Three Elements of a Writing Style: Joy in Print
Walking through my neighborhood during this once-in-a-hundred-year pandemic “stay home” quarantine, I was reminded of joy. Yes, I said joy. The days’ news, full of increasing statistics and panic-stricken press releases can cause one to go a bit dark. I went there for a moment until I needed to take my 5lb papillon, Sophie, out for a walk. (Thank goodness for our pets; am I right?)
Blessed to live in an area where folks love to walk and ride bikes, the crowd has multiplied exponentially due to the order to stay at home. Getting outside is the best way to redirect the monotony of the inside 4 walls. But, I challenge you to go a bit further with me in thought and theory.
Letting you in a bit on who I am, I am one who has always wanted to be surrounded by beauty. I am not referring to the external beauty of people, but of the objects around me and the attitudes of others. One of my most notable goals, if you were to ask one of my kids would be my desire to create beauty everywhere I go. In fact, my sweet daughter had this necklace made for me this past Christmas.
This led me to a bit of a reflective journey. What is it that makes me want to be enveloped in beauty and joy? Well, let’s examine that, shall we? Joy, according to Dictionary.com is defined as:
“The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure, elation.”
The first definition of the word beauty surprised me:
“the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest)”
Whoa! That definition said nothing of external beauty, in fact, it’s precisely how I feel when walking around the neighborhood. Getting out of the house I took in the beauty of the trees and the birds chirping in the spring skies. The joy on the faces of the people walking with their pets and strollers, the laughter of young children, and the warmth of the sun on my skin generated an all-over feeling of contentment. I needed a new direction this particular day.
One thought connecting to another in my brain, as they do, I began to consider my writing career. Always struggling to define my style and/or voice in writing, I settled on a thought to research and hone in on my “type-type” (now that was funny!) This is where the title “Joy in Print” began to take form. The next logical step was to figure out what denotes joy in writing for me.
Three elements to my writing style emerged after a short time of searching for my intentions. Those elements I will dissect in the following paragraphs and then wrap it all up in the end. Joy in my print is accomplished through color, positive words, and order.
Writing is a form of creation filled with literal and figurative color. A powerful tool I adore. Some days color is white/brown/gold/silver. Other days my color mood may be red, white and blue. My best friend’s favorite color is blue, which I do not identify with. I find that humorous. Most days my go-to color is yellow, after all… my name! A bit of color science proves my thoughts on my choice of hue most days:
Red: excitement and power
Blue: intelligence and trustworthy
Pink: femininity and softness
Yellow: optimism and confidence
Green: harmony, goodwill, wealth, and health
Purple: originality, royalty, and prestige
Orange: friendliness, fun, cutting edge
Gold: elegance with power
Brown: comfort and earth
Black: Drama and versatility
According to my research, around 85% of people will purchase items in their color scheme and 65% of buyers will opt not to buy an item if not found in their color choice. The rainbow provides us with a full palette of emotions and tools to create mood in the atmosphere we surround our lives with. By creating a print with colors researched and customized to a client’s vision, I am able to offer that joy through the shade I choose to splash on the page.
Now, where lies an empty page, I like to fill it with words, the second element of my writing. Why is that, you ask? (or possibly you didn’t, but I am going to clue you in anyhow! Ha) There have been large amounts of research done on the power of words. Psychcentral.com says it like this:
“Positive words, such as “peace” and “love,” can alter the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the brain’s cognitive functioning. They propel the motivational centers of the brain into action, according to the authors, and build resiliency.”
Like the famous novel, and now movie line from The Help says, “You is kind, you is strong, you is important.” Those words repeated into a child’s mindset a tone for the rest of their days on this earth. They claim words propel us into action, and I believe it. How many times have you been watching a television show and a pizza commercial comes on? The color red makes us hungry and the words and pizza beckon us to go and get it now!
As if that is not enough, even ancient documents such as the Bible reference the power of the positive word many times. Go with me to the book of Proverbs in the New International Version:
” The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” -Proverbs 15:4
” Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” -Proverbs 16:24
” The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.” – Proverbs 18:4
I even like the words in these verses used to describe words! Soothing, tree of life, gracious, honeycomb, sweet, healing, deep waters, fountain, and rushing stream; how splendid is the word of God and the adjectives available to us to use freely!
The final element of my writing, thus creating joy for me and my readers’ order. Come into my home on any given day and you will see the order clear. Lines straight, colors pleasing to the eye, positive phrases here and there, and a clean environment is the way I keep my home. I order my months, weeks, and days with a proper bit of excitement and contentment, work and play. Similarly, my work is ordered by line, color, and words, all in order not chaotic, but purposeful. Each piece of the article of print is skillfully laid out to evoke a certain feeling which lines up with the client’s vision and goals.
My goal in raising my kids and in my home has been and always will be to bring joy through color, positive words, and order. This is the meaning of joy in print. My want is to offer a product to my clients which lines up with those elemental values. If you look at my work, let me know what you feel and think after reading it. For now, I need to take my papillon for another walk. Until next time…
Simply Sunni