Not a claim of correctness or The Best Way or anything of the sort. Unleash your creativity when it comes to descriptions of appearance. Add to that different tones - from warm to cool, different blemishes and hair … Coming up with color names for skin often crops up with children’s lessons on racism and in literature classes, too. If it didn't, they failed. Dec 16, 2016 - Some examples from my own writing, submitted for your consideration. You will see descriptions that feature “cinnamon” or “caramel” or “chocolate” to denote color. In a majority-white setting we still describe a range of skin-tones--peachy, pale, sallow, tan, etc--and obviously people of color have a million undertones and shades as well. Or at least they weren't effective. Edit: Ok. No population is so homogenous that there are no variations in skin color, particularly with sun exposure taken into account. It's unanimous: stay away from food metaphors when it comes to describing skin color. As a writer, you can do the same with colorful words. For fiction writers, especially those writing multicultural books and those for children, coming up with color names to describe skin is an ongoing challenge. Just my way. Apparently, not being clear about ethnicity or color leaves some readers confused and wanting clarification. Many authors make food and spice comparisons in writing when referring to skin tone. But those same writers rarely fixate on the skin of white characters and if they do, it's usually to describe a mood - 'Jenkins went white with shock' rather than a state of being. I found getting that ‘face’ on the page very satisfying. Spill out a box of 64 or 128 crayons and look at names for all the skin colors. Strategy #3: Many authors use food or comparisons to objects to describe skin color. For others, risky writing means striving to describe the ethnicity of our characters in a way we never have before. There’s a difference between using race as a factor in a character’s overall development and using it as a crutch or a lazy punchline. Scrupulously avoid cliché when talking about a character's appearance. Note the different pictures painted by the following two paragraphs. Why Is Color in Writing So Important? Pablo Picasso said, “Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” Picasso was an artist who evoked emotion with colorful pigments. After going to the “Writing with Color” blog for some help with descriptions of skin tone, I arrived at a portrayal of the person I saw in my imagination. Skin Tones Human skin colours range from palest white to deep dark brown. I found this is very effective for me as a reader. In so many novels white writers describe a black character's skin in great detail, frequently using ridiculous similes like 'coffee-coloured.' If your character is a racist, you must show how he perceives skin color in a prejudiced way, maybe by using negative analogies, and if he is in love with the person he looks at, you must show how he perceives skin color in a prejudiced way also, except that here the prejudice is a positive one. Where is the thoughtfulness in shaping a character solely around the color of his skin, designating his entire identity to blackness as filtered through the white gaze? 10. And yeah, this is in part inspired by a certain very lengthy discussion of race, representation, and respect in the SF/F community that took place recently in the […] Describe everything about them before dropping their skin color. (This also has the advantage that you can use a fictional tree to give an ethnic group a distinctive skin color you never actually describe.). I wanted to work my imagination first by forming a physical character in my mind and see if it jives with the author reveal later on. 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