"My characters all have a piece of me, good or bad, big or small, common or unique."

Isn't that the truth! I actually try to avoid this, but it's nigh impossible. Good choice with hazel!

As someone with hazel eyes, I can appreciate the sentiment. In many ways it's not so much a color as it is the absence of a color, which has always frustrated me.

Very much, semmie. But it may sometimes be more because people all have something in common, whether it's their vices or their virtues.

alexpo1, Really? I've never heard it as an absence of color. That's new to me! :O Could you elaborate? Hazel in my book has always been a mixture of different colors. I'm especially fond of the brilliant green sort with fiery orange around the iris, like the picture I chose but not as bluish.

Like Semmie, I like what you said about your characters all being a piece of you. I would imagine most writers are like that. Sometimes I don't like to admit it but I know it's true. Great post!

It is an interesting color and eyes can express a lot. Good choice.

Ah, hazel. I love that 'non-color' color too!! :)

The multi-colored eye! Nice.

Since hazel isn't a solid color like the other eye shades, people don't have a clear conception of what it ought to look like. You never see hazel eyes in art since they're so hard to depict, and no two hazelites have the same shade. It's a bit of a catch-all for people who don't fit in the eye color categories as we know them.

Hence, "absence." People have asked me what color my eyes are; I say "I don't know."

Hah, that's interesting. Definition of hazel differs for each person, from what I understand, so that was new to me. I'm not sure why hazel eyes wouldn't be described as whatever combination of colors they are, but classified as hazel rather than saying one's eyes are green, or blue, or brown definitively. That's how I would handle it. My eyes are some darkish blue/grey/green thing, but not hazel.

Heh, but thinking about it, hazel being an absence of color likens it to my writing even more. I can hardly ever figure out how to categorize my writing.

My mother, husband and son all have hazel eyes. I think of it as not-green / not-brown but that lovely mercurial shade that flits from one to the other at the exact moment when you think you finally have it pegged. I'd love to write a story so intricately crafted it evokes the same sensation from the reader. Great post.

I always assumed hazel eyes were the same color as hazelnuts. That soft yellowed brown with a hint of green. A mixture of complementary colors blended together to create a rich contrast. It would make for some captivating writing. :-)