  Action/Adventure
This week: Edited by: Puditat  
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Life without action is static, and by necessity, it would therefore be dead. Action writing takes the normal and shares it for all to live vicariously.
Adventure is the spice: the exciting, adrenalin-pumping, thrill that makes one feel so alive. Everyone has an adventuresome spirit. Maybe dreams of excavating some long-lost treasure, visiting a new country, or trying a new flavour of potato chip.  Some of us prefer our adventures to come between the pages of a book, and many of us like to write that adventure.
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** Image ID #1092365 Unavailable **
** On Plans and Experiences **
Last week I was very pleased to have time away from the normal day-to-day stuff and go on holiday with my husband. We were both excited to return to a favourite spot for a week of camping. The morning we left we packed up the car with everything, except the brand new king-szie bed with it's three inches of comfort layers, and set out full of expectation.
The three and a half hour journey was interesting. The first three sets of public toilets we attempted to utilise enroute were closed, one even with iron bars bolted firmly across the doors. The fourth time was the charm and the travel proceeded. We left early enough, but the day was still gaining around the mid-30's (that's in Celsius), and we were glad when we crossed the divide and ran into the West Coast rain. The temperature plunged to a delightful 15 degrees Celsius and I felt I could breathe again.
At the campsite we rolled out the tent to find a disappointing mildewy, sodden mess. We'd forgotten to dry the tent out from last year's holiday and the lovely plum and teal canvas was showing the neglect. We put it up, mopped out the inside with the only thing I could spare - the teatowels - and hoped it would have time to dry out before we had to put in our bedding.
A few showers later and night was fast approaching. There were fresh pools of water inside, and even worse, constant drips inside over the area our heads had to be. There was nothing for it. We laid a blanket on the base of the tent, put the foam squab matresses on top and made the bed. Thankfully the rain eased off and there weren't too many drips to keep us awake.
The next day it also rained, but less ferociously. The inside of the tent continued to seep and collect puddles. The next two days were bright and fine and it was a relief to see the tent dry out. The day after that it rained again, and our drips returned, wetting bedding and pillows as well. Still, it was a great holiday, and nothing seemed so bothersome when there was not an alarm to drive one from bed in the morning, nor a state of dress required more formal than a pair of shorts and t-shirt.
So what is the point in relating my camping trip?
1. Life doesn't always go as expected. It throws things at us, and it should surprise your characters, too. Whenever a character flows from task to task it is unbelievable and the reader can see the writer pulling the strings.
2. Use the unexpected to reveal a character's attitudes. Will they sink or swim? Will they fight or drift? Do they get the mission done simply because it was their destiny, or did they choose it despite the hardship? Test the mettle of your characters, thus making your story more realisitic as well as providing great opportunities to develop characterisation.
3. Draw from your real-life instances of plans gone awry to enrich your stories. I rather imagine being in a leaky tent is a lot like enduring a tropical rain under a makeshift shelter made from branches and thatch or palm leaves -- you end up not quite as wet as you could.
Thanks for being with me for this issue,
Puditat
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 Good contrast shown in your examples, Puditat. I like the difference, interesting.
Vivian 
Thank you, Viv. 
Hi Puditat
Good points and nice job with showing the contrasts between the death scenes.
Good newsletter
larryp
 I appreciate it.
Thank you. Great guidance. I haven't killed any characters off yet, but I did have a conventioinal guy lose his soul to the dark side! I'll keep the principles you demonstrated in mind in my future writings.
Brent Sisson
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Action/Adventure: January 23, 2008 Issue [#2188]
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