 Action/Adventure: December 06, 2006 Issue [#1412] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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Writing An Action/Adventure Story
I have found that whenever you try to explain the mechanics of how something works it takes away all the magic. For instance, when a magician explains how his illusion works, the trick looses all its mystery, or when comedians describe what makes comedy so funny, it’s not funny anymore. So it is with adventure stories. If I spend my time telling you how to write an adventure story the breathtaking excitement of it all somehow gets lost in the translation.
Adventure stories are a thrill ride through landscapes of the mind. They’re not to be explained, they’re to be experienced. Like Bilbo and Frodo heading out from the peace of their comfortable hobbit hole on a quest to a fantastic new world, adventure stories lead us to astonishing places never before imagined. You become Tom and Huck as they enter a labyrinth of cave passages, Jim Hawkins as he carries a pirate’s treasure map to where ‘X’ marks the spot, or even Indiana Jones as he ties on his whip and pulls his Fedora tight upon his head. Adventure stories take us on a journey from our ordinary lives to places we would never normally go of our own accord.
It all starts with a mild-mannered character that everyone can associate with, someone just like us, cast out upon a dark and unfamiliar road that leads to an adventure of a lifetime. Anything can happen, and that’s the fun of it all. Your job, as the writer, is to make it as extraordinary as possible. Whether it’s on a quest to find the Holy Grail, a voyage around the world, or just a simple shortcut through the woods, what makes a really good adventure story is what happens along the way.
Genre doesn’t matter here, it could be a fantasy, a mystery, horror, or anything in between—what matters is to make the reader want to take the trip along with you. So how do we do that?
Again I say it all must start with a good character.
I wish that writers would spend as much time developing their characters as they do on their story ideas. The main character must be someone we would be willing to follow to the ends of the earth, and the development of that person, animal, or thing is where it all begins—which means, fellow writers, that your fantastic idea for the adventure of a lifetime is only secondary.
If you create a paperboard cutout of a hero no one can relate to, your reader won’t care if he’s setout to destroy the ‘One Ring’ or is just going around the corner to the 7-11 to buy a coke. With a good character you can shoot him to infinity and beyond, or through the bowels of Hell, it won’t matter, what matters is what the reader feels for this person.
As I grow as a writer (and I am still growing) I have learned that it’s not how wild my imagination is, or how great my story ideas appear, but instead, who lives through them. Who is this person I am writing about and how does he/she grow from the experiences I have set before them—what is gained, and what is lost?
Until next time,
billwilcox
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People Will Always Talk...
Puditat  explains:
Bill, a great editorial on exposition! I liken it to being forcefed. Being forced to eat a particular food is just about guaranteed to turn you off it for life, maybe even make one physically sick if fed it again. If, however, you're allowed to taste a little as you grow, the results are much kinder.
Yeah, I still remember brussel sprouts. Thanks!
wick13 gossips:
I found this newsletter great and really insightful because I've just joined the writing.com group and I can't write short stories to save my life, but I enjoy writing them anyway. This was really helpful and I can't wait for the next:D
*wick*
Thank you, Wick. You will find that writing short stories is kinda like having a brain-fart, things just pop in and out of your mind.
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