Finding the Right Word: The Color Thesaurus, by Ingrid Sundberg

I have to admit, I’ve been a word nerd since the fourth grade. People tease me about being a grammar nazi, but I prefer to say that I’m simply very passionate about spelling, punctuation, and using the right word. The English language is a beautiful thing: the OED has over 600,000 words in it. There are so many deliciously specific words. For example: defenestrate. It means to throw something or someone out a window. There is a word for throwing someone out of a window! It’s little things just like that that will make you fall in love with language (and then when you have to use that that in a sentence and you kind of hate it, but hey, love is hard). The point here is two-fold: 1) never start a discussion with me about words unless you’re ready for it, and 2) the English language is a grand and wondrous thing.

I have to be honest and say I’ve never heard of Ingrid Sundberg, and obviously unfamiliar with her work. After a quick perusal of her website (and the mini gallery of her colorful hair, oh YES), I get the sense that she is also particular about using the right word. She’s so particular, in fact, she’s given the rest of the world a nice, visual guide by creating The Color Thesaurus.

If you write, please go and look at her beautiful breakdown of the rainbow. I get tired of elves with purple eyes when they clearly could have heather. Why have a sable coat of darkness when you could have a crow-colored cloak of midnight? These words conjure up specific images, and can enrich even the teeniest bit of story.

Ingrid’s word-color wheel is by no means complete, but it’s a great place to start, especially for writers still trying to find their voice or put a little variety in their descriptions. Or maybe that’s just the word nerd in me speaking. For those of you who are interested, Ingrid will be selling poster versions soon.

Now, go forth and colorfy!