themselves.

Social sexism can also take the form of deciding who asks whom out, or who pays for a night out. Waitstaff can perpetuate this by asking for women’s food orders first, and also by giving the man the check. Teachers might perpetuate these behaviors by giving strength tasks to boys and praising the quietness or cooperation of girls.

When sex is an excuse for a snap decision about someone without taking specifics into consideration, then it’s sexism.

Casual Prejudging and Sexism

Whether you try to excuse it as locker room banter, or it appalls you, sometimes people indulge in this. And it can even happen almost inadvertently.

One area where this tends to happen is with apparel. It’s rare when boys or men receive judgment for what they wear. That is, unless it’s overly feminine, filthy, or completely inappropriate for the occasion or task at hand. Or it’s the wrong team’s jersey.

Women and girls are often judged by their clothes. It can be skirt or shorts length, the neckline of a blouse, or the height of their heels. And yes, sadly, that goes into the rape old trope. What was she wearing?

No matter what, we still hear it.

Sexism and Transgender Folks

As trans people become more common in our world, they, too, are often subject to sexism. But there is also a bit of it being self-inflicted. How does someone who is pre-surgery and even pre-hormones satisfy their need to be a gender they were not assigned to at birth?

It can be with some preconceived notions about the sexes. Transwomen may feel the need to wear a chic sweater set and pearls, and put on makeup. While women assigned female at birth knock around in jeans and sneakers.

And transmen may feel the need to grow facial hair (if they are able to). They may even embrace male pattern baldness if testosterone therapy turns that gene on in them. Contrast this with men assigned female at birth, who may use Rogaine or do anything to avoid a five o’clock shadow.

But Do They Experience Sexism?

You’d better believe they do. But with trans people, it’s likely to be wedded to transphobia or terfism. It’s even harder for minors who are trans.

Takeaways

Characters can remark on everything from who pays for dinner to who gets the right to vote. They can support sexist conventions by pulling out chairs for women and giving little boys toy trucks. They can upend those conventions by giving up seats on the subway to men. Or by giving little girls chemistry sets. Or by accepting trans folk wholeheartedly, and without reservation.

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Reviewing – Positive Reviews

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 17, 2024

Positive Reviews

Consider this: positive reviews are the lifeblood of any independent author. We live for them! And they help us sell more books, which is really awesome. But how can you make them even better?

Caveats

Don’t provide a positive review in exchange for a positive one you just got. And don’t provide one in the hopes that you’ll get one in return. Personally, I very rarely give out five stars. A book has to truly leave me sock-free. I can enjoy a book immensely but still not give it five stars. However, I give out a lot of 3- and 4-star reviews, particularly to indie authors.

And if my review is a positive one, I spread it to as many places as I can.

Length

Just saying you loved a piece is not enough. It’s better than nothing, of course. But you, too, are a writer. You can do better than that! While you don’t have to hit an actual word count, it is more helpful if you give the review some time and attention. Naturally, if you are pressed for time or you have to do a lot of reviews, then you will not get into things like you would if your time was more open.

Plus it does not have to be a novel. A 50 – 150 word review should do nicely, unless it is a blog post. In that case, best practices for blog posts is 300 or more words. So adjust accordingly.

Specificity

Writers often get crippling self-doubt. Imposter syndrome is common. Generalized reviews don’t help much. Be clear about what you loved.

Scarlet O’Hara was a strong female character in a man’s world. What is most impressive about her is the fact that she was written in 1936. Hence Margaret Mitchell was almost revolutionary in writing her. While today we might scoff at some of Scarlet’s machinations, she still manages to be a memorable and memorably flawed character. Her motivations are clear and logical. Her endgame is satisfying.

While the author is no longer alive to read my praise, the paragraph still gets across my admiration for the work (I do, for real, like the book, although it’s not one of my absolute favorites, and I know it’s problematic). This is also a meatier review than just “It’s great!” The review does not just make the writer feel good; it also provides vital information for potential readers. As a result, it’s can help more with sales.

Spoiler-Free Positive Reviews

Please don’t give away the ending! My above review snippet about Gone With the Wind does not give away the ending. In fact, it gives away just about none of the plot at all.

I would write a longer review (the above bit is really just a part of it) where I would probably mention the US Civil War and Rhett Butler. I might get into Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton, particularly if I were writing a blog post and needed to make word count.

