Action/Adventure: May 26, 2010 Issue [#3759] |
Action/Adventure
This week: Nature as a Writing Tool Edited by: Leger~ More Newsletters By This Editor
1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions
The purpose of this newsletter is to suggest a few inspiration ideas to the action / adventure author.
This week's Action / Adventure Editor
Leger~
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Action and adventure is the perfect foil for drama. Even the most benign adventure like camping, can be a great background for drama. Your character sets up a tent
You know something is going to happen when they forgot the hammer for the tent stakes, used a can of beans, which burst, and ended up pounding the stakes in with a rock. |
in the woods. A flickering fire in the dark woods, the cold remnant of a can of beans, and the small snap of a branch behind them - starts the drama, starts the rise in emotion. Your reader feels the fear bloom in the pit of your character's stomach and will read on.
Excluding going to a dark moldery basement, being indoors can't compare to the forces out in nature . Being outdoors seems to heighten the drama of any situation. Perhaps it is the sense of nature being bigger than humans. Pitting the simple strengths of humans against the larger force of nature can make for a great story. Your readers can empathize with your characters; understand the dangers and pitfalls of the situation the characters are in. They understand the terror of hearing a growl behind your character and want your character to win the battle with nature.
Your reader's emotions rise with the drama, feeling the fear in their stomach and feel the character's need to poke the fire and turn, very slowly, to try to see what is in the trees behind them. It is your choice as an author to escalate your story and send a wolf jumping at their throat or choose to have a hungry game warden wander into your scene.
When writing your next action / adventure scene, think about using nature as a tool to create rising emotion and drama.
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Excerpt: “I don’t see a naked lady.” Cody pointed the beam of the flashlight to the top of the archway and squinted at the ancient mosaic.
From the safety of the path, Jesse called, “Yer not lookin’ at it right. Ya gotta get closer an’ look straight up.”
| | Flood (13+) A disaster strikes a city, a man tries to survive. #1672493 by Quik |
Excerpt: The rain just kept falling.
I was still inside the car, surrounded by water, but still dry, enjoying my last moments with the vehicle, while it was starting to float, and rock like a small boat with no anchor.
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Excerpt: I sat next to the still pond, the only thing that seemed to be unbothered by the nights events. Its water, like a mirror to nature, reflected the aftermath in its depths. This wasn't an area known for these types of disasters.
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Excerpt: I have seen spirit hunters, / long haired natives stalking prey / then vanishing in the night.
Excerpt: “I been in tighter scrapes than this ‘un,” The old codger cackled.
Excerpt: The dragon seemed to smile, a little. It was not a particularly pleasant smile.
Excerpt: Deep within the snowy mountain / beyond the plateau stepped / Fortressed in his caverned chambers / King Alastorron slept
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Excerpt: “This is August thirty. Do you know what happened here on August 30 ten years ago?”
Excerpt: He had dealt death to so many others, that the possibility of his own demise was not something he thought about often – if at all.
Excerpt: Suddenly, his focus shifted to a shadow above them. It was Jared, he was descending with his sword held pointed at Maleria’s backside. Noticing the shift in attention, Maleria looked up. Edmund took that opportunity, and pushed with all his might, his legs reluctantly forcing his body upwards. He sunk his teeth into her throat at the exact moment Jared’s blade penetrated her back.
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This month's question: How would you use nature as a backdrop for your rising action or emotion?
Send in your reply below and I'll feature it in my next Action / Adventure newsletter.
In a previous Action / Adventure newsletter, I asked the question: How do you use your "mind's eye"?
Lothmorwel replied: I like the idea of explaining the scene fully on paper to yourself, and then picking out the relevant bits and placing them in the actual story. This way the setting is more real to you, and the readers are getting useful info. You can discover smaller details like a wisp of smoke from a campfire just put out, or the scurry of a small animal's feet, not just the bright sunlight glinting off the nearest water feature.
espeon40 responded: Thank you very much for your wise advice. I shall practice using my "mind's eye", it sounds very exciting!
Here is an excerpt that I myself have written:
"Chip dreamily gazed at Melody's gentle face,as the dark shadows of the shaky leaves helped uncover the radiant sun that left Melody's pure face glowing in the bright sunlight under the shady tree."
bronxbishop answered: Hi, The question posed, if it is an open to all question, can be answered by saying that the originator of the phrase should have said,"The imagination's eye" rather than, "the mind's eye." Whenever I asked her a question I was deemed too young to know, my Grandmother would always stick a pencil in my hand when she would use that phrase on me. She would make me write what I thought would be the answer.
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