Red Room Where the Writers Are

I recently got an update from a workshop I once taught. It got me thinking about workshops, a place where writers share information about writing. It also reminded me of the most essential thing I learned about writing. It's a simple concept really, and it sounds absurd at first. Basically it is the idea that nothing is ever blue. 

I'm not saying things don't turn out cerulean, sapphire, or the color of the sky. I'm saying that your reader is mentally reviewing all the blues he or she has ever seen when they read yours. They want something new. They want to see a blue they have never seen, a blue they may not ever be able to see in real life. They want to see a blue through your character's eyes, the pure and hateful blue of the desert sky under a blinding sun, or the plastic blue of a cup.

In other words, freshness of concept and originality of language (as best you can since nearly everything under the sun has been written one way or another) are key. I'm not saying to necessarily write for the reader, although some of you do, and it's what you love. I am saying you must write as though you hope to be the next Shakespeare, reinvent the wheel with your words if you can. Most of all you must try.

Side note-I am thinking of a weekly blog theme, more on this later.