Spread the Love

There are several online places which take reviews.

Amazon reviews most directly affect a writer’s sales and potential sales. If you provide positive reviews on an obscure book blog read by only a few people, then the impact will not be as great. You can also review on other countries’ versions of Amazon (UK, Canada, etc.), GoodReads, CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks.

Positive Reviews Should Have a Call to Action to Read the Author’s Other Works

A call to action is anything from ‘click here’ to ‘buy this’. It is a statement online whereby you are asking someone to do something. It does not have to feel like a hard sell. Instead, you can write things like:

  • This book was fun and I can’t wait to see what else the writer has written.
  • I hear there is a sequel and I can’t wait.
  • I checked out the writer’s Amazon page (provide the link) and they are blogging there. I’m excited to read what they have to say.

Above all, you are really doing someone a solid.

Positive reviews will make ANY author’s day! #amreviewing

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Reviewing – Bad Reviews

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 12, 2024

Bad Reviews

Bad reviews can be tough to write! However, you need to write the occasional less than wonderful review in order to establish and maintain credibility. Not every novel is a stellar one. And not every effort is perfect and pristine. Pretending everything is awesome helps no one, and it undermines your credibility as a reviewer.

This blog post is about reviewing badly-written works. But if a work is out and out plagiarized, then have at it. That’s just plain wrong, and it may be copyright infringement.

Soothing Hurt Feelings and Maintaining the Relationship

Let’s face it. A less than glowing review is going to engender some hurt feelings. Plus there is every possibility a friendship will end over it. That’s not someone being a prima donna (at least, that isn’t necessarily the case). Rather, it’s that you just told someone their baby was ugly.

Yeah. It’s like that.

So, what do you do?

I believe one reasonable response is to essentially perform a cost-benefit analysis. Not everyone is a critic of any sort. Consider how hard it is to get your own work reviewed at all. It’s work! And people like to be pleasant, plus they want very much to be liked. They may be a part of the community and hoping for positive feedback in return.

Or they might be friends or family. Hence we are all essentially graded on a curve. Know that going in.

One thing you can do is, delay and defer. Maybe that’s weasel behavior. But it will soften the blow if the negative review is not the first one anyone sees when researching a book. If someone already has 100 reviews, then it won’t be quite so noticeable. Of course, lots of indie writers never get that many reviews. But you might be able to delay a bit.

Another idea is to go fast. Detail and length are not your friends here, so make it quick.

Consider the Audience

I suggested this for middling reviews. But it holds true here as well. Who is more likely to read your review? If the writers asks you to review on Amazon, then you are going to rather directly affect someone’s sales and potential sales.

But if you are being asked to review on an obscure book blog read by sixteen people, then the impact will not be as great. Plus you can initially post your negative review only on the obscure book blog. Once the writer sees the review, I doubt he or she will push for you to share it on Amazon, GoodReads, CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks.

And, if you really want to be sensitive to the author’s feelings, you can also show them the review before you post. They may very well tell you not to bother.

Providing Constructive Criticism in Bad Reviews

While this is a good idea in theory, it’s not really what someone is looking for when they request a book review. Instead, rather than hearing that they should learn dialogue tags by checking out this Grammar Girl link, they want to read about how their book moved you.

However, you still might be able to slip in some constructive criticisms, and write things like I would love to see this book with shorter chapters; it might benefit from another round of edits or some strategic splitting. Or I was hoping for a less challenging mystery. This one was hard. You’re not damning with faint praise but you’re also not putting lipstick on things.

And there’s no law that says you can’t privately message the writer and help them out with that kind of constructive feedback.

A Few Escape Hatches for Your Lousy Reviews

Preface a bad review with some escape hatches which will help the writer. After all, you’re not there to trash them, right? Here are a few ideas:

  • I am not the intended audience for this work or genre. – For example, if you’re over 60 and asked to review YA, you probably aren’t in the intended audience. Maybe younger folks would be big fans.
  • The work is unique. – Unless it’s plagiarized, this is nearly always going to be 100% honest and accurate.
  • It is a good freshman effort. – This is straying into the realm of damning with faint praise. But it’s not a horrible thing to write about a work. Most people are not going to do well with their first novel. And that’s okay. Overnight successes are rare, and they should be.
  • I really liked this one thing and think you should have written a lot more of it. – Liked one of the supporting characters? Enchanted by the setting? Think the plot was a good idea but poorly realized? Then this suggestion is for you. Of course you are not rewriting the piece for the writer. But your suggestions might just become helpful plot bunnies for them for later. Maybe they really will write a sequel or prequel, or revisit the scene, or rework the plot in another piece.

Salvage the Relationship by Privately Reviewing

You might be able to save things by privately telling someone – you don’t want me to post this review. There are review sites which will do this, and will often give the writer a choice. If a writer really wants reviews, they might be okay with a less than wonderful one.

You are presumably friendly or at least cordial with the writer. Give them a break and give them the option.

By the way, negative reviews can often help a new writer. Not only do they give the writer what could end up being really valuable feedback, they can even boost sales. For consumers considering taking a chance on a new, unknown author, a rash of 5-star super-perfect reviews can seem suspect. But a few poor reviews can give the whole thing more credibility.

And here’s the kicker. No matter how bad your review is, it will still be listed on your reviewer page on Amazon (yes, they exist; just click on a reviewer’s name). This is a small spreading of news/linking back, and it will be helpful—almost no matter what you say. Almost.

How about Bad Reviews for Famous People?

If you only write 4- and 5-star reviews, then you are probably selling everyone short. Just like bad reviews can give a writer more credibility, they can also give the reviewer more credibility.

But if you don’t want to hurt your friends’ feelings, what do you do?

One idea is to review all sorts of books. Review classics where the writer is long dead. Or review popular works with hundreds or thousands of reviews where no one will notice your review much, anyway. Did you hate reading The Scarlet Letter? Then go ahead and trash it on any review site you can find.

It’s not like Nathaniel Hawthorne is going to rise from the grave and complain, right?

Er, right?

Bad reviews are a little like medicine. Often unpleasant, but they can help cure problems! #amreviewing

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Color Theory, Part 4

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 15, 2024

Color Theory, Part 4

I made it all the way to part 4? Cool!

Time to look at Color Theory, Part 4 – If you are interested in creating your own covers, or if you are a part of selecting your cover in your published work, you will need to understand color theory.

But what does it mean when you add blue to your cover? Blue is the favorite color for so many people, you would think it would always be a good go-to for a book cover.

Er, not quite. Read on.

Part 4 of The Basics

Color theory is the associations and impressions we get when we are confronted with a certain color or set of colors. Color matters.

Blue and its Family of Colors

Here, in part 4, let’s delve into blue’s families. The subtypes of blue all have their own quirks and associations.

Blue, Glorious Blue!

Blue works as a lot of people’s favorite color. We associate it with both the navy and sadness. It is the color of both the sea and the sky. It is also has associations with the Union during the Civil War.

Many websites use blue as an accent in their designs or even in their logos. Facebook and Twitter, anyone? PayPal and Dell also use blue in their commercial logos.

Blue also figures in the colors of numerous sports teams, from the LA Dodgers to the Carolina Panthers. Often, we associate blue with masculinity, particularly as a counterbalance to pink. But there’s no particular shade of blue. Light or dark, it doesn’t seem to matter.

Blue eyes aren’t too terribly rare, but at least two famous men were known specifically for the allure of their blue eyes—Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman.

A blue moon is a rarity. Winners get blue ribbons. We also associate blue with the Democratic Party, and with business, particularly conservative business attire.

But it is also the color of blue jeans. Well-known blue books include the Uniform System of Legal Citation, Kelley’s used automobile values, and the Handbook of United States Coins.

More Blue, Please!

Also, blue can mean depression, i.e. getting the blues. Talking until you are blue in the face means going past the standard and arguing until you run out of breath. And blue babies are in physical danger. It’s only fairly recently that medicine has been able to treat them.

Blue even figures in the titles of at least 100 films!

So, there are positives and negatives when it comes to blue. And there is a ton of ubiquity. You might want to avoid blue (or at least too much blue, that is) in order to not fade into the background and be lost amidst so many choices.

Purple & Violet

Violet and purple are not exactly the same color, although we often use them as synonyms. Many people will use the two terms interchangeably. But that’s not quite right.

Violet skews bluer; purple skews redder. And purple reminds us of gay pride, grapes, and Barney the dinosaur. Purple is also a color we associate with royalty, as is blue.

Purple prose is overly flowery and ornate; we tend to see it as over the top. Both shades remind us of flowers; purple is more reminiscent of wine and cranberries.

Violet is a woman’s name. The character Violet Bick in It’s a Wonderful Life is the town bad girl. And Violet Beauregard, in  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is overcome by a gigantic blueberry.

Violet Gray was a main character in Peanuts, and she was the original mean girl. But she was relegated to the background, probably due to the popularity of Lucy Van Pelt. I imagine even Schulz got tired of writing a drawing a one-note bully.

So, even the name Violet is fraught.

Sports teams with purple or violet include the LA Kings and the Minnesota Vikings.

If you have regal or LGBT characters in your book, why not consider accents on the cover in either of these colors?

Going Green

Green is the color of early spring and Ireland. It is inextricably associated with both St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas, and is often associated with resurrection in culture, probably because of evergreens.

Green reminds us of aliens (little green men!), sickness, and poison, but also limes and mint. It means go and was also the lowest level of terror threat according to Homeland Security.

In the United States, it is also quite literally the color of money. Who doesn’t want greenbacks?

It can also mean that someone is new or has no experience. While this term is rarely in use today, the term greenhorn was once a common slang term for an immigrant.

And, we often will associate it with forests, gardens, and ecology. If you are setting your book in an agricultural society, then a green accent or two might be a good choice.

Sports teams with green as one of their colors include the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The fact that green can mean both fresh and spoiled means you will need to choose your shade rather carefully if you decide to go with the green.

Upshot: Part 4

Add green to your book cover and bring out nature or evoke business, or add purple to connect with gay pride. Or add blue for a conservative look, or to evoke the ocean or sky.

Colors are going to matter when it comes to your book cover. They can make or break your sales, so choose wisely.

Color Explorations

Color Theory
Part 2
Part 3
also, Part 4

Videos: Color Theory Videos

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Color Theory, Part 3

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 13, 2024

Color Theory, Part 3

For color theory, Part 3 – If you want to create your own covers, or if you are a part of selecting your cover in your published work, you will need to understand color theory.

What happens when you select a cover color predominantly from the family of yellows?

The Basics of Color Theory, Part 3

Color theory is the associations and impressions we get when confronted with a certain color or set of colors. Color matters. What do we think of, when we think of yellows?

Yellow and its family of colors

Yellow is a vibrant color but it is rather difficult to see against a white background. If your cover is mainly white, then yellow is a poor choice for author or title lettering unless you outline the yellow in a darker color.

We associate yellow with sunshine but also with lemons, which can evoke either cleanliness or a car that just never seems to work right. Yellow can also evoke cowardice and caution. It can also feel like early springtime, particularly in the northeastern United States. This is because two early flowers, forsythia and daffodils, are primarily yellow in color.

It can also remind us of taxis and urban living. But it can also remind us of Buddhist monks’ saffron robes, or even the spice saffron itself, which is rare and expensive. In science fiction, it signifies an intermediate alert, a cause for concern but not out and out panic. But we also use an amber alert for locating missing children.

And, sorry to the squeamish readers among us, but we all know that it’s the color of urine.

Gold

Gold more closely aligns with wealth and winning. We may also associate it with wedding rings and even old-fashioned false teeth. Gold is scarce. At least, that’s what we tend to believe when it comes to gold.

Gold is also something we use in electronics, due to its inherent properties. But if you want to dissolve gold (as opposed to just melting it), then you’ll need to make aqua regia. Oh, you don’t have hydrochloric acid and nitric acid just lying around? So, maybe hold off on dissolving it just yet.

So, gold can be pretty. However, adding it can feel a bit much, like gilding the lily, as opposed to illuminating a sacred manuscript. Gold has ancient associations with wealth, and was reportedly used in the Ark of the Covenant.

Add yellow to your book cover for a splash of sunshine or wealth, or scarcity, depending on the shade. And watch the darker shades. Unless, of course, for some reason you want people to think of #1 when they think of your book.

Want More of the Color Theory?

If color theory resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how colors can work with covers and more.

Color Explorations

Color Theory
Part 2
Part 3
also, Part 4

Videos: Color Theory Videos

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Color Theory, Part 2

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 8, 2024

Color Theory, Part 2

Time to look at Color Theory, Part 2 – If you want to create your own covers, or if you are a part of selecting your cover in your published work, you need to understand color theory. Knowing what works together—and what does not—will help you and your cover artist, big time!

The Basics of Color Theory, Part 2

Color theory is the associations and impressions we get when confronted with a certain color or set of colors. Color matters, even when we unconsciously do not realize that it does.

Red and its Family of Colors

Red tends to be a bold, standout color. It works with a lot of other colors. It can also help if you’ve got a mainly black, white, or gray image for your cover. Red lettering can potentially work with such a background.

However, if the value (brightness) of the red is the same as the gray behind it, you may find it feels like the color is vibrating.

Red means stop or anger or ripeness. It can also feel like excitement or danger, as it can remind us of everything from sports cars to raspberries to stop signs. The Twilight book covers in particular rely on red accents to great effect.

Red is also common in sports teams, like the Boston Red Sox and the Arizona Cardinals. But the latter, clearly, is getting its red from the name of the bird.

We also associate red with the College of Cardinals in the Catholic church.  But it evokes heat, too. Red eyes mean someone is either tired, or they have been crying. Drinking too much alcohol can eventually give you a somewhat red face. And, a classic clown will wear a big, red nose.

Pink

Pink comes across as a softer version of red. We often associate it with health and ballerinas, but also baby blankets and Barbie dolls. But its current association with femininity is fairly recent. Until about the Second World War, people considered it more of a masculine color.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has leaned rather heavily into pink being seen as feminine, and essentially appropriated the color for its own use. And, this may do a bit of a disservice to the men who get breast cancer (yet, it’s possible). The fatality rate for men is far higher than it is for women, and men may even feel a stigma that to get breast cancer is somehow unmanly.

But I digress.

Sports teams tend to not use pink as a color. But they will break out the pink for Mother’s Day, and for breast cancer awareness.

Color Theory, Part 2: Orange

Orange is more likely to be associated with hunters or the harvest or prisons. But it can also be associated with traffic safety. It can remind us of sunshine and, of course, oranges, but also the toxin, Agent Orange.

And, let’s face it, we also associate it with the forty-fifth president of the United States. But a part of that has to do with spray-on tanning gone awry.

Sports teams which wear orange include the Syracuse Orangemen and the Baltimore Orioles.

Copper

Closely related copper associates best with pennies or cookware more than anything else. However, we also associate it with bronze (about 90% of bronze consists of copper). And so we may link it to the idea of third place medals.

Sports teams rarely use copper. In fact, the only example I could find was the football team at Arizona State University!

It might be a good idea to choose a color from the red family for your cover or for its accents. And expect some strong associations but also a cover that can really stand out.

Want More of the Color Theory?

If color theory resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how color can work with covers and more.

Color Explorations

Color Theory
Part 2
Part 3
also, Part 4

Videos: Color Theory Videos

Next article

Leave a Comment
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Color Theory

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 6, 2024

A Look at Color Theory

If you are interested in creating your own covers, or if you are a part of selecting your cover in your published work, you are going to need to understand something about color theory.

The Basics

Color theory is the associations and impressions we get when confronted with a certain color or set of colors. Color matters.

A Wheel and Some Hex

Your computer generates colors based on combinations of basic colors. These are written in RGB (red-green-blue) or in hexadecimal. This means that once you know the code, you can replicate any color.

Using RGB or hex is particularly important as you replicate your colors and branding across multiple platforms. What looks like pure fire engine red on my monitor may appear more like brick or tomato to you.

But at least with a uniform color code, I can get it right if I need to copy the red from your page or cover.

Imaging programs such as GIMP and Adobe InDesign both have color picker tools which look like eye droppers. Select the tool, click on the color you want to replicate, and the tool will grab the correct hex or RGB coded color.

How Does Color Make Us Feel?

It’s just like a lot of the marketing issues surrounding books and book covers. That is, a lot of this will depend upon the buyer persona or demographic associated with the most sales of your genre.

Let’s say you are a science fiction writer. Then a lot of your readership is probably going to skew male. Although if you write LGBT science fiction, you may find more female readers in the mix.

Either way, how do they feel about colors? Furthermore, if you mainly have an American readership, their associations with colors will differ from if your ideal readers are Canadian or Swedish.

There is no doubt about it.

Color matters.

Want More of the Color Theory?

If my rambling about color theory resonates with you, then be sure to check out my other articles about how colors work with covers and more.

Color Explorations

Here are a bunch of articles about the theory of color! Because there’s even more to it than this.
Color Theory
Part 2
Part 3
also, Part 4

Videos: Color Theory Videos

